Education Insanity: Top 10 Stories Of The Week (Vol. 5)

Welcome back to Education Insanity, a weekly column updating you on the most insane events taking place in our nation’s schools. Here we’ll delve into the growing presence of critical race theory, the ideology that claims that America is irredeemably rooted in racism, and “woke” culture.

Let’s get started.

10. Incoming NYC Schools Chancellor Backs Claim That America Was ‘Built On Lies’ – Washington Free Beacon

The incoming chancellor of the New York City public schools believes America was “built on lies” and is currently entrenched in lawsuits that allege she discriminated against white school administrators. New York City’s Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio tapped Bronx Superintendent Meisha Ross Porter to become the new chancellor. In a tweet obtained by The Washington Free Beacon, Porter “quote-tweeted” the thoughts of a New York University professor who advocated for critical race theory, the theory that claims America is inherently and irredeemably racist.

9. Cornell Renames English Department To ‘Department Of Literature In English’ As Part Of ‘Decolonization Efforts’ – Campus Reform

Cornell University officially changed the “Department of English” to the “Department of Literatures in English” in an attempt at fighting racism. In November, an English Department faculty member claimed that the rebranding would help Ivy League students avoid any “conflation of English as a language and English as a nationality.” The faculty overwhelmingly approved the measure and the Board of Trustees approved the new name in January.

8. BYU ‘Rooting Out Racism’ Task Force Calls For ‘Race-Conscious’ Religious Curriculum, Admissions Standards – The Daily Wire

A task force at Brigham Young University is calling on the school to develop a new “race-conscious” religious curriculum and admissions standards. A nine-member committee at BYU was tasked with making recommendations to the university on how it can improve racial equality on campus. The committee presented its findings in a 63-page report to the university’s president.

7. Cleveland State Professor Is Indoctrinating The Next Generation Of Educators With Critical Race Theory – The Federalist

An education professor at Cleveland State University is forcing critical race theory on the nation’s next generation of educators. In an education class taught by professor Molly Feghali, students were taught that using the word “ghetto” is racist and being “anti-racist” is the only way forward. An assignment prompt asked students to “create a graphical representation of how prejudice, discrimination, implicit bias, power, oppression, and socialization are interrelated and impact the isms.”

6. L.A. Teachers Union Claims California Is ‘Propagating Structural Racism’ By Reopening Schools – The Daily Wire

The United Teachers of Los Angeles, California’s largest teachers union, assailed Governor Gavin Newsom’s plan for a statewide transition back to in-person learning as “propagating structural racism,” and demanded that schools remain shuttered until all teachers and staff are fully vaccinated.

5. College Course Titled ‘Radical Jesus’ Examines Jesus As ‘Nonbinary’ – Campus Reform 

A religious studies professor at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania is teaching a class on his book, which claims that Jesus was “nonbinary.” The professor teaches a course called “Radical Jesus,” which includes “sessions on Jesus as an animist, alongside examinations of Jesus as a political revolutionary and nonbinary in a gender sense.”

4. Illinois Teachers Shamed For Color Of Their Skin In Taxpayer-Sponsored ‘Anti-Racist’ Training – The Federalist

A wealthy school district in the Chicago suburbs hosted “anti-racism” training for school leadership that told administrators that expecting people of color to teach white people is a form of “covert white supremacy.” On Feb. 26, Naperville District 203 held an “anti-racism” training hosted by the Countywide Equity Institute. Topics included best “equity and inclusion” practices for the district, as well as “implicit bias” and “microaggressions” training.

3. Arizona State Dean: Grading Writing Based On Quality Is ‘Racist,’ Promotes ‘White Language Supremacy’ – The Daily Wire

An Arizona State University Associate Dean penned a 358-page book detailing how grading student’s writing is a form of racism and white supremacy. In a book titled “Labor-Based Grading Contracts: Building Equity and Inclusion in the Compassionate Writing Classroom,” professor Asao Inoue encourages teachers to ditch grading for a “labor-based” grading system wherein students earn grades based on their effort.

2. After Leading School Closures, Berkeley Teachers Union President Spotted Dropping Daughter Off At In-Person Preschool – KQED

The president of California’s Berkeley Federation of Teachers fell under fire after a video surfaced of him taking his two-year-old daughter to in-person preschool. The union president has been advocating for a standard that says schools cannot reopen until all educators and district staff members have been vaccinated and schools agree to enforce social distancing and mask-wearing.

1. Arizona Education Department Tells Parents To Talk About Racism With Three-Month-Olds – The Daily Wire

The Arizona Department of Education released an “equity toolkit” that calls on parents to address issues of racism “before their children can speak.” In a resource graphic obtained by investigative journalist Christopher Rufo, parents were told to start discussing issues of race and racism with babies as young as three months old. The illustration is titled, “They’re not too young to talk about race!”

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RELATED: Education Insanity: Top 10 Stories Of The Week (Vol. 4)

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