I encourage everybody to apply for boards and commissions and, if you are qualified and can fund and run a campaign, to run for school board. The first thing you learn on the government side is that authority is very limited to the topics allowed under the law and under the rules. On any committee or any group, you have one vote, and whatever subset of the group has the most votes for something is controlling what the group decides. You have to find ways to make progress within those limitations. In some situations, it's not possible to make any progress, and that's when it's reasonable to resign or not to run for re-election or apply to be re-appointed.
"Washington state students are slipping across the board, with dismal statistics like 70 percent of 10th graders testing below grade level in math. Covid can’t be blamed for all of it; the slippage was happening before the pandemic (though closing the schools for as long as we did here certainly did not help). The Seattle Times only reluctantly endorsed Reykdal after" But it's necessary to investigate the reasons for the problems in the schools. The fact is that OSPI has no control over curriculum. And for years, the legislature has been moving authority out of OSPI and onto appointed boards and commissions. Local school districts control curriculum. And there are 295 of them which we, the citizens, have to oversee. Really, the only thing the OSPI can do is investigate appeals when students or parents experience a problem with a licensed teacher that isn't resolved by the school district. It has to be serious enough that they can act. The OSPI has no authority over the unlicensed consultants and curriculum providers who are being hired. You can't blame someone for something they are not responsible for and aren't even allowed, under the law, to be involved in. At the September meeting of the State Board of Education, they voted to move even more authority onto other committees. Some of them were created by state RCWs.
Sorry this is long. Everyone really needs to watch / listen to the WA State Board of Education meeting from September 5 on TVW. The Ethnic Studies discussion starts at 1:36 on the recording.
The board members were very sincere about wanting to promote diverse contributions and histories, such as Native American history. (However, my understanding is that Native American Studies pulled out of ethnic studies years ago and developed its own curriculum. The Native Americans present didn't discuss that.)
But what they were talking about is really called multiculturalism. And that is exactly what WAESN explicitly rejected at its conference a few years ago.
They lauded how diverse their board is, but there was not a single member of the mainstream Jewish community there, and they seemed to completely oblivious and unaware of our experiences and of the antisemitism that has transpired for years in the way ethnic studies is being developed here.
They wanted to remove overly academic terminology, but the main point is that the academic approach matters.
The board wants all ethnicities to appreciate each other and better understand each other, and in ignoring discussions of the academic terminology, they are not understanding that what we are getting is the *opposite* of what they are claiming to support.
I did not hear any ideological positions from the Board of Education members. They are just very clueless about the difference of what their goal is and what is actually going on.
They had no clue about the difference between ethnic studies and liberated ethnic studies vs. multiculturalism.
At the next meeting, October 16-17, in Nia Bay, they are going to approve a recommendation to the legislature and this could include making it a graduation requirement.
We have two weeks or less to get our comments in and to communicate with the Board of Education. And we have our own holidays taking place during that time.
Our Jewish organization leaders have again failed us, because not one person mentioned or expressed any knowledge of Jewish concerns about the curriculum providers. They don't seem to have had any deep in-person conversations with Jewish leaders.
It's up to us, the grass roots, to have *respectful* and kind conversations educating them within two weeks and asking how they are going to listen to and accommodate us.
Thank you, Linda. I have been reporting on the ideology and explicit anti-Judaism of the liberated ethnic studies orgs now for three years, and most people still think ethnic studies means multiculturalism.
I encourage everybody to apply for boards and commissions and, if you are qualified and can fund and run a campaign, to run for school board. The first thing you learn on the government side is that authority is very limited to the topics allowed under the law and under the rules. On any committee or any group, you have one vote, and whatever subset of the group has the most votes for something is controlling what the group decides. You have to find ways to make progress within those limitations. In some situations, it's not possible to make any progress, and that's when it's reasonable to resign or not to run for re-election or apply to be re-appointed.
"Washington state students are slipping across the board, with dismal statistics like 70 percent of 10th graders testing below grade level in math. Covid can’t be blamed for all of it; the slippage was happening before the pandemic (though closing the schools for as long as we did here certainly did not help). The Seattle Times only reluctantly endorsed Reykdal after" But it's necessary to investigate the reasons for the problems in the schools. The fact is that OSPI has no control over curriculum. And for years, the legislature has been moving authority out of OSPI and onto appointed boards and commissions. Local school districts control curriculum. And there are 295 of them which we, the citizens, have to oversee. Really, the only thing the OSPI can do is investigate appeals when students or parents experience a problem with a licensed teacher that isn't resolved by the school district. It has to be serious enough that they can act. The OSPI has no authority over the unlicensed consultants and curriculum providers who are being hired. You can't blame someone for something they are not responsible for and aren't even allowed, under the law, to be involved in. At the September meeting of the State Board of Education, they voted to move even more authority onto other committees. Some of them were created by state RCWs.
Thanks for the interview of State Ed Superintendent Reykdal. Learned a lot. Am convinced he is the right person for the job. Appreciated.
Sorry this is long. Everyone really needs to watch / listen to the WA State Board of Education meeting from September 5 on TVW. The Ethnic Studies discussion starts at 1:36 on the recording.
The board members were very sincere about wanting to promote diverse contributions and histories, such as Native American history. (However, my understanding is that Native American Studies pulled out of ethnic studies years ago and developed its own curriculum. The Native Americans present didn't discuss that.)
But what they were talking about is really called multiculturalism. And that is exactly what WAESN explicitly rejected at its conference a few years ago.
They lauded how diverse their board is, but there was not a single member of the mainstream Jewish community there, and they seemed to completely oblivious and unaware of our experiences and of the antisemitism that has transpired for years in the way ethnic studies is being developed here.
They wanted to remove overly academic terminology, but the main point is that the academic approach matters.
The board wants all ethnicities to appreciate each other and better understand each other, and in ignoring discussions of the academic terminology, they are not understanding that what we are getting is the *opposite* of what they are claiming to support.
I did not hear any ideological positions from the Board of Education members. They are just very clueless about the difference of what their goal is and what is actually going on.
They had no clue about the difference between ethnic studies and liberated ethnic studies vs. multiculturalism.
At the next meeting, October 16-17, in Nia Bay, they are going to approve a recommendation to the legislature and this could include making it a graduation requirement.
We have two weeks or less to get our comments in and to communicate with the Board of Education. And we have our own holidays taking place during that time.
Our Jewish organization leaders have again failed us, because not one person mentioned or expressed any knowledge of Jewish concerns about the curriculum providers. They don't seem to have had any deep in-person conversations with Jewish leaders.
It's up to us, the grass roots, to have *respectful* and kind conversations educating them within two weeks and asking how they are going to listen to and accommodate us.
Thank you, Linda. I have been reporting on the ideology and explicit anti-Judaism of the liberated ethnic studies orgs now for three years, and most people still think ethnic studies means multiculturalism.