Thank you, Emily, for a well written response to this indoctrination. It’s so painful to see teachers putting this amount of their time and energy into bolstering and disseminating Soviet propaganda about Jews and Zionism.
It's not clear how many teachers will actually attend this kind of session. It is also not clear whether OSPI has any authority over certificated teachers when they are conducting a union activity rather than speaking in the classroom or as an individual.
The State Board of Education is most likely going to send an ethnic studies graduation requirement plan to the legislature. It's important to send detailed academic letters to the State Board of Education and to the legislature explaining why this is divisive. Comments at a meeting are limited to 3 minutes, but a letter can be several pages long. I sent them a 6-page letter about the difference between multiculturalism and the misinformation about Jewish history occurring in WA State. Holocaust education will also arise as a topic in the session. The problem isn't Jewish essentialism or opposition to the concept of genocide studies. The problem is that, given all of the disinformation being spread about Jewish history, the Jewish community needs to control its own narrative.
Missing from these curricula is the US perspective, i.e. the diplomacy and what responsibility the Palestinian side has with respect to what it is offering to compromise on. If you don't agree with Israel's actions, what do you think it should have done? What would follow from that? What does a peace plan actually look like? Throwing around buzzwords and slogans isn't education. Asking the rough questions is education. Having to defend your position and to think out the consequences of your position, and to determine what makes sense and what doesn't is education. Asking students to think out what the solution looks like and how to get there is education.
Frankly, I think it's antisemitic to even pick this as a topic at a public school educational forum. The world is filled with oppressive and corrupt governments, wars and conflicts, power struggles, land struggles, and plenty of injustice in every country. Yet this is the one chosen, with an unsubtle focus on an anti-Israel one-sided version of history and events.
"Activism" like this is another reason that I'm so glad that we moved away from Seattle. That title alone is biased. I don't need my Jewish child having to endure this kind of education, which would likely confuse her, have her feel like Jews are villains, and the need to hide her Jewishness for fear of association and (the irony of) antisemitism. And how convenient that a Senate bill to teach Holocaust education in schools was voted down earlier this year.
Good article! I’m equally appalled this conference is promoting Woke gender ideology. “Trans” is a popular social fiction without a trace of science behind it. Telling kids they might be “born in the wrong body” simply primes them to be lifelong medical patients. Public Teachers should not be pimping for the bio-pharmaceutical industry.
Instead of "born in the wrong body" I think the discussion could address that people can naturally feel that they may possess characteristics that are traditionally considered male and characteristics that are traditionally considered female and it's OK to be who you are. I think that individual medical decisions don't belong in the classroom. That's really a private matter. Accepting that different people see things in a different way is part of education.
Thank you, Emily, for a well written response to this indoctrination. It’s so painful to see teachers putting this amount of their time and energy into bolstering and disseminating Soviet propaganda about Jews and Zionism.
It's not clear how many teachers will actually attend this kind of session. It is also not clear whether OSPI has any authority over certificated teachers when they are conducting a union activity rather than speaking in the classroom or as an individual.
The State Board of Education is most likely going to send an ethnic studies graduation requirement plan to the legislature. It's important to send detailed academic letters to the State Board of Education and to the legislature explaining why this is divisive. Comments at a meeting are limited to 3 minutes, but a letter can be several pages long. I sent them a 6-page letter about the difference between multiculturalism and the misinformation about Jewish history occurring in WA State. Holocaust education will also arise as a topic in the session. The problem isn't Jewish essentialism or opposition to the concept of genocide studies. The problem is that, given all of the disinformation being spread about Jewish history, the Jewish community needs to control its own narrative.
Missing from these curricula is the US perspective, i.e. the diplomacy and what responsibility the Palestinian side has with respect to what it is offering to compromise on. If you don't agree with Israel's actions, what do you think it should have done? What would follow from that? What does a peace plan actually look like? Throwing around buzzwords and slogans isn't education. Asking the rough questions is education. Having to defend your position and to think out the consequences of your position, and to determine what makes sense and what doesn't is education. Asking students to think out what the solution looks like and how to get there is education.
Frankly, I think it's antisemitic to even pick this as a topic at a public school educational forum. The world is filled with oppressive and corrupt governments, wars and conflicts, power struggles, land struggles, and plenty of injustice in every country. Yet this is the one chosen, with an unsubtle focus on an anti-Israel one-sided version of history and events.
"Activism" like this is another reason that I'm so glad that we moved away from Seattle. That title alone is biased. I don't need my Jewish child having to endure this kind of education, which would likely confuse her, have her feel like Jews are villains, and the need to hide her Jewishness for fear of association and (the irony of) antisemitism. And how convenient that a Senate bill to teach Holocaust education in schools was voted down earlier this year.
Is there any counter-narrative being offered?
I think the argument would be that Zionists own the narrative.
I fixed the typos in my comments. 7-8 eyesight disabilities does that ...
Good article! I’m equally appalled this conference is promoting Woke gender ideology. “Trans” is a popular social fiction without a trace of science behind it. Telling kids they might be “born in the wrong body” simply primes them to be lifelong medical patients. Public Teachers should not be pimping for the bio-pharmaceutical industry.
Instead of "born in the wrong body" I think the discussion could address that people can naturally feel that they may possess characteristics that are traditionally considered male and characteristics that are traditionally considered female and it's OK to be who you are. I think that individual medical decisions don't belong in the classroom. That's really a private matter. Accepting that different people see things in a different way is part of education.