Having the power doesn't mean it's a good idea.

My in-depth knowledge of school boards is limited to Canada, and primarily BC, but I think the general operation is pretty similar in the US. School boards are elected officials, not qualified educators. Of course some educators will get elected at times, but there's no guarantee of that. But more to the point, they aren't people that have been hired based on their knowledge of curriculum. One of their jobs is to hire the people at the top that will then hire the professionals who deeply understand curriculum. When school boards start messing with particular curriculum choices, it's often, if not always, for the wrong reasons. School boards should focus on governance; operational matters are better left to the education experts. The goals and direction a school board sets should be supported by the curriculum; let the educators determine what that curriculum should be. And if a school board feels the curriculum is not being chosen well, they should probably be thinking about their staffing choices.

I agree with all of the above. All very well said.

Thanks for the compliment, but I am not a genuis, nor have i ever played one on tee-vee.

So, it's wrong for me to be "triggered" by racism? Would it be racist for me to say, "I don't want my kids competing against ignorant black kids for jobs?"

Considering that this Forum is basically a three-ring circus as it is, could I be in a better place? From now on, please call me Laggy the Clown. Thanks in advance.

Sounds good. Thanks.

Very good read, Bill. I know we don't like each other but you usually point to good stuff to read. You put me onto Juan Cole's blog for example. You got anything else? What are your best book or article recommends?

Great success!


Found that from the excellent article Bill Haywood linked.

I passed by this https://harvardblackletter.org/wp-co.../18-JREJ-1.pdf back during the other thread and thought it was pretty solid.

Just remember that everything they say they aren’t up to is exactly what they’re up to:

Haha, the wrong side of history just keeps on posting their Ls.

Since statues are at least arguably examples of idolatry, I'm fine with all statues being removed from the public square.

lol

'if they offend other people due to a racist past I am not fussed. If they, in some way tread on religious rules around idolatry, then im ok moving them'

I made a post when the "tear down the statues" first became a thing in which I said that having statues in the public square that offended people was stupid. If you want, I can try to find it and repost it in this thread.

While I am against Angry Mobs of Pea Brains tearing down statues, I'm fine with a city deciding to remove/replace statues that offend people.

Another terrible "soul read" by Cuepee.

it is not a soul read. It is a direct reply to what you just wrote and the reasoning you gave.

If you are saying you have expressed other reasons in the past but failed to also indicate them here I am fine accepting that adding that extra context now and believe you but do not expect I should have assumed it.

Fair enough.

There a lot of possible reasons why it might be wise to remove a statue from a public square:

1. It offends people.

2. It is aesthetically displeasing.

3. Nobody knows or cares who the person is who is being depicted by the statue.

4. Statues in general are argueably instances of idolatry.

5. A statue is too heavy and poorly mounted, and some kittycat will get crushed by it if it falls on the poor thing.

6. The city needs to sell the statue to help the funding to re-build the police station that the angry mob burned down.

I could go on....

They get very mad when they’re exposed:

Well, thank goodness we have good people making sure our kids aren't corrupted with this.

U.S. parents are attempting to ban books about race in schools. This author experienced it first-hand

I guess I missed this, but exposed for what. What did he expose? From what I gather, this Tony guy is an *******.

Sorry for quoting a 2 month post but this has to be a damn bannable offense even by harkin standards. Really, what are we trying to understand here? What is the exposure?

How to say “We’re banking that our readers never read 1984” without saying “ We’re banking that our readers never read 1984”.

https://www.aapf.org/theforum-critic...eory-crackdown

I did not have ‘San Francisco normalizing Mitch McConnell’ on my 2022 bingo card.

The comments are pure reality check.

Cliffs?

Well it's John Oliver so needless to say he thinks it's awesome, nothing to worry about, a storm in a teacup and the only ones whinging about it are stuffy (and prolly racist) conservatives. Nothing wrong at all about teaching it in schools and the allegations that CRT is anti Semitic and racist toward Asians is ignored.
It's basically as biased as Tucker from the other end of the spectrum. Unlike Tucker though Oliver's take is at least funny in parts.

And as the Right continues to burn/ban books, now Math is targeted. Why? ...CRT.


Florida says it rejected math textbooks for referring to critical race theory

The Florida Department of Education announced it has rejected dozens of math textbooks submitted by publishers for schools, saying they "contained prohibited topics" including critical race theory.

Why it matters: Several Republican-led states have moved to limit students' exposure to critical race theory, or CRT, an academic framework developed in the 1970s by legal scholars that focuses on systemic racism.

...

By the numbers: 54 out of 132 math books (41%) recently submitted for review in the state were found to be "impermissible with either Florida's new standards or contained prohibited topics," per a Florida Department of Education (FDOE) statement Friday.

...

The big picture: Florida's Republican-controlled House passed a measure in February designed to make it easier to pull books found to be objectionable.

State Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in 2021 directed the Florida Board of Education to ban CRT in public schools, despite it not being taught in any public school system ...

The department said it's "unfortunate that several publishers" had "ignored" the 2021 directive and "attempted to slip rebranded instructional materials" into books, while others "included prohibited and divisive concepts such as the tenets of CRT or other unsolicited strategies of indoctrination despite FDOE’s prior notification."

Worth noting: The department described the review process as "transparent" but did not name the rejected textbooks nor provide examples of passages that failed to meet the criteria.

What they're saying: DeSantis said in a statement that he was "grateful" to Richard Corcoran, the outgoing commissioner of education, and his team for the "vetting of these textbooks to ensure they comply with the law."

"It seems that some publishers attempted to slap a coat of paint on an old house built on the foundation of Common Core, and indoctrinating concepts like race essentialism, especially, bizarrely, for elementary school students," DeSantis added.

...

"This isn’t just crazy right-wing pandering— next they’ll spend MILLIONS of tax dollars forcing schools to buy math books from GOP campaign donors," Smith added.