By Larry Sand
Instead of glomming on to politically motivated gambits, we need to get back to educational basics.
Little did I know that when I ws teaching in the 1990s and “multicultural education” became all the rage, that it was just the beginning of an onslaught of radical endeavors that shows no sign of abating. As 2022 winds down, let’s take a glimpse at a small sampling of the schemes that have been inflicted on America’s children over the past few years.
Critical math
As a former teacher, I loved teaching math because there was clearly a right and wrong answer. Feelings, opinions and political dogma didn’t matter. Now however, with the ascendance of racialism, if you insist on right and wrong answers, you just might be considered a racist. Really.
In fact, in 2021, the proposed California math framework recommended eight different times that teachers use “A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction: Dismantling Racism in Mathematics Instruction ” as a resource. This radical drivel insists that addressing student errors, focusing on getting the right answer, and requiring students to show their work is a form of white supremacy. Objectivity, you see, is now racist.
Another iteration of the framework stressed “student-led instruction.” But it’s been shown repeatedly that direct instruction led by a qualified teacher is more effective in teaching the subject.
However, due to citizen outrage during the “public comments” period, the state walked back some of its wackier ideas, notably dropping the over-the-top “A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction.” The battle still rages, and now the state won’t be adopting a framework till some time in 2023.
But whatever is ultimately decided, 2+2 still equals 4.
Social Emotional Learning
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) took off in the 1990s when the Collaborative to Advance Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) came into being, and hosted a conference with researchers, educators, child advocates, and others in the field. By integrating SEL in schools, the faithful claimed that they could “teach students critical life skills that will not only help their personal development but also their academic performance as well” and this, in turn, “creates a culture in which students and teachers respect one another and enjoy being together, further strengthening relationships and motivating both students and teachers to do their best.” While undoubtedly well-intended by some, SEL has become a joke. A bad joke.
As first implemented, SEL was purely therapeutic in nature. It took a very dark turn, however, in 2020 when CASEL announced an ideological shift to “Transformative SEL,” which calls for students to “critically examine root causes of inequity.” So now, kids are being radicalized and taught to feel good about it, though many are more confused and angrier than ever.
So to unruffle the feathers, there is now a move to get all classrooms a pet. Yes! For just a few bucks, a school can get a bunny for the kids to hug, and all will be good!
Restorative Justice
Since bunnies don’t work for violent kids, what do we do then?
To continue reading, go to https://www.forkidsandcountry.org/blog/the-sandstorm-our-devastating-education-schemes
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Looking at that math equation and the way the kids are expected to solve, is it no wonder our kids are years behind the math curve? Who’s idea was it to alter the old method which was good enough for all of our current scientists?