California county teacher training: U.S. a ‘parasitic’ system due to ‘invasion’ of white men. … WOW! Head Of Elite Manhattan Private School Admits On Tape That Their “AnTi-RaCisT” Teaching Is “Demonizing White People For Being BornY’see if your entire curriculum centers around the delivery system being the problem, that’s a problem.

Some parents/districts are taking steps: The Pushback Against Critical Race Theory. … Whoops! One of the Critical Race Theory Elect goes down. … Shining a Spotlight on Critical Race Theory in New York High Schools.  …

‘This is not a rich person issue, this is not a NYC issue, this is an American issue:’ Parent and teacher who spoke out against ‘woke’ antiracist doctrine in their expensive NY private schools warn it is infecting all US schools. … The Coming Bipartisan Backlash to Public School Wokeness.

Related: Bari Weiss: You Have to Read This Letter.

But no mean tweets: Education Department Proposal Would Flood Public Schools With Woke Curricula. … Critical Race Theory and the Death of Public Education. “The mask is off (COVID-era pun intended), the pretense that they want to enrich the minds of young Americans with real knowledge has been abandoned. Biden and Mrs. Dr. Jill want to start minting mindless automatons who are convinced that America is awful.”

And the states are joining the fray as well: Idaho House And Senate Pass Bill Banning Critical Race Theory In Schools … Tennessee Bans Schools from Teaching Critical Race Theory. … Oklahoma Gov. Stitt Signs Bill Banning Critical Race Theory From Public Schools. …

Not ALL states mind you. ARISTO, ARISTO, A LA LANTERNE:  Washington Gov. Inslee Signs Bill Requiring Critical Race Training For Public School Teachers. Why are we not surprised?

and there’s this on TOP of the whole mess: The Biden Administration is gearing up to bring back the Obama Administration’s policy on school discipline (and take it further).  Here’s an explanation for why that’s probably illegal.

I’ve proven that I can bring in the requisite cash by driving. Hell, I can start taking my SS and reduce my driving to about three days a week instead of five. But barring a bizarre turn of events I will NOT wear a mask in school next year. I intend to notify districts that are requiring it that they’ll be losing my services. And not that I’m “all that and a bag of chips” but NO school has enough subs and IMHO they really can’t afford to antagonize us much. They lost a LOT of us with the Covid scare (those over 65) and even the districts that pay well realize they don’t pay enough. The bigger districts have about one day a week of panic and juggling to avoid sending students to “study hall” and the teachers who’s schedules get screwed up are NOT happy. We’re low rung on the ladder but on occasion we still need to make our voices heard.

But there’s another reason. I will NOT go quietly into that good night of CRT. It will come as no surprise to my regulars that the the schools with higher numbers (both absolute and by %) of minorities have a LOWER tendancy towards including it in their lesson plans. The school where I’m seeing it creep in the most? Bexley. For the uninformed – suburban, white/Jewish … and affluent. White Knight Syndrome gone wild. So I’ll be asking if CRT will be included in the curriculum and if it is I’ll notify the school that as a white cis-male I feel unsafe in their school.

Supporting docs? To demonstrate why standardized testing is wrong, aNti-rAciSm proponents are actually, seriously comparing different racial groups to ANIMALS. The eugenicists called. They want their metaphors back

Teacher Bullies Student for His Colorblind Attitude Toward Race. Not crazy about content of teacher’s character.

Everything is racist, including not being racist, as Merriam-Webster expands the definition of the word ‘color-blind.’

ROGER SIMON: Stop Critical Race Theory Before It Destroys America.

Critical Race Theory Backers Want To Make It More Difficult To Solve Crimes.

Texas Legislator Introduces Bill to Keep Critical Theory and Politics Out of Classrooms.

Critical Race Theory Is Just Another Faddish Attempt To Hide Public School Failures

‘Anti-racist’ narrative is ‘you can’t get ahead.’

And to ensure you I’m not alone: Teacher Rejects Critical Race Theory Indoctrination In His Progressive School: It’s ‘Self-Evidently Racist’ and A Loudoun County Teacher Explains How Leftist Institutional Racism Is Devastating Public Schools

Merchants of Revolution: California’s ethnic studies initiatives train children in Marxist theory—and opposition to the American system. And that’s by design. Also: California teachers being trained to help students “decodify systems of oppression” including “private property and God.” This is fine.

of a very weird year. Covered a class yesterday at a school which hasn’t used subs all year. And the faculty and staff thought EVERYONE had been going sub-less. I felt like Powers Boothe in “Red Dawn.”

So what’s going on elsewhere?

High school students could be fully trained plumbers and electricians by age 20. Sat in a class yesterday and listened to a counselor advise a student who has no business going to college how to get into college. Sad, really

Principal sends white parents a ‘tool for action’ telling them to become ‘white traitors’ and then ‘white abolitionists.’ Haven’t run into this …. yet. Wonder what I’ll do when I do.

I tutored for the boards here in Ohio a few years back and saw this in its early stages: How the College Board Mangles the Teaching of History.

Wait! There’s COVID in the schools?? In Report Affirming Nearly No Transmission In Schools, CDC Slips In Shocking Data About Asymptomatic Spread

Researchers: CDC Misrepresented Scientific Research To Keep Schools Closed At Kids’ Expense

I got mine, but not all states are making good decisions. School Staff Need Vaccines, Too

Well. Yes. Your Kids Would Be Better Off Feral Than Going To Schools That Make Them Anti-American Racists

There are a few solutions on the way, if the existing power structure doesn’t strangle them in the crib. New college promises real-world STEM training, traditional liberal arts education in 3 years at low cost.

Not second class so much …. but afterthoughts.

Substitute teachers. And for the most part we’re OK with that. We’re appreciated for what we do, but it’s surprising when we DON’T get thought of. The example that prompted the post: lunch. I’m always invited to the lounge or the classroom where everyone in “my department” is dining but I always feel out of place. And during da ‘Rona there are schools that won’t serve me lunch. Oh, they HAVE lunch – but because money was SO clean in the Before Times and is deadly now, they won’t handle it! I know which schools are which and can now plan accordingly, but it made for a few sketchy days back in August. And it’s a school policy. The lunch room staff is almost ALWAYS awesome to us subs.

Since this was a hot topic seemingly MONTHS ago: Robert Heinlein on the value of an education doctorate.

Go read Dr. Biden’s thesis if you like. I’ll wait. And if requested I’ll post the last two papers I wrote for law school for comparative analysis.

unrelated but my favorite headline of the week: Evil Fascist Dictator Censored And Voted Out Of Office

I’m back in schools pretty much every day. I’ve been in half a dozen districts and a dozen buildings. And they all have different rules. SOME are the same, like masks all the time. But desk cleaning protocols and door procedures vary district to district and sometimes building to building!

And then there’s this: Fairfax Teachers Union Wants Schools Closed Until August 2021 Zero tolerance. No more in person schooling until there is ZERO DISEASE!

And while I find myself disagreeing with The Federalist more often, when they’re right, they’re right: It’s Time To Free Schools From Wasteful, Oppressive COVID Security Theater

edited to add: COVID-19 Didn’t Break the Public School System. It Was Already Broken. Families are leaving traditional schools in record numbers for pods, homeschooling, charters, and more.

To that end, I don’t like the headline, but the data is interesting: These 12 Graphs Show Mask Mandates Do Nothing To Stop COVID Should be “do damned little.”

Good info here (Responsible Individuals, Not Lockdowns, Will Beat the Coronavirus) but where will we FIND them?

Never liked the word, probably because I grew up in a family of either self-employed or entrepreneurial individuals. So it’s been a weird week in a weird month in a weird year. I’ve been subbing every day for three weeks, although only have two days scheduled for NEXT week. Have over a dozen days on offer from a high school I said I’d never go back to. And was recently offered $175/day to sub online for another school whose faculty has opted to strike for reasons I have yet to determine despite reading all the news coverage thereof and discussing it with union leaders in the community.

Let’s start with the school I said I’d never go back to. Discipline issues. BUT. Most schools are going on reduced enrollment so I’d be dealing with a reduced class size, which helps. Many classes lack the critical mass it takes to be truly disruptive, although I suspect the cm needed there is a good deal less than at other places. Additionally the everpresent mask seems to be cutting down on classroom issues. No whispering so no sub-rosa shenanigans to escalate. May well give this school a second chance should I find myself needing a gig.

Then there’s the school I barely missed qualifying for a bonus from last year. Principal recently approached me and offered a long term gig subbing for a math teacher with a high-risk pregnancy. I of course said yes. Good school atmosphere. And the bons is still out there. If this gig is long enough it could get me close to qualifying … again.

And then there’s the strike. I’ve stayed away for ONE reason. We’d be subbing remotely. 100% on line. And the classes would be accessible by the public (parents and striking teachers.) There’s no WAY I wanna become the feature figure in THAT national news story.

Otherwise the gig is going well despite da gubmint’s best efforts to screw with it. Students are being educated. And I’m keeping food on the table the the wi-fi turned on.

edited to add a few links:

If Your School District Pulls What One Tennessee District Has, Know Your Rights.

I Just Went Back To School In Person. It’s Not Scary

Faculty Struggle With Burnout During COVID-19.

I feel like faculty, overall, have had things a lot easier than say grocery workers or meatpackers, but they’re also a bunch of delicate complainers.

HOMESCHOOL! IF YOU MUST USE THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR BABYSITTING (NO JUDGEMENT) THEN HOMESCHOOL AFTER SCHOOL.  What Our Children Learn In School.

So you provide a service that the government requires some people to purchase.  It require OTHER people to pay for it even if they DON’T utilize it, and they construct prohibitions should you seek to purchase it elsewhere.  And then you decide to NOT provide the service for some indeterminate length of time but DEMAND that you continue to be paid for it AND demand the government continue to prevent your customer base from purchasing elsewhere.

Ladies and gentlemen I give you the state of K-12 education in the United States today.

My great Aunt Edna taught in the one room school house in Oak Run Township a hundred years ago.  For those of you that got your US history solely from public schools I would point you to the Land Ordinance of 1785.  It mandated using one section of each township to be used for a public school.  Settlers pooled their money to hire a teacher to teach all the kids in the township.  And that’s where we’re heading today with all the little podlings.

From other  sources: Absolutely’ reopen schools: 5 of 5 pediatricians would send their kids back to class.  Personally, I favor abolishing the public schools and just giving parents vouchers. Probably better for public health, too.

Schools Are Closing Not Because They Should, But Because They Can.

A Pod for Every Child

I’m a Nurse in New York. Teachers Should Do Their Jobs, Just Like I Did. Schools are essential to the functioning of our society, and that makes teachers essential workers.

 

 

to the classroom. BEST job I ever had was teaching philosophy, paralegal studies and a smattering of remedial subjects at the career college level. I ENJOY subbing at the high school level and have no desire to go full time. And I’m concerned about returning this fall “under existing circumstances.”

but we have Bowdlerizing: Prof. Randall Kennedy (Harvard Law) on Accurately Quoting Racial Epithets

rewriting history: A History Professor’s Anonymous Letter to His Woke Colleagues at Berkeley.  

I’d LOVE to ask this to the administrators and dept heads with which I work: What’s Your Woke Breaking Point?

to say nothing of what the future holds: Scholar forced to resign over study that found police shootings not biased against blacks.

so …. we’ll see.