Friday, August 12, 2022

THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION/ALABAMA EDUCATION ASSOCIATION IS WOKE AND PERHAPS THE SOURCE OF WOKE



I AM A TEACHER. I thought when I got my degree in education in 1972 that I was getting the best information that had been researched to know best how to impart knowledge in order to prepare my students for a successful future. Imagine my shock to find that even reading was political. Dean Kunkel of Auburn University assured me that Whole Language was "current wisdom" and he could not give me any research to endorse it. And now even Mathematics has become political. We trust our teachers to be the best prepared of all in the world and now I discover that the National Education Association and, therefore, its affiliate, the Alabama Education Association, support forbidding even a literacy test because indoctrinating our children for their agenda is more important.
I discovered the politicization of reading when I got my Masters degree and then taught in a public school. What does it matter that large percentages of our children cannot read on a third grade level? They slip through with As and Bs in elementary school with the new "Standards based" grading. What does it matter that they cannot read secondary text books? Let's just hope that they have been conditioned to accept the WOKE beliefs of the POLITICAL UNION and LEFT WING LOBBYIST that controls teacher certification at all levels and intimidates teachers to join to supplement their union coffers to lobby and legislate against parental values.
Read below this analysis of the Resolutions 2022-2022. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Remember every school that requires their teachers to be certified have insured that they have gotten the indoctrination of this liberal union. Only us old warhorses can remember what education once was and what it meant to the future of our country. I honestly do not know if there is hope for our country or our schools, considering how well entrenched they are in every institution of our country.
"The philanthropist Melinda Gates limits technology with her children. Her children don’t have smartphones and only use a computer in the kitchen. Her husband Bill, the Microsoft co-founder, spends hours in his office reading books while everyone else is refreshing their homepage. The most sought-after private school in Silicon Valley, the Waldorf School of the Peninsula, bans technical devices for the under-11s and teaches the children of eBay, Apple, Uber and Google staff to make go-karts, knit and cook. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg wants his daughters to read Dr Seuss books and play outside rather than use Messenger Kids. Steve Jobs’s children had strict limits on how much technology they used at home.
It’s astonishing if you think about it: the more money you make out of the tech industry, the more you appear to shield your family from its effects." (Snopes)
I'll bet the WALDORF SCHOOL uses real Math and not fuzzy Math promoted by W. GARY MARTIN AND MARILYN STRUTCHENS--Auburn College of Education professors Gary Martin and Marilyn Strutchens whot have been awarded nearly $600,000 to establish professional learning communities in mathematics. In addition to this grant, Strutchens was elected to the board of directors of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Impressed? Look at what the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics really is: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics encourage the move away from the traditional emphasis on computational skills like multiplication tables and algorithms—a teaching method that university mathematicians still favor but that many K–12 math teachers dismiss as “drill and kill.” Teachers (particularly liberal and left-leaning teachers) who instead use a “constructivist” or “discovery-based” pedagogy, sometimes called “fuzzy math.” Here students learn mathematical concepts by trying to solve real-life problems, will see Gutstein’s social justice lessons on how military budgets for the war in Iraq deny poor Americans their fair share of resources as an advance beyond problems about baseball statistics, shopping, or building.
Martin and Strutchens have been on nearly every state math committee in Alabama; in fact, Dr. Strutchens chaired the committee in 2019.
But, I am sure Gates, et al. approve of the WOKE agenda of the NEA/AEA since that was pretty much the goal of Common Core. I hope you don't believe that CRT (Critical Race Theory) was banned from our schools simply because Kaye Ivey issued an edict. It saturates the curriculum.


 I.                The National Education Association (NEA) /Alabama Education Association (AEA) is a political organization that supports Democrats and yet every Alabama taxpayer is forced to support an organization that stands for issues contrary to the beliefs of most Americans. 

    A.      NEA 1-18.  The Association also believes that members have the right to have payroll deductions of both Association members dues and voluntary political contributions. (1982, 2013).  

        https://www.nea.org/sites/default/files/2021-09/NEA%20Resolutions_2021-2022.pdf



This payroll deduction scheme happens in every school across our state/country. Secretaries and bookkeepers deduct Association dues and voluntary political contributions. This is an in-kind contribution to an organization determined to control what our children learn and how they are taught. 


B.    NEA J-3 Association believes that school policies should provide release time without loss of pay who are fulfilling leadership responsibilities, attending meetings or participating in other Association activities. 

                The association believes that all members have the right to receive union communications at their work sites from their local, state and national associations. 
 



 

Once again, union leaders are frequently found in the schools on union business rather than the business of educating children. Teachers should also have the right not to be intimidated into joining that Marxist organization.

 

     C. NEA F-36  The Association believes that school board policies should allow the provision of release time without loss of pay for those who are fulfilling leadership responsibilities, attending meetings, appearing in court in their roles as advocates, or participating in other Association activities. The Association also believes affiliates should be allowed uncensored and unencumbered use of school property for conducting Association business. (1976, 2015)



The National Education Association expects citizens to pay for their organization activities and the place to conduct their business. Our schools.

 

 

II. This Left Wing Lobbyist Organization demands control of credentialing of teachers.

 

    A. NEA G-6 Accreditation of Teacher Preparation Institutions. 

The National Education Association believes that teacher preparation programs must be approved at two levels: at the state level through an agency such as a professional standards board and at the national level through the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). 
The Association also believe that CAEP and its governing boards must include representatives of all levels of the teaching professional as well as aspiring educators. 

In other words, those who have brought our children's academic standards to a new low, will determine who will teach and what is to be taught. The public has no say. Just this Left Wing Lobbying group posturing to be a professional organization. 

In addition to certifying teachers, the National Education Association has assumed the position to police those who hold certification.

This affects public and private schools that require teacher certification before hiring. 

        G-2 The National Education Association supports voluntary national certification by which the professor grants recognition to an individual who has met qualification specified by the profession (meaning them). The Association recognizes that this function is filled by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), which is composed of a majority of practicing public school teachers. (Members of the NEA)

    The NBPTS establishes appropriate assessment procedures by which individuals demonstrate exemplary practice in pedagogy and in subject matter areas, issues certificates to all individuals who meet NBPTS-established standards, maintains a roster of those who have been certificated, and encourages reciprocity with state professional standards boards. 

    The Association also supports the periodic evaluation of such certification procedures to ascertain whether cultural, economic, gender, racial, age, or other biases are perpetuated by the requirements for certification. 



               In other words, teachers, they have your number. NTBPTS determines those appropriate assessments. But, not for academic excellence. Their pedagogy has more concern for attitudes and beliefs. 



                        Please notice in G-3 under Licensure that the National Education Association and its affiliate the Alabama Education Association oppose standard literacy and basic skills tests to determine competency. 


III. Curriculum choices by the NEA

WHAT IS CRITICAL RACE THEORY?

Critical Race Theory (commonly abbreviated as CRT) refers to a way of analyzing systems, institutions, and power through a lens of race and racism.

Central to Critical Race Theory is the idea that many institutions are built on and enforce systemic racism and oppression of people of color, that this racism and oppression have a long history in the US and the world (including slavery and its legacy), and that they are ongoing and driven by white supremacy.  

As an academic, intellectual, or philosophical discipline or school or thought, Critical Race Theory is broad and encompasses the discussion and use of many related concepts and terms, such as implicit bias, intersectionality, and white privilege.


Critical Race Theory has widespread influence among scholars who study race and racism and is also applied by scholars and professionals in other fields, including law and education. It is part of or is the basis for part of the curriculum in some schools and universities. (Politics by Dictionary.com)


    A. The Right of Redress for Descendants of Slaves



B. Opposition to all forms of Discrimination except against the "white supremacy culture." (See below)


C. Observances should include Cesar Chavez Day and the Indigenous Peoples' Day



Did you get the irony of them saying they opposed all forms of discrimination and then do a special discrimination statement against what they call a White Supremacy Culture? And they are a Left Wing Union, so of course these liberation pedagogists  promoting Paolo Freire's theories from Pedagogy of the Oppressed must change Columbus Day to Indigenous People's Day and insert another special day to honor a labor organizer like themselves, Cesar Chavez. 

 


 

"inimical to the ideals of the association." I wonder, do they realize that they are an extremist group working in every school in our nation? Intimidating teachers by their power and constant presence in the schools, they threaten teachers who do not want to be part of their cult. They are a cult because they pursue their Marxist ends with religious fervor. 


 Once again in E-7 we see Multicultural Education and the division of our country into tribes, rather than an education into the ideals upon which our country was founded and which became the hope of the world. 

    

IV. Curriculum choices by the National Education Association 


NEA H-13 Please note that historic preservation does not extend to Confederate monuments. The National Education Association has decreed and will teach all the students of our country that those monuments are a form of white supremacy that should be removed, rather than a teaching opportunity. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana, The Life of Reason, 1905.

In addition one wonders what their definition of "white supremacy" really means. Does it mean the simple fact that one is "white"? How does that discrimination affect a white child?

NEA E-7  B-41 The National Education Association has decided Multiculturalism should replace American History and World History. The goal of Multiculturalism is to divide our nation into tribes in order to bring about the revolution these radicals truly seek. Rather than continue an America that is a melting pot that brings these cultures together under the aegis of a democratic republic in which free speech, opportunity and character over color can bring about success. But everything they promote, every method they use, divides.

A.     They are dividing students into tribes rather than teaching the true history of our country and developing a cultural appreciation for what makes America great and encouraging nationalism. These curriculum topics are to be integrated into every subject. Do you see Reading, Writing, Mathematics, History here? 

 



An example of their choice for Multicultural Education is Howard Zinn's book, A People's History of the United States. 

 

Howard Zinn-- (author of the textbook now popular A People's History of the United States)- 

A People’s History of the United States is a 700-page tome that covers the history of America from 1492 to the Iraq War. Zinn seeks to trace the history of “people’s struggles” against the rich and powerful. As he explains:

“We must not accept the memory of states as our own. Nations are not communities and never have been. The history of any country, presented as the history of a family, conceals fierce conflicts of interest (sometimes exploding, most often repressed) between conquerors and conquered, masters and slaves, capitalists and workers, dominators and dominated in race and sex. And in such a world of conflict, a world of victims and executioners, it is the job of thinking people, as Albert Camus suggested, not to be on the side of the executioners.”

From the website Defense of Marxism: A Marxist appraisal of Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States” by Guthrie Burnett-Tison18 January 2022. https://www.marxist.com/a-marxist-appraisal-of-howard-zinn-s-a-people-s-history-of-the-united-states.htm

This philosophy has invaded Mathematics as well. 

 

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OF MATHEMATICS--call for teachers to move away from the traditional emphasis on computational skills like multiplication tables and algorithms—a teaching method that university mathematicians still favor but that many K–12 math teachers dismiss as “drill and kill.” Teachers (particularly liberal and left-leaning teachers) who instead use a “constructivist” or “discovery-based” pedagogy, sometimes called “fuzzy math,” in which students learn mathematical concepts by trying to solve real-life problems, will see Gutstein’s social justice lessons on how military budgets for the war in Iraq deny poor Americans their fair share of resources as an advance beyond problems about baseball statistics, shopping, or building. (https://www.city-journal.org/html/ed-schools’-latest—and-worst—humbug-12948.html)


Remember when they speak of "integrated" curriculum they mean taught in every subject. So, if the district adopts a certain pet education, death education, sex education or conflict resolution curriculum, it is to be taught in every subject. And here it is in Math. 







The Association has decided they should teach sex education rather than the child’s parents. And sex education should begin in Kindergarten. They believe they are best equipped to teach character education as well as Social, Emotional Learning (SEL that Dr. James Lindsay calls, "a psychology based syringe to inject the Marxist theories." 

With these dark books it is little wonder child suicide has increased and little revolutionaries created. They themselves admit, violence is now greater in our schools, suicide is up, drugs are more frequently used, and yet they set themselves up as the cure. We see them and their agenda as the cause that must be quickly usurped. 



 

Please note that "Educators and health professionals must be qualified to teach in this area (qualified by whom?) and must be legally protected from censorship and lawsuits."  This means they are the single arbiter and not parents.


So they can do what they like with our children.


This is k-12. Planned Parenthood writes the sex education curriculum. Books like this advance an agenda through this Left Wing group that controls our schools, universities, and the Department of Education. The foreword for Queering Elementary Education: Advancing the Dialogue about Sexualities and Schooling was written by Kevin Jennings -- GLSEEN's (Gay Lesbian & Straight Education Network) founder who served as the Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education for the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools. He was recommended to Obama by Bill Ayers. According to their website, these were long-time partners in the education world: National Association of School Psychologists, Learning First Alliance, The National Association of Secondary School Principals, Council for Exceptional Children, Social Workers Association of America, and the American Federation of Teachers. 


C-12 Student Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Gender Expression

    The National Education Association believes that all persons, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, should be afforded equal opportunity and guaranteed a safe and inclusive environment within the public education system. The Association also believes a safe and inclusive environment ensures that all transgender students have access to the bathroom or locker of their choice and protects them from breaches of confidentiality. The Association believes that LGBTQ students have the right to privacy and confidentiality regarding their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Further, educators must respect these students and their choice of whether or not to reveal their orientation, identity, or expression. 

    The Association further believes that, for students who are struggling with their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, every school district and educational institution should provide counseling services and programs--staffed by trained personnel--that deal with high suicide and dropout rates and the high incidence of teen prostitution. The Association further believes that therapies designed to alter a student's orientation or identity are harmful to the emotional development of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, and questioning (LGBTQ+) students. Therefore, students should have access to gender affirming health care. 

    The Association believes that all transgender students should be able to use the bathroom or locker room of their choice.



What do they mean when they say students should have access to gender affirming health care? Do parents get to be involved in this "gender affirming" health care? Do these people support the mutilation of small children whom they have confused (gender dysphoria) with their "lessons"? Are they coming at innocent children during a time of their natural development when they  prefer playing  with children of their own sex and confuse them into thinking this is a "trans" issue? They admit to intentionally using constructivist methodology to create cognitive dissonance in children. 



Please note here that Constructivist teaching relies upon CREATING COGNITIVE DISSONANCE. Is it any wonder we have confused, often violent children BECAUSE of the constructivist methods and curriculum that is forced upon children at an inappropriate age? They know what they are doing. They WANT children to challenge the fixed beliefs of their parents. 



NEA C-47 Does this mean that a boy who decides he is a girl can compete with the girls? Just make sure the funding is there. 

V.  Solution? 

    a. Pass legislation barring the National Education Association and the Alabama Education Association members from using taxpayer funded buildings. Bar taxpayer funded book keepers from payroll deductions for Association dues or donation. Bar Association representatives from free access to the schools because their presence is in itself a form of intimidation to those who do not want to join.  Legislate certification for teachers that will bypass the influence of the NEA and AEA through their certification controls.  

    b. Remember the old adage: Those who can -do, those who can't- teach, those who can't teach- teach teachers. We must return to the traditional teacher directed classes with the old knowledge in content areas using teacher directed methods that got us to the moon. (in contrast the guide on the side using inferential methods, thematic instruction, reinstitute drill and repetition as accepted methods, especially in math, and systematic, intensive, direct and early phonics instruction.)

 

Please notice that traditional grades were objective. the Standards-based grading is extremely subjective. 

 What was it we had before this misguided union gained control of our schools and the minds of our children?

PAIDEIA--Paideia, a Greek word that means both instruction and enculturation, was invented by the ancient Athenians who knew that they could not preserve their democracy without passing down their culture to morally self-regulating citizens who could think logically and act nobly. 


WESTERN CHRISTIAN PAIDEIA (WCP)--The Greeks accomplished WCP through an educational system steeped in tradition that shaped its pupils in accordance with universal standards of reason and virtue.

“Paideia, simply defined,” Pete Hegseth explains, “represents the deeply seated affections, thinking, viewpoints, and virtues embedded in children at a young age, or, more simply, the rearing, molding, and education of a child.” On the basis of this paideia, the Western world established a “vision of ‘the good life’ [that] went virtually unchanged and unchallenged for centuries. It was tied to traditional families, church, communities, industriousness, and a virtuous population.” It was that vision, and the WCP on which it was founded and sustained, that the progressives systematically rooted out of American schools. (Battle for the American Mind)


CLASSICAL VIRTUE--Virtue, properly understood, is rooted in the affections of a person as they align to God’s affections.”

 

This is what made America the shining light upon the hill that still beckons immigrants from around the world. But that light it is fading fast and must be reclaimed. 

Either provide parents the funds to send their children to the school of their choice unencumbered by federal regulations instituted by the National Education Association and their minions, or radically change public education and teacher training. We must defund the National Education Association/Alabama Education Association throughout Alabama and the nation. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment

I would love to hear from you!