If governor signs bill, parents can't opt their children out of being forced to watch sex education video

[RDKirk]

I'll put true charity down on my list of things that aren't the province of Christians/Christianity. If you only do it to "promote God" then is it really charity or just an investment in propagation of your religion?

It can be argued that there is no such thing as true altruism (and most philosophers will make that argument) just as it can be argued there is no such thing as free will (and most philosophers will make that argument as well).

 

[RDKirk]

That's the question, isn't it? What I hear from you is what I hear from many conservatives--that public school students are being taught that white people are inherently and permanently racist. Maybe you are right and it is going on, but it is certainly not happening in schools around me and is not to be found in the curriculum.

That you know of.

 

[rjs330]

Who would be opposed to this video if it was more pinpoint accurate regarding the time and development of the fetus?

 

[RDKirk]

Correct, not all who drink will become alcoholic. However a higher percentage do in relation to society as a whole. It is a thorny problem a shaman friend of mine has been grappling with. His worries are less related directly to alcohol but with the root cause of despair on the reservation and how it leads to drug abuse and suicide. His solution was to start an outreach program that had both economic and drug/alcohol awareness programs. These are obviously just ideas but things along these lines are what I am talking about.

So are you saying something should be done about this as public policy, or is it enough just to give them our thoughts and prayers?

Why do you keep going to laws? As I have repeatedly stated I think everyone should be treated equally under the law.

I keep going to laws because if you expect government action, that requires laws. Congress passes a bill that something should happen and the president makes it happen. The government does nothing without laws being passed. But if our thoughts are prayers are sufficient, or if you're talking about action only by private entities, okay.

Of course they do not. What they DO have is circumstances that lead to statistical significant differences in outcome. Those are not myths and phantoms. They DO exist.

But the idea that they happen in accordance with skin color is a myth.

So you keep saying but I'm not buying it. As you state I need to read the literature for myself but I have a hard time believing your claims in this area.

You can gain enough insight just from the Critical Theory entry in Wikipedia.

 

[rjs330]

That you know of.

That's true. Unless you have a child in school AND you are diligent in reviewing the schools curriculum and lesson plans you may not have any idea. The only reason parents b came aware of this was when they actually saw what the kids were being taught.

You know it's a shame that parents have to do that. There was a time when that wasn't necessary.

 

[Ana the Ist]

Governor poised to sign law making kids watch animated fetal videos​

In Tennessee, whether parents like it or not, Republican Gov. Bill Lee is poised to sign a law that will make public school children watch an animated video on fetal development backed by an anti-abortion group, or some equivalent of it, after lawmakers in the state vaulted the legislation to passage.

Among other features in the video, it depicts sperm fertilizing an ovum and it is here that it declares: “This is the moment that life begins. A new human being has come into existence.” The animated video states that a fetus can recognize lullabies in the womb and depicts a purported fetus at 27 weeks gazing through a translucent womb while pressing its fingers against it. The shadow of the mother’s fingers press back.

The 3-minute video is riddled with disinformation, according to the [American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists]

According to The Tennessean, Republican lawmakers in the state’s senate rejected Democratic-led amendments that would have made watching the clip optional for students instead of mandatory. Another amendment that would have stopped schools from showing it without explicit consent from a parent or guardian was also voted down by Republicans.

Parents' Rights!

Well...I know I told people on here it was a bad idea to allow indoctrination in public schools.

I was saying it back when CRT was being pushed and little kids were being told they had white privilege and it was unfair.

I was saying it when teachers were telling little boys they can be girls and vice versa and they'd hide it from their parents.

I was saying it when they called the 1619 Project "accurate history"...

What's the objection here? One school is teaching Sex Ed? It sounds like the big objection is....

Medical experts have slammed the video as pro-life propaganda, failing to accurately describe or display the process in which an embryo develops into a fetus and then to an infant. In one segment of the video, just as an egg is being fertilized, a narrator ‘s voice announces: “This is the moment life begins.”
This is not a medical fact. Sperm must fertilize an ovum and then that fertilized ovum, or egg, must implant itself into uterine lining.
If they showed the fertilized egg attach to the uterine wall....the "medical experts" would be OK with it?

 

[rjs330]

Well...I know I told people on here it was a bad idea to allow indoctrination in public schools.

I was saying it back when CRT was being pushed and little kids were being told they had white privilege and it was unfair.

I was saying it when teachers were telling little boys they can be girls and vice versa and they'd hide it from their parents.

I was saying it when they called the 1619 Project "accurate history"...

What's the objection here? One school is teaching Sex Ed? It sounds like the big objection is....

Medical experts have slammed the video as pro-life propaganda, failing to accurately describe or display the process in which an embryo develops into a fetus and then to an infant. In one segment of the video, just as an egg is being fertilized, a narrator ‘s voice announces: “This is the moment life begins.”
This is not a medical fact. Sperm must fertilize an ovum and then that fertilized ovum, or egg, must implant itself into uterine lining.
If they showed the fertilized egg attach to the uterine wall....the "medical experts" would be OK with it?

I noticed that. It seems that the experts were very concerned over some of the most minor details. That's why I asked if everyone would be okay with this is these minor things were taken care of. So far I haven't heard from anyone regarding this. Which makes me think it's these things are not really what they are concerned about.

 

[Ana the Ist]

We can look at how scholars describe it.
While your complaint is focused on points 2 and 4 (I think), point 3 is clear.

Race, racism, and mental health: elaboration of critical race theory's contribution to the sociology of mental health​

In a recent paper challenging sociologists who study mental health to think about racism as a
cause of unique mental health problems, I listed five tenets that undergird critical race theory
research, methods, and pedagogy (Brown, 2003, p. 294): (1) racial stratification is ordinary, ubiq-
uitous, and reproduced in mundane and extraordinary customs and experience, and critically
impacts the lifestyles and life chances of racial groups; (2) the race problem is difficult to compre-
hend and possibly impossible to remedy because claims of objectivity and meritocracy camou-
flage the self-interest, power, and privilege of Whites; (3) races are categories that society
invents, manipulates, and recreates; (4) Blacks and other subordinated groups are competently
able to communicate and explain the meaning and consequences of racial stratification because
they are oppressed, and thus their experiential knowledge is legitimate and appropriate; and (5)
beyond academic or purely scientific advances, critical race theorists should seek to propagate
social justice. Invoking these tenets, I now expose five weaknesses in the sociology of mental
health literature.

From the abstract....

"critical race theory explains how racism determines lifestyles and life chances. "

I wish I could say that is simply a poor choice of words, but the word "determines" in that statement is deliberate....not accidental. Critical race theory posits an idea that racism is so powerful it determines lifestyles and opportunities. It doesn't merely impact them.....it determines them.

Claims of meritocracy and objectivity are another dead giveaway here.

Meritocracy is a word so distorted by CRT it means something entirely different from meritocracy. We've actually been lucky enough to watch what happens when merit I'd disregarded in favor of race-based favoritism. Claudine Gay is an excellent example of the folly of surrendering authority and power to someone based on race....not merit. Had Claudine's "research" been genuine and not plagiarized....she would have merited a 1st year tenured professor position at a lesser college than Harvard. Instead, she was placed in charge of the entire university. One of her first actions as president of Harvard was to fire one of the most accredited and meritorious black professors on staff. This is typical in DEI programs as a minority gains a position of authority and power simply for being a minority....they are easily replaced and any exceptional or meritorious minorities must be removed for job security. From DA James, to DA Fani Willis, to Justice Jackson and my favorite.....this administration's head of the FED.....

Lisa Cook is Unqualified for the Federal Reserve Board

"It’s time to end mandate drift once and for all. We need qualified nominees who understand the proper role of monetary policy. Unfortunately, Dr. Cook falls short on both counts." ~ Alexander William Salter

www.aier.org

444
Lisa Cook doesn't understand macroeconomic trends....or just some of its principles. This is the person in charge of interest rates, printing money, and dealing with inflation. This also appears to be a woman handed a lot of authority and power and despite lacking any real merit.

Here's a professor who went viral for basic rational thought and critical thinking explaining why DEI lowers standards....instead of providing opportunities to qualified minorities.

 

[BCP1928]

That you know of.

Yes, hence my question, how much is it actually happening? I don't know.

That's true. Unless you have a child in school AND you are diligent in reviewing the schools curriculum and lesson plans you may not have any idea. The only reason parents b came aware of this was when they actually saw what the kids were being taught.

You know it's a shame that parents have to do that. There was a time when that wasn't necessary.

There never was a time when it wasn't necessary.

 

[RDKirk]

There never was a time when it wasn't necessary.

My first grade teacher was my mother's best friend. My elementary school principal was my Sunday School superinetendent. One of the school music teachers was organist in my church, the other played piano in the Baptist church down the street.

When I was a kid, our teachers lived in our neighborhood. They were friends with our parents, members of our churches. They socialized with our parents. Played bid whisk with our parents. They hared the same social values and the same intentions for the children of the neighborhood with our parents.

That was a time it wasn't necessary.

 

[BCP1928]

My first grade teacher was my mother's best friend. My elementary school principal was my Sunday School superinetendent. One of the school music teachers was organist in my church, the other played piano in the Baptist church down the street.

When I was a kid, our teachers lived in our neighborhood. They were friends with our parents, members of our churches. They socialized with our parents. Played bid whisk with our parents. They hared the same social values and the same intentions for the children of the neighborhood with our parents.

That was a time it wasn't necessary.

Sure, and it's like that in many places even now. But if you think that it's OK to be ignorant of your kids' school curriculum as long as their social values aren't being challenged, then maybe they deserve to be challenged. So how much "CRT" is actually being taught? In how many school districts across the country is it part of the curriculum to explicitly teach that white people are inherently and permanently racist?

 

[essentialsaltes]

Who would be opposed to this video if it was more pinpoint accurate regarding the time and development of the fetus?

If it were deglurged and medically accurate, it would meet the standard of the existing education code.

 

[RDKirk]

Sure, and it's like that in many places even now. But if you think that it's OK to be ignorant of your kids' school curriculum as long as their social values aren't being challenged, then maybe they deserve to be challenged. So how much "CRT" is actually being taught? In how many school districts across the country is it part of the curriculum to explicitly teach that white people are inherently and permanently racist?

Are you implying that a harmful practice need be challenged only when it applies to some arbitrarily large enough percentage of the population?

That goes both ways, you know.

 

[BCP1928]

Are you implying that a harmful practice need be challenged only when it applies to some arbitrarily large enough percentage of the population?

That goes both ways, you know.

No, I'm just asking a question. If any number of children are being explicitly taught that white people are inherently and permanently racist it's a problem. In order to solve such a problem it is necessary to know how widespread it is.

 

[Ana the Ist]

I noticed that. It seems that the experts were very concerned over some of the most minor details. That's why I asked if everyone would be okay with this is these minor things were taken care of. So far I haven't heard from anyone regarding this. Which makes me think it's these things are not really what they are concerned about.

They simply want to silence dissent.

They believe "dominant narratives" are always dominant through repetition and silencing opposition.

 

[Ana the Ist]

Thank you both. I did a little bit of digging based off your responses. Here is what I found for CRT:

What Is Critical Race Theory, and Why Is It Under Attack?

Here's what you need to understand about the academic concept—and how it's portrayed in political circles.

www.edweek.org

As best I can tell from this source, CRT is used more at a meta level in schools to look at segregation and other high level racial issues. What is being used with the students falls more in line with cultural relevant teaching techniques and is used to try to ensure students of color have the same learning environment as other students.

Would you disagree with this assessment?

When I get a minute I'll try to track down a good source on DEI.

Culturally relevant teaching is CRT.

Gloria Ladson-Billings created "culturally relevant teaching" as a means of adapting Critical Race Theory into the classroom.

Neither Culturally Relevant Teaching nor CRT are fact-based.....instead both reject the concept of objective truth/reality as something the "white man" uses to oppress others.

 

[Ana the Ist]

I think what's being described as "culturally relevant teaching" isn't CRT, but there is a degree in overlap with regards to some of the underlying ideas.


Critical Race Theory (based on the ideas of Derrick Bell) could be summarized as follows (Reader's Digest Version)
Racism is baked into all of the institutions of the US, and any proposed "neutral system" is just a guise for racial power since the aforementioned institutions were structured around white people, so any approach that upholds those existing institutions is still racism.

For example, Derrick Bell opposed the Brown v. Board of Education ruling for reasons of (I'm paraphrasing) "removing barriers that prevented black people from being able to participate in the institution, is still racism because that institution was still tailored to white people, so allowing black people easier access to a white-centric institution isn't solving the problem"

What that idea boils down to, in practical terms, is the theory that any system/institution in which you can find a disparity in outcomes between white people and black people, is due to the fact that those systems were designed for white people.

So when schools propose things like lowering grading thresholds, or having different sets of standards for different demographics to alleviate disparity in outcomes... the are, in essence, employing ideas that are an outgrowth of CRT. (even though it's not through direct teaching methods)

But some actually are employing a more direct method of teaching some of those ideas.

GR - Middle Grades | Are.na

Are.na is a platform for connecting ideas and building knowledge

www.are.na

GR - High School | Are.na

Are.na is a platform for connecting ideas and building knowledge

www.are.na

Like I noted before, there are cities implementing these in their curriculums (like Seattle and NYC...I'm sure there are others), and these recommended reading lists actually contain things from The 1619 project and some of the works of Derrick Bell.


So when people say "They're teaching CRT in schools", the defense of "No they're not, that's a college level course, nobody's teaching that", it's a bit of a semantics game... They may not be teaching the full in-depth college level content, but they're certainly conveying some of the ideas that are a subset of the subject.


Another analogy... Political Science and the study of the various political positions isn't (at least not any in-depth version) taught in middle schools. However, if a middle school civics teacher was adding books by Ayn Rand and Ludwig von Mises to the reading list, one could certainly say they're delving into that topic a bit, and injecting a certain viewpoint into it... and it would certainly be understandable if some of the parents accurately identified that there was a "pro-libertarian viewpoint" being promoted.

The State of Critical Race Theory in Education

The pioneer of critical race theory in education discusses the current politicization and tension around teaching about race in the classroom.

www.gse.harvard.edu

That's Gloria Ladson Billings....prominent Critical Race Theorist.

Editorial Introduction – Culturally Relevant Teaching — XChange – UCLA Center X

centerx.gseis.ucla.edu

To that end, this issue of XChange addresses one of the approaches to teaching that is concerned with meeting the needs of culturally diverse students—culturally relevant teaching. Educational theorist Gloria Ladson-Billings (1994) coined the term in the mid-1990’s and described it as “a pedagogy that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes.” (pp.17-18)*.

Hiding CRT (a political dogma) in the classroom has resulted in several name changes like...culturally relevant teaching, or social-emotional learning.

 

[BCP1928]

The State of Critical Race Theory in Education

The pioneer of critical race theory in education discusses the current politicization and tension around teaching about race in the classroom.

www.gse.harvard.edu

That's Gloria Ladson Billings....prominent Critical Race Theorist.

Editorial Introduction – Culturally Relevant Teaching — XChange – UCLA Center X

centerx.gseis.ucla.edu

To that end, this issue of XChange addresses one of the approaches to teaching that is concerned with meeting the needs of culturally diverse students—culturally relevant teaching. Educational theorist Gloria Ladson-Billings (1994) coined the term in the mid-1990’s and described it as “a pedagogy that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes.” (pp.17-18)*.

Hiding CRT (a political dogma) in the classroom has resulted in several name changes like...culturally relevant teaching, or social-emotional learning.

Can you point out the parts of that link which you find particularly objectionable? How do you think that the cultural diversity of students should be handled?

 

[RDKirk]

Can you point out the parts of that link which you find particularly objectionable? How do you think that the cultural diversity of students should be handled?

It doesn't need to be "handled."

Do you think the needs of all non-white students need to be "handled" in the same way? Or is there going to be a different program for each ethnic group...in a "diverse" classroom?

 

[BCP1928]

It doesn't need to be "handled."

Do you think the needs of all non-white students need to be "handled" in the same way? Or is there going to be a different program for each ethnic group...in a "diverse" classroom?

I don't see anything of the kind in that link. In fact, all I see is the usual feel-good edubabble. Why do you think it's sinister? That is an honest question, not a rhetorical ploy. An honest response would be appreciated, rather than a sneering counter-question.