The Manchester school district, in conjunction with Manchester Proud and 2Revolutions, created “detailed central office staff action plans that helped lay out key next steps to realizing the vision and provided an aspirational, yet realistic, path forward.
In the end, we celebrated the launch of a true community-driven strategic plan with hundreds of participants at a supportive and joyful school board meeting, where the plan was formally adopted in late February of 2020.” You can read that report here.
Superintendent Goldhardt, who is now leaving for greener pastures, gave this report his full support.
Why did he sign on to a plan that was developed by one of the most extreme Marxist organizations pushing the radicalized Critical Race Theory? That’s not the kind of leadership Manchester students needed. They needed someone who will work to help children succeed academically. And if children need extra support, he is required to address that too.
The people who’ve had the most influence in the district, have failed these children. Dr. Goldhardt came along and facilitated this failure. Good luck to the families in whatever district he is hired in next.
In the article, “Goldhardt issues response on diversity training right-to-know requests,” there is more you should know about the whiteness training for staff.
Go to the article then click on: Learning for Justice: What is White Privilege Really. Then look for frameworks (at the very top of the page) and click on critical practices. Then download the document CRITICAL PRACTICES.
It first starts by talking about how SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL learning will be the vehicle for anti-racist education in the classroom. That means that your children and teachers will be blamed and shamed for what slave owners did, and for the color of their skin. That’s what anti-racism is all about. Critical Race Theory comes under the Umbrella of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice.
There is a list of social justice standards on page 23. For example, your child must exhibit these attitudes/values/beliefs in order to receive a passing grade. They will be graded by using competencies which will eventually become digital badges. Grading academics is an objective practice, but when grading your child on their racial attitudes and values, subjective grading is necessary. This kind of competency-based grading is not necessary since there is no law requiring it. School administrators shift to competency-based grading because it’s hard to grade your child’s values using objective measures.
The Common Core English/LA standards are also referenced, which is why you may see this anti-racist (CRT) agenda included in the curriculum.
On page 3 under INSTRUCTION, they begin with a description of Critical Engagement. They reference the writings of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, one of the leading Marxists in education.
In the book Freire authored, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, he argues that oppressed people can regain their humanity if the movement is led by the oppressed people. He blames capitalism for inequality and injustice. (https://www.marxists.org/subject/education/freire/pedagogy/)
But in this piece, Paulo Freire’s Mao Problem How Social Justice’s favorite educational theorist defended one of history’s most oppressive regimes; the author exposes Freire, for not just ignoring the horrors of tyrannical regimes, but defending them. ( https://medium.com/@arta.khakpour ) No where in Critical Practices for Anti-Bias Education, will you see any of that mentioned. This leaves the reader again, to believe that Freire is some kind of folk hero that should have an influence on educators.
CONNECTION TO ANTI-BIAS EDUCATION
Teaching critical engagement supports three of the four anti-bias domains: Identity, Justice and Action.
Identity becomes part of the classroom experience. In this new approach to learning, knowledge and literacy in the core subjects become less important, and breaking down your child’s identity, in order to change it to what they believe are the proper attitudes and values, becomes the main focus. That is why you will see teachers using the classics as assigned books, but then within the lesson, there is a focus on your child’s identity. Self-reflection begins so that they can then begin to change your child’s values. Read more about the push for identity authoritarianism here.
Open-Ended and Higher-Order Questions The questions teachers ask profoundly shape learning. Critical engagement requires open-ended inquiries for which there is no single “right” answer.
This is similar to the focus on moral relativism practiced in classrooms years ago. This is an attempt to break down your child’s values where there is no universal or absolute set of moral principles. It’s a version of morality that advocates “to each her own,” and those who follow it say, “Who am I to judge?” (https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary/moral-relativism ) All of this is a lesson in breaking down the values that your have instilled in your children in an effort to indoctrinate them with a new worldview.
Students should be asked to form and defend their opinions about the meaning of complex texts and social realities. Open-ended questions are prompts like “Which of the rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights do you think are most important and why?” as opposed to “Which five rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are focused on economic issues?” The second question only asks students to memorize and recall. While close and critical reading requires students to ask and answer text-dependent questions, it is important that those questions also promote discussion, stimulate student thinking and allow students to hypothesize, speculate and share ideas.
Parents do not send their kids to school so the teacher can break down their value system, judge it, or challenge it. But that’s exactly what they are doing. It’s also interesting that they reference the UDHR in this reference. The UDHR also says in Article 29: These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Our freedom does not come from the United Nations, but from our Creator as indicated in the Declaration of Independence. This statement in the UDHR is a direct contradiction to the values put forth by our founding fathers who identified our Creator as the bearer of individual rights, and those rights cannot be infringed upon.
Project-Based Learning Project-based learning involves the use of performance-driven projects rather than simple “lecture, drill and test” practices.
They even go so far as to tell teachers how to teach in the classroom via PBL. PBL as a pedagogy used by teachers can become problematic in many ways. First it can reduce learning when the teacher becomes a facilitator versus an instructor. Group learning can become chaotic making it even more difficult to learn the academic content. Students report that they see the most motivated student end up doing the work for the rest of the group. Parents complain that they don’t want their kids learning the content from other students. Often times they are not learning the facts. It can slow down the learning process over the year, etc.
The document goes on to push more of the fads we’ve seen fail in public education versus looking for ways to improve academic achievement or literacy in the core subjects.
5. Values-Based Assessment, Evaluation, and Grading
DESCRIPTION
How can a system of classroom evaluation, assessment and grading instill values such as equity, collaboration, justice and respect for diversity? Teachers can reflect on this question and the list below as they align their own evaluation and grading policies with classroom, school and community priorities.
Here are some questions to consider in evaluating student progress:
• How can we be sure our systems of evaluation promote success for all students rather than fostering competition?
How can they be sure their system of “evaluation” promotes success for all students rather than fostering competition? There are no guaranteed outcomes, unless forced. In a system where content knowledge (literacy) in a subject should be the main focus and evaluated in an objective way, how can a teacher accomplish this when they are faced with students who may put forth little or no effort? Let’s face it, students may not always work as hard as other students. Some of this responsibility should also fall on the parents and the student.
7. Thoughtful Classroom Setup and Structure
DESCRIPTION
Without saying a word, classrooms send messages about diversity, relationship building, communication and the roles of teachers and students. Consider the different messages sent by these two classrooms:
Classroom 1
Desks are arranged in a U shape. The teacher’s desk is in the front center of the room. On the wall is a poster of U.S. presidents, a copy of the Declaration of Independence and inspiring quotes from Winston Churchill, Robert F. Kennedy and Albert Einstein. Students are working quietly on an independent assignment.
Classroom 2
Desks are arranged in clusters of four with students facing one another. The teacher’s desk is in the back corner of the room. On the wall is a display of student self-portraits, a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and inspiring quotes from Maya Angelou, Aung San Suu Kyi and César Chávez. Students are working with their tablemates on a group project.
More PBL, less instruction from the teacher is conveyed in this description. To the point where students are clustered in groups of four. UDHR is again promoted as a document to be hung in the classroom versus the Declaration of Independence.
Classroom setup should be student centered.
Student-centered versus teacher-centered. Once again, this removes the local stakeholders from deciding how the classroom will be set up.
Restorative Justice is an approach to school discipline (and criminal justice) that emphasizes repairing harm and restoring relationships rather than simply punishing those who have engaged in misconduct. Restorative justice spans a wide variety of practices and strategies, including peacemaking circles, peer jury processes, mediation, conferencing and classroom discussions focused on building empathy.
While an apology may be in order, there are times when consequences are necessary.
While there may be some positive suggestions, this deserves scrutiny. For instance, at the end, there are a set of standards k-12 in Social Justice Standards and Domain. When standards are set, they will be assessed.
What becomes of their assessed views on diversity? For instance, the Identity Standards require students to “develop language and historical and cultural knowledge that affirm and accurately describe their membership in multiple identity groups. (P23)
Would this compel a student to call a biological boy a female? Or compel them to use other terms that might conflict with their religious vies or even biological scientific facts?
There is a focus on identities of students in the K-2 anchor standards.
Today I participated in a zoom call with Manchester parents and teachers who are questioning the validity of removing leveling from the district. Leveling helps meet students where they are academically but others will argue that it’s not equitable. There are no equal outcomes when everyone is on different levels.
If, however, you remove the levels, then those who are ahead are forced to slow down. Those who are behind may also struggle because they are not prepared for what they will be covering. Either way, de-leveling hurts those at the top and bottom but ensures equal outcomes. That’s an equity approach to learning that helps no one. No one really benefits from this change, it just makes Marxists feel good that everyone is forced to perform at the same level.
To those who are wondering what to do about Manchester’s problems, look no further than yourself. What are you doing to call attention to the numerous organizations that are doing nothing to help your students in terms of academic achievement and literacy? Why is no one questioning all of the participation from Manchester Proud that has ignored this focus on Marxist agendas versus an agenda focused on literacy?
Marxists do not care about your kids. They care about their political agenda.
Elect to your school board and hire a Superintendent that understands that quality and opportunity can help your underprivileged students perform better. Meet your students where they are at. If they cannot speak English, teach them the language. If your children do not know how to read and write, go back to the basics. Basic math has never failed us, go back to the basics.
Get these toxic Marxists out of the school system and look for people who prioritize academic achievement over those who push political agendas. No matter what side of the fence you sit on, basic math can and should be taught to mastery.
Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards set your children up for failure. Especially if they are immigrants who struggle with language. When you want to hear how, I will be happy to explain that. For now, Manchester is full of Marxist ideology, and until that changes, expect more of the same.
