If you have not read Part 1 of the disaster in the Merrimack schools, you can read that here. You will learn why Merrimack residents are pushing back on the school budget along with the poor quality of academics. It is a good preface for looking at the other problems in the district.
Merrimack has been using poor-quality curriculum, and teaching methods in the classroom for a while. Chaotic classrooms are becoming bigger problems for teachers who now have to manage the chaos. Many teachers report that they do not get the kind of support from administrators as they’d like. Keene teachers fled their public school a couple of years ago because of the behavior problems among the student population. Classrooms are no longer teacher-led, but instead they are student-led. That means more group learning, project based learning, and anything else to marginalize the importance of a teacher.
With all of the behavior problems in public schools, administrators now buy Social and Emotional Learning programs. Maybe if they didn’t create the chaos, they wouldn’t be having all of these behavior problems to begin with.
The OpenSciEd program administrators chose for Merrimack included an anti-racist (Critical Race Theory) statement. So what did Merrimack administrators chose for their SEL program?
Second Step
Second Step is an SEL vendor known for promoting political ideologies in its SEL curricula. Second Step states on its website that the organization is “committed to addressing racial injustice and helping you drive real change in your school communities.” The organization also provides resources for educators to implement equity into the classroom. Two of the resources that Second Step has offered are called “Talking to Kids About Racial Identity” and “Starting in the Classroom.”
One has to wonder what the real agenda is in Merrimack. The Superintendent says one thing, but when you look at the programs they are choosing, it says another.
What’s really going on? Here is what was on the Second Step Website:
Corpus Christi schools paid $70,000 for this SEL radical political agenda for their students. I’m not sure how much Merrimack residents paid. That would be a good question for the district administrators.
This might be a good time to remind everyone what Condoleeza Rice said about CRT in the schools when she was onThe View:
With all of the denials coming from the Superintendent, this sure makes you wonder what’s really going on in Merrimack. Not only are they proving they are willing to spend tax dollars on poor quality science curricula, now they are willing to use tax dollars on an SEL program immersed in Critical Race Theory.
Up Next: Don’t miss part 3. If you think this is bad, just wait until you see what Merrimack administrators chose for their English Language Arts program.
(Resource: Parents Defending Education)
