Education

[Archy1221]

It is unfortunate that this happens in todays age where universities still allow race to dictate so much of who gets accepted into the elite universities.  
 

 

[nic]

On 2/25/2023 at 9:59 AM, Ulty said:

 

How exactly do you define "woke"?

Good question. I have been waiting for my boys to have teacher that discusses a lot of the current cultural trends or is politically vocal on the left. She addresses the kids as those identifying as men or women and said she treats everyone the same and is very inclusive.  Then she mentioned that the readings for the term were not going to be traditional American literature because that is dominated by white misogynistic men. He said she often takes good conversations and injects politics into them. In one example, my son was telling her about the refugees our family has helped settle in the US, and she diverted into talking about how the US border policies are too restrictive and the US need to let people across more freely. He said she tends to divert into political discussions frequently. I have been asking about what stories she has them read. He noted that in the last 6 short stories the main character committed suicide in 4 of them which he felt were odd choices since suicide is a sensitive topic. In one book, the main characters young daughter had her first babysitting job and ended up getting molested by the father of that family while being driven home. He is a senior taking a college level lit class, so I am not bothered by the content as long as the event was portrayed as a bad thing versus maybe trying to normalize it. In my other sons class she is having them write a paper on human rights and the students get to pick what to write about. She was disappointed when no one picked trans rights and strongly encourage someone to do so. No one did. In general they both feel she is nice person. 
 

given all the angst in the media about CRT being taught in schools, the sexualization of kids, books being banned, etc,…it’s interesting to me to monitor a couple classes where my boys have a politically active teacher. I asked my kid to get me name of the short stories so I can read them. To be fair, I have had a number of discussions with my boys when I discovered or heard about events that I felt were racist or chauvinistic as well,…or if someone was simply getting treated poorly.

[NM11046]

So do you have twins Nic?

 

I'd love it if you could share the reading list when you get it.

[BigRedBuster]

6 hours ago, nic said:

Good question. I have been waiting for my boys to have teacher that discusses a lot of the current cultural trends or is politically vocal on the left. She addresses the kids as those identifying as men or women and said she treats everyone the same and is very inclusive.  Then she mentioned that the readings for the term were not going to be traditional American literature because that is dominated by white misogynistic men. He said she often takes good conversations and injects politics into them. In one example, my son was telling her about the refugees our family has helped settle in the US, and she diverted into talking about how the US border policies are too restrictive and the US need to let people across more freely. He said she tends to divert into political discussions frequently. I have been asking about what stories she has them read. He noted that in the last 6 short stories the main character committed suicide in 4 of them which he felt were odd choices since suicide is a sensitive topic. In one book, the main characters young daughter had her first babysitting job and ended up getting molested by the father of that family while being driven home. He is a senior taking a college level lit class, so I am not bothered by the content as long as the event was portrayed as a bad thing versus maybe trying to normalize it. In my other sons class she is having them write a paper on human rights and the students get to pick what to write about. She was disappointed when no one picked trans rights and strongly encourage someone to do so. No one did. In general they both feel she is nice person. 
 

given all the angst in the media about CRT being taught in schools, the sexualization of kids, books being banned, etc,…it’s interesting to me to monitor a couple classes where my boys have a politically active teacher. I asked my kid to get me name of the short stories so I can read them. To be fair, I have had a number of discussions with my boys when I discovered or heard about events that I felt were racist or chauvinistic as well,…or if someone was simply getting treated poorly.

Sounds like a nice person that’s a bit loony.  
 

I wouldn’t have a problem with my kids having a teacher like this. It gives me a chance to talk to them about people like that and issues.  They get exposed to those views ….which I don’t see as necessarily a bad thing.  
 

Interestingly, my kid’s HS English/ literature teacher was similar. I don’t think he “converted” anyone to anything “bad”.

 

But, I’m one who believes education is where people should be exposed to different types of people and learn from them.  
 

I know that’s too woke for some people.  

[Ulty]

8 hours ago, nic said:

Good question. I have been waiting for my boys to have teacher that discusses a lot of the current cultural trends or is politically vocal on the left. She addresses the kids as those identifying as men or women and said she treats everyone the same and is very inclusive.  Then she mentioned that the readings for the term were not going to be traditional American literature because that is dominated by white misogynistic men. He said she often takes good conversations and injects politics into them. In one example, my son was telling her about the refugees our family has helped settle in the US, and she diverted into talking about how the US border policies are too restrictive and the US need to let people across more freely. He said she tends to divert into political discussions frequently. I have been asking about what stories she has them read. He noted that in the last 6 short stories the main character committed suicide in 4 of them which he felt were odd choices since suicide is a sensitive topic. In one book, the main characters young daughter had her first babysitting job and ended up getting molested by the father of that family while being driven home. He is a senior taking a college level lit class, so I am not bothered by the content as long as the event was portrayed as a bad thing versus maybe trying to normalize it. In my other sons class she is having them write a paper on human rights and the students get to pick what to write about. She was disappointed when no one picked trans rights and strongly encourage someone to do so. No one did. In general they both feel she is nice person. 
 

given all the angst in the media about CRT being taught in schools, the sexualization of kids, books being banned, etc,…it’s interesting to me to monitor a couple classes where my boys have a politically active teacher. I asked my kid to get me name of the short stories so I can read them. To be fair, I have had a number of discussions with my boys when I discovered or heard about events that I felt were racist or chauvinistic as well,…or if someone was simply getting treated poorly.

This does not seem atypical for a college professor. Probably a little full of herself. Probably goes a bit too far in asserting her own political views but might be outraged if someone else said something that opposed her (pure speculation, not everyone is like this). However, I believe that introducing diverse viewpoints and seeking inclusivity is not necessarily political and actually should be a goal in the classroom.

 

Thanks for sharing the info, but how do you define “woke”?

 

[teachercd]

2 hours ago, BigRedBuster said:

Sounds like a nice person that’s a bit loony.  
 

I wouldn’t have a problem with my kids having a teacher like this. It gives me a chance to talk to them about people like that and issues.  They get exposed to those views ….which I don’t see as necessarily a bad thing.  
 

Interestingly, my kid’s HS English/ literature teacher was similar. I don’t think he “converted” anyone to anything “bad”.

 

But, I’m one who believes education is where people should be exposed to different types of people and learn from them.  
 

I know that’s too woke for some people.  

Yeah, I think that 99% of the time it is harmless stuff.  

[nic]

I agree with Whoopi! Looking for pigs flying by my window….

 

“The View" co-host Whoopi Goldberg slammed the re-editing of classic books on Monday and suggested putting disclaimers on the literature instead, adding, "this is how kids learn." 

"Look, y’all got to stop this. Just put a disclaimer that says, listen, this put was written at this time or put out the original and what y’all have done. Because kids should have the right to read how people thought so that they know how to make the change," Goldberg said.

[BigRedBuster]

27 minutes ago, nic said:

I agree with Whoopi! Looking for pigs flying by my window….

 

“The View" co-host Whoopi Goldberg slammed the re-editing of classic books on Monday and suggested putting disclaimers on the literature instead, adding, "this is how kids learn." 

"Look, y’all got to stop this. Just put a disclaimer that says, listen, this put was written at this time or put out the original and what y’all have done. Because kids should have the right to read how people thought so that they know how to make the change," Goldberg said.

Yes….it’s wrong. 

[knapplc]

Such strong "you've never met my girlfriend. She's from Canada" vibes.

[teachercd]

8 hours ago, knapplc said:

Such strong "you've never met my girlfriend. She's from Canada" vibes.

The Niagara Falls region!  She is a model! 

[Moiraine]

On 2/27/2023 at 7:55 PM, nic said:

I agree with Whoopi! Looking for pigs flying by my window….

 

“The View" co-host Whoopi Goldberg slammed the re-editing of classic books on Monday and suggested putting disclaimers on the literature instead, adding, "this is how kids learn." 

"Look, y’all got to stop this. Just put a disclaimer that says, listen, this put was written at this time or put out the original and what y’all have done. Because kids should have the right to read how people thought so that they know how to make the change," Goldberg said.

 

 

I felt the same way about blackface being edited out of an episode of The Office. There has to be room for stories to have commentary on s#!tty things. There has to be a place where people can talk about something to say it’s s#!tty. In this case it was made clear that the person wearing blackface was doing something wrong. I guess the only argument I can see for it is maybe it’s one thing that goes far enough that we want to remove it from memory altogether and have it only mentioned in museums. Dunno. 

[nic]

34 minutes ago, Moiraine said:

 

 

I felt the same way about blackface being edited out of an episode of The Office. There has to be room for stories to have commentary on s#!tty things. There has to be a place where people can talk about something to say it’s s#!tty. In this case it was made clear that the person wearing blackface was doing something wrong. I guess the only argument I can see for it is maybe it’s one thing that goes far enough that we want to remove it from memory altogether and have it only mentioned in museums. Dunno. 

Blazing Saddles. I can’t remember when I first saw it (college?), but I thought it was funny. Then my wife bought the DVD about 20 years ago. Still thought it was funny. When my boys hit high school they pulled it out and watched it. They pretty much had a shocked look on their face the entire time. Times change.

[nic]

On 2/27/2023 at 4:59 AM, BigRedBuster said:

Sounds like a nice person that’s a bit loony.  
 

I wouldn’t have a problem with my kids having a teacher like this. It gives me a chance to talk to them about people like that and issues.  They get exposed to those views ….which I don’t see as necessarily a bad thing.  
 

Interestingly, my kid’s HS English/ literature teacher was similar. I don’t think he “converted” anyone to anything “bad”.

 

But, I’m one who believes education is where people should be exposed to different types of people and learn from them.  
 

I know that’s too woke for some people.  

This is more about me watching a live example of the angst I see in the media about what our kids are being taught. She actually invested time teaching the kids how to read and think about literature, which was great. Critical thinking. My kids think she is a nice teacher. She seems to like them too. Probably because they both respectfully participate in class. I really don’t have any complaints watching from afar. The only complaint my kid has is that every short story they have read ends in death, and she bashes white men a lot. Little digs here and there.

[knapplc]

That happened.

[BigRedBuster]