Submitted by Pad Finnigan.
People with Marxist beliefs are infiltrating nearly all corners of American society. One well-known Marxist tool is so-called democratic-socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders who has written the $3.5 trillion federal spending bill now being debated in the Senate. If passed, it would turn America dramatically socialist, possibly irretrievably.
And the National Education Association (NEA), the largest teachers’ union in the country, is one of the largest financial backers of socialist causes and politicians around. It is a political powerhouse, another tool in the Marxists’ tool belts.
As Maxford Nelson, Director of Labor Policy at the Freedom Foundation, learned, the NEA’s interest is not entirely for the teachers or schools. Its neo-Marxist ideology makes it a major proponent of slavery reparations, defunding the police, banning voter ID requirements around the country and other social engineering ideas that have nothing to do with education. It’s first a political organization.
Of course, the NEA advocates strongly for Critical Race Theory. Nelson learned that in the union’s 2021 Representative Assembly, the leadership formally endorsed CRT. But they suddenly removed that record from their website, only to be discovered in archives by the Freedom Foundation.
In an August 24, 2021 paper, Nelson laid out the extreme stands the NEA takes on race and CRT in its “Racial Justice in Education Resource Guide”:
- Whites are privileged because of their race
- Being colorblind is racist
- Only whites can be racist
- Structural racism is everywhere
- Failure to take antiracist actions is racist
- The government must solve racism
In the final section of its Action Planning Guide, the NEA said fighting racism means supporting left-wing policies, including eliminating school resource officers, divesting from prisons, comprehensive immigration reform, defending Dreamers, support BLM actions, criminal re-enfranchisement and gerrymandering.
In Washington state, both the Washington Education Association (WEA) and the Clover Park Education Association (CPEA) are affiliates of the NEA and support and follow directions from above. They join teachers’ unions around the country in sending millions of dollars of teachers’ union dues to the NEA for political efforts. Both are Marxist tools too.
The WEA supported, and probably lobbied the Legislature and governor (Democrats among them get massive donations from teachers’ union dues money) to pass the law that recently required all teachers be educated on CRT concepts.
The Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Education (OSPI) is another Marxist tool that controls state education policy. It is in league with the three levels of teachers’ unions, national, state, and local. Its “Academic and Student Well-Being Recovery Plan Planning Guide 2021” says it will transform K-12 education “…by developing equity-base policies…” Read CRT. The Guide holds up as examples to emulate statements by several school districts about racism in their districts.
So, in summary, we know that critical race theory, also labeled as equity policies, comes from Marxist academics pursuing a socialist government. Their theory substituted racial divisions for class warfare as a step toward stoking a socialist revolution.
We know that all the education unions support CRT, and that the Clover Park School District is in business with the teachers’ union to employ all its teachers in accordance with their contract. The state Legislature, governor, and OSPI have each issued racially oriented directives to all school districts.
And like all the above proponents, the district ignores the true objective of the Marxists and is intent on installing racially-segregating-type policies into its curriculum without revealing any proof or data showing it will improve student academic learning.
It feels like we’re surrounded but we’re not beaten.
Concerned citizens of Lakewood need to stand up and strongly protest the district’s equity proposal. Attend the school board meeting at 6 p.m. on Sept. 13 and speak up. Community groups across the nation have done so and stopped similar measures before. We can too.
Then come November’s general election, change the makeup of the school board by voting for David Anderson and Jeff Brown.
I’ve read most all the letters and replies regarding this matter and I just can’t get my head around one thing, and that’s the correlation between declining test scores and CRT. If we’re indeed concerned about the instruction the students are receiving, how will CRT, if implemented, bring about improvement? Or not? Somebody help me out here.
Great question, Marty. It’s very logical, and one I asked the school board and superintendent a month ago. I attended a board meeting and was given three minutes to speak, like anyone who wishes to speak at their meetings. I asked them for data, science, or proof that the policy they wish to approve next Monday will improve students’ academic performance.
To date, only the president of the board, a fellow with your first name, is the only one to reply. He wrote that he asked the superintendent to answer my question. Apparently the board president could not provide an answer.
The superintendent still has not answered my question, your question, either. When/if he does, I’ll share it.
The district’s goal, hanging on the wall in the board room, is to provide the best education to every student so they can succeed in life (paraphrased). So you’d think that if that was the board’s driving ambition, they would have searched the universe for whatever has been shown to provide students the knowledge needed to excel academically. The answer our question should be on the tips of their tongues. You’d think that every board member and the superintendent would be eager to share the results of their previous research in search of higher academic performance, and could do so at the drop of a hat.
That the board president did not have an immediate answer is troubling. That the superintendent has taken a month to find an answer to our question is also troubling.
The full time employee hired by the school district to develop this equity policy explained it in a public board meeting some time ago. He said his intent was to develop the best equity policy in Washington. He’s obviously quite dedicated to this woke culture concept. But nowhere in my notes about his presentation do I find that he even attempted to answer our question; how do you know the equity policy will improve students’ academic achievements?
Mr. Finnigan.
1. Do you currently live in the Clover Park School District? Are you able to vote in our Lakewood School Board elections? I ask because you failed to answer the last time you were asked this question. You seem to be quite politically involved in our local school board elections so I think it is a fair question. You registered for Tacoma on David Anderson’s donor list. There are public records of addresses. Am I looking at a misprint?
If by chance you do reside in Tacoma, perhaps you should be attending the Tacoma School Board meetings and demanding their time and information?
2. Since you have a lot of time on your hands, you could spend some of it actually looking up the data on “engagement of students and how it impacts academic achievement.” It really isn’t too hard to find.
LOL- THIS GETS MORE LUDICROUS WITH EVERY POST MADE BY THIS PERSON. ONCE AGAIN WE HAVE A REPUBLICAN TRYING TO MAKE SOCIALISM SOUND LIKE IT’S COMMUNISM.I KNOW OF NO ONE THAT HAS SAID “ONLY WHITE PEOPLE CAN BE RACIST”. BUT I AGREE WITH THE STATEMENT THAT WE ARE PRIVILEGED…I HAVE BEEN WITH FRIENDS THAT HAVE BEEN ASKED TO LEAVE A PLACE SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY WERE BLACK,BUT I WAS TOLD THAT IT WOULD BE OK FOR ME TO STAY…I HAVE MORE TO SAY,BUT I’M LATE FOR AN APPT.SORRY,ABOUT CAP.. HAVING EYESIGHT ISSUES TODAY.
Communism is a form of socialism and the logical progression from socialism. Read up on history. Who are the “we” you mention that are privileged and what is the basis for that privilege? Race? Hmmmm? Too many minorities have succeeded, to include a twice elected President, who although black is probably far more privileged that most white people. How about Justice Thomas or Ben Carson or Larry Elder? Or don’t they count? Indeed there are many minority success stories that didn’t need “privilege” to succeed or woke white people to help them. Yet those very successes are often characterized by the “woke” as being “Uncle Toms” or “traitors to their race”.
INTERESTING,I NOTICED THAT MY COMMENTS ARE NOT BEING PRINTED,WHY? ALSO AS A PERSON WHO CONSISTENTLY RESEARCHS WHAT I READ,I SEE NO AREA THAT IS BANNING VOTER ID AND THE ONLY ONES THAT I SEE DOING GERRYMANDERING IS REPUBLICANS. CHECK OUT TEXAS LAST YEAR.
Mr. Anderson and Mr. Brown only got their names on the ballot by virtue of their second place finishes in the primary election. Please remember to vote in the general election to keep them in second place.
…………and both incumbents failed to get 50% of the vote. In the case of Schafer, 65% of voters preferred someone else other than him. In the case of Alyssa Pearson 55% preferred someone else other than her. Elect David Anderson and Jeff Brown and get the representation you deserve on the CPSD Board instead of the lack luster performance of incumbents who would rather listen to the administration than those who elected them. These incumbents presided over the District’s descent into the bottom third of State school districts academically. Re-electing these incumbents and expecting things to change is the definition of insanity. We can do better.
Thanks Mr. Arbenny, I was going to vote against the incumbents, but if you are against them I’m for them!
We all ready knew that Gail……..with no last name.
Great advice Mr. Block As a former School Board (UPSB) I have first hand knowledge what it takes to serve.
Pad Finnigan we totally agree with your article it is FACT, not fiction, thus far the Unions are running the schools along with the Superintendent of said schools who are tools of the Unions. New School Board Members with sound minds like Anderson & Brown should be elected and the Superintendent should be fired with a new one vetted that will not be a tool of the Unions. Teachers should have to option to join or not join the school unions, to pay dues or not pay dues to them. Unions are nothing more than a political lobby group to their own gain, not to help the teachers. John Arbeeny we also agree with you.
Cleo B
I’m with you – teachers should not have to join a union or pay its dues. And I’m not alone.
THE U.S. SUPREME COURT RULED MORE THAN 3 YEARS AGO THAT NO PUBLIC EMPLOYEE NEEDS TO JOIN A UNION IN ORDER TO HOLD A PUBLIC JOB. THAT INCLUDES PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS.
On June 28, 2018, the Supreme Court freed the nations’ public employees from union bondage in a law suit called Janus v. AFSCME. Any new public employee can chose whether to join or not and can also opt out of unions and dues even if already members. Again, teachers are public employees.
Unions have been fighting employees who want to leave the union ever since the Janus decision became law. They won’t tell employees they don’t need to belong, and/or they create illegal nefarious schemes to make quitting almost impossible. They even forge enrollment documents that employees often must fight in court.
So private organizations such as the Freedom Foundation have had to launch outreach campaigns to inform union members of their constitutional rights to opt out. As of a year ago, the foundation reported that 22,500 public union members had quit in Washington. In California the number was 26,746, and it was 18,416 in Oregon. The numbers across the country have climbed significantly since then.
Tell public union employees to go to the website optouttoday.com for information on how to opt out of unions in their state.
Sorry, it disgusts me that the Suburban Times would even publish such dribble…it may be an “opinion” piece, but it reads like an editorial (written from an extreme viewpoint.)
In case anyone is confused or wondering, the JB who wrote the comment above is not me. Yes, J and B are two of my three initials and a few close friends even call me JB. One police chief, knowing me well, calls me Mighty J. B.
Unlike the JB who wrote the comment, I have the confidence, backbone, and courage to speak openly rather than hiding behind anonymity. A reader may or may not like what I have to say, but at least they know who is making the comment.
Talk about being disgusted. It “disgusts” me when individuals make anonymous comments in The Suburban Times.
Joseph Boyle – AKA JB – Former Resident City of Lakewood 1/2 Century
So true! The weakness of their argument forces them to hide in the shadows of anonymity. I’d also ask JB to define “disgust”……..which is an emotional not reason based term and specifically what disgusts him/her/it. What has their “disgust” have to do with the subject at hand? Nothing……but that was their intent wasn’t it!
Marty,
You ask a great question! I don’t believe the implementation of Culturally Responsive Teaching has been in practice long enough to measure its influence on academic achievement in our District. I do know that the very vocal politically motivated critics of CRT use old data that actually supports the need for our schools to better address the engagement of our diverse population of students. This is what our current school board members and administration have been trying to do! I believe everyone can agree that with the beginning of the pandemic, student on-line learning was not ideal despite great efforts by teachers. That is distance learning that was necessary, but in no way equivalent to in-person instruction. My child struggled and I expect test scores also dropped.
Back in May, after reading the increasingly unhinged letters attacking our school board, I wanted to know what CRT was all about and how it impacts my child’s learning. Here is what my understandings are:
1. CRT(Critical Race Theory) is NOT being taught in our schools. There is no curriculum. It is a college level framework for understanding how racism has shaped social institutions such as our criminal justice system, health care, housing markets, education, etc. Our school board has been very clear numerous times about the fact that Critical Race Theory is not a curriculum being offered or taught.
2. Here is where there is the confusion we see in the political letters like Pad Finnigan writes.
CRT is also an acronym for Culturally Reponsive Teaching. It is unfortunate that the same initials were used, but it is not the same as Critical Race Theory. This is solid researched based teaching pedagogy that validates the strengths of students by connecting their culture to their learning. By designing instruction to address Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, students more actively engage in learning because they feel recognized and heard. It may be a shock to some people that many of our students don’t attend school regularly because they don’t feel like they belong or fit in. We have to do better.
Diversity: being aware that our students enter our school system with different cultural practices, health issues, economic hardships, and more that may impact their academic achievement. The job of education is to reach all of these students and leave no one behind.
Equity: being aware that all the students in a given classroom deserve the cream and not the 2% milk in terms of instruction. If something impedes academic achievement, a student needs extra support to meet or exceed grade level standards.
The CP School District is also providing more opportunities for students to pair up with vocational training if that is the educational pathway they wish to take. Equity is making sure each student is given the help they need to become a productive member of society.
Inclusion: making sure every student is included and feels like they are seen and heard.
3. It is not enough to assume individual teachers and staff are aware of or know how to create Culturally Responsive classrooms. They are receiving professional development and I applaude our school district for providing this training.
There is data that supports that engagement in learning is critical to academic achievement. In this context, “engagement” is not about entertaining students, it’s about providing meaningful lessons and setting high expectations.
4. I just received my Inside Schools News Letter from Clover Park. They fully explain the steps taken to research, discuss and begin to implement a plan that supports equity for our students. Please read it! Their “Focus on Equity” lifts up every student with the intent that each of them will achieve. That is what I want for my child and for all students.
Let me guess…you also believe the election was stolen. One thing is for sure after reading these articles. I will NOT be voting for these candidates.
Thank you Cheri for your great and detailed explanation of Culturally Responsive Teaching. It sounds like you know what you are talking about! I had previosly heard that the other CRT is NOT something being taught in our schools but is a label put on historical facts. Amazing how some people follow erronious information over a cliff. Thanks again!
Thank you, Carol. I do my homework before writing. I never have been a mindless follower of anything or anyone and I am not about to stay silent while extremists belonging to any political group spread disinformation, hate and outright lies.
Culturally Responsive Training is Critical Race Theory in drag and doomed to failure posing as something it is not with results it cannot achieve. So a class has black students from Jamaica, Haiti, South Africa, central Detroit and Bellevue. Which culture are you responsive to? To assume that all five of these students have the same culture because of the color of their skin is by definition racist. What about the other 15 students who are uniquely diverse in skin color and culture? The only way this Culturally Responsive Training can occur, at least based upon skin color, is to have segregated classrooms with teachers of the “appropriate” skin color to make sure everyone measures up “culturally” and racially. The Deep South rises again!