Prejudice and political indoctrination in elementary school

[inconsequential]

This is hard for me to write because of my personal convictions about racial issues but I need some Orthodox input.

My son is in second grade and since kindergarten has attended the same school. The school has a low rating within the district and has had persistent racially based issues over the years. Even my neighbor, who is Black, refuses to send his daughter because, in his words, "It's a ghetto school."

The predominant racial makeup of the school isn't an issue for me, I want my son to grow up not holding stereotypes and I stress to him that all people are equal. I don't sugarcoat history for him and want him to know about the struggles Black people have endured. I want him to appreciate my heroes like Dr. King and John Brown.

That said, I'm thinking of transferring him to another school because they take the issue far beyond education and history. Every reading assignment is about slavery or civil rights issues or how great Barak Obama is. I'm tired of my son coming home with his head down, telling me he wishes he wasn't White and feels guilty because of all the bad things Whites did to Blacks. I'm tired of hearing him talk about how good President Obama is and how he wants to vote for him. We aren't political so he is getting this indoctrination at school and I'm not at all comfortable with it. I dare not speak up about it because it will get me branded racist.

Should we just transfer him as quietly as possible or try to endure and privately counter the indoctrination?

 

[gzt]

The "how good Obama is" is inappropriate for public schools, most definitely.

 

[Joseph Hazen]

IMO trying to counter it at home is going to set your son up to have to fight that battle at an age where, honestly, that's a lot to ask of him.

I'd transfer him, if it were me.

 

[kellhus]

I'd guess transfer quietly, but whatever you do, you should probably comment to the school board that the curriculum in your son's class is completely unbalanced. It can hardly be described as racist to want your child exposed to a wide variety of topics, such as science, music, non-U.S. history, math, geography, and so on.

Failing that, you should maybe complain to the state Department of Education that the district isn't doing its job.

 

[inconsequential]

It's really touchy as this principal was named in a lawsuit a few years ago where a teacher was fired for speaking up about deficiencies in the Special Ed. program. When the judge refused to dismiss it, they settled but somehow it only received very minimal coverage in the media. She was named administrator of the year this past year and seems untouchable for some reason.

Thanks for the input.

 

[SeventhValley]

That is normal in any ethnic conclave. In the South some schools say the civil war had nothing to do with slavery and that slaves had it "good"(which is obviously false).

Real history is messy. Good and bad dose not exist in it.

Did whites do bad things? Yea,so did everyone else.

Look at the history of England genocides use to happen between Celts,Saxons,Vikings,Picts all of the time.

We have Native American tribes that genocided other tribes for their land long before whites got involved.

History happens. Everyone is guilty.

 

[inconsequential]

Yeah, he was surprised when I told him slavery has always existed and wasn't strictly a White on Black thing invented in America. I had to convince him of that since he isn't taught any other historical aspects of it.

 

[E.C.]

Get him the hell out.

 

[GregConstantine]

We need Orthodox schools!

 

[gzt]

I think some of those issues can be gently overcome, but explicit politicking is not good. I'd not listen to some of some of the "white panic" you might hear on this board, but some gentle education about some aspects of history might be helpful. But you do have to make sure not to overcorrect, as racism still exists, racism still causes major problems, and white privilege is a real, real thing.

 

[inconsequential]

Just spoke with my wife and we are going to let him finish this year out then send him to the other school in the fall. It will get him out and not stir up trouble.

 

[inconsequential]

I wish we could afford to send him to city school district. They are more diverse and higher rated. I fear the one we plan on may be an over correction as it is primarily made up of rural white children and this IS The Deep South. It's a pity we can't pool resources and do a small Orthodox school. Our mission has 10-12 kids in the elementary-jr. high age range.

 

[rusmeister]

Star Trek III - Destruction of the USS Enterprise - YouTube

 

[GregConstantine]

"can't pool resources and do a small Orthodox school"

I don't buy this ( speaking in general, not saying I'm not buying it specifically from you personally)

There are tons of other denominations that are about the size of us and even smaller who have schools, even universities and seminaries. We don't have our priorities straight, that's the problem.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

I've never hard "white panic" on TAW??

I think some of those issues can be gently overcome, but explicit politicking is not good. I'd not listen to some of some of the "white panic" you might hear on this board, but some gentle education about some aspects of history might be helpful. But you do have to make sure not to overcorrect, as racism still exists, racism still causes major problems, and white privilege is a real, real thing.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

America is OBSESSED with two things: race and sodomy. We can't get past it. And the far Left is convinced we never will. It's pure indoctrination.

There has always been a certain degree of racism in our country. Things have gotten MUCH better! In some ways there are huge advantages to NOT being white in America in 2015!

No great man or woman in American history should be overplayed be it MLK, Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, or any of the others! The problem is that America is so secularized that we've replaced the great men and women of the Bible and Church with secular idols.

I'd pull him out. And I'd talk with the principal as to WHY I did it! The OP is a rational, fair-minded person! You're BY NO MEANS a racist, but you DO think your child deserves a well-balanced curriculum and that social studies should focus on people of all backgrounds for their accomplishments, not pandering to the color of the majority at the school. That is absurd.

Yank him, and in a calm, friendly, positive way tell the admin why.

 

[gzt]

See above.

 

[GregConstantine]

Let's stop preaching to the choir, get our hands and feet dirty, get our check books out, and do something!

 

[dzheremi]

That sounds like a bad situation all around. I would pull him out. The weight of the world doesn't have to be put on your child's shoulders at such a young age in order to teach history fairly, and it is possible to have pride in one's origins and history without putting others down. We seem to have forgotten this in the USA and other western countries in recent decades, to our detriment. To tie into what Gurney wrote, would secularization have gotten this far if our leaders were not ashamed to admit that we are, if not a Christian country, at least a country where the majority of the population practices some kind of Christianity, and that this is not a bad thing? Buddhist, Islamic, and Hindu nations do not seem to have a problem with their self-identity that we have created by teaching successive generations of people that if we say we're proud to be who we are, it's alienating, "othering", or disrespecting others who are not that. Sure, it is if that's what you make it be about ("I don't like you because you're ____!" "You're bad because you're _____!"), but at the age your child is at, they're going to learn the way to look at themselves and others that will guide their future interactions with people of all races and creeds. It seems like you're doing your part, but the school is working against you (perhaps unintentionally, but that is the reaction that you wrote about seeing in your child) by teaching as they are. That is not their place to do that. I'd pull him out and not give any reason at all. What business would it be of theirs, anyway? Nobody should have to try to learn in that kind of environment. Learning and self-hatred (and politicking) don't mix.

 

[gzt]

I think education is very important, and having seen terrible gaps when people try to get a DIY solution to local education (eg math is hard), I think it's important to have a critical mass and quality teachers before going that route.