[Ohiogift] Bad Education

Fri Feb 12 18:31:33 EST 2021

The author of this article is not someone whose views should be taken
without further research.
He writes for the very conservative Discovery Institute, a group that
believes in ID (Intelligent Design) which is a form of creationism.
And while the public schools in Philadelphia (and other major cities)
are struggling, and the attempts to honor Black history might be a bit
excessive, I am not sure that posting this on our Ohio Gift site was a
good idea...
Respectfully,
Susan Marantz

	-----------------------------------------From: "Will Fitzhugh via
Ohiogift" 
To: "Art Snyder via Ohiogift"
Cc: 
Sent: Friday February 12 2021 8:33:28AM
Subject: [Ohiogift] Bad Education

	BY SIXTH GRADE, ONLY 3 PERCENT OF STUDENTS ARE PROFICIENT IN MATH,
AND 9 PERCENT ARE PROFICIENT IN READING. BY GRADUATION, ONLY 13
PERCENT OF KELLEY STUDENTS WILL HAVE ACHIEVED BASIC LITERACY.  _City
Journal_ eye on the news  

	BAD EDUCATION  In a Philadelphia elementary school, teachers are
putting a premium on radicalism, not reading. 
 Christopher F. Rufo [1]   February 11, 2021 

	A Philadelphia elementary school recently forced fifth-grade students
to celebrate “black communism” and simulate a Black Power rally in
honor of political radical Angela Davis. 

	According to whistleblower documents [2] and a source within the
school, a fifth-grade teacher at the inner-city William D. Kelley
School designed a social studies curriculum to CELEBRATE DAVIS,
PRAISING THE “BLACK COMMUNIST” FOR HER FIGHT AGAINST “INJUSTICE
AND INEQUALITY.” As part of the lesson, the teacher asked students
to “describe Davis’ early life,” reflect on her vision of social
change, and “define communist”—presumably in favorable terms. 

	At the conclusion of the unit, the teacher led the ten- and
eleven-year-old students into the school auditorium to “SIMULATE”
A BLACK POWER RALLY TO “FREE ANGELA DAVIS” FROM PRISON, WHERE SHE
HAD ONCE BEEN HELD WHILE AWAITING TRIAL ON CHARGES OF CONSPIRACY,
KIDNAPPING, AND MURDER. THE STUDENTS MARCHED ON THE STAGE, HOLDING
SIGNS THAT READ “BLACK POWER,” “JAIL TRUMP,” “FREE
ANGELA,” AND “BLACK POWER MATTERS.” THEY CHANTED ABOUT AFRICA
AND ANCESTRAL POWER, THEN SHOUTED “FREE ANGELA! FREE ANGELA!” AS
THEY STOOD AT THE FRONT OF THE STAGE. 

	The William D. Kelley School has long been one of the most troubled
in the district. The school’s student population [3] is 94 percent
black and 100 percent “economically disadvantaged.” Academically,
it is one of the worst-performing schools [4] in Pennsylvania. BY
SIXTH GRADE, ONLY 3 PERCENT OF STUDENTS ARE PROFICIENT IN MATH, AND 9
PERCENT ARE PROFICIENT IN READING. BY GRADUATION, ONLY 13 PERCENT OF
KELLEY STUDENTS WILL HAVE ACHIEVED BASIC LITERACY. 

	Despite this abysmal academic performance, teachers and
administrators at William Kelley have gradually ABANDONED TRADITIONAL
PEDAGOGY IN FAVOR OF POLITICAL RADICALISM. Even the school’s newest
public artworks illustrate this politicization. Administrators
recently COMMISSIONED A MURAL OF DAVIS AND HUEY P. NEWTON, who
represent the Communist and Black Panther revolutionary movements of
the 1960s; both figures stood trial for various crimes, including the
murder of a police officer. 

	Unfortunately, the programs at William Kelley are no aberration. In
recent years, THE ENTIRE PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM HAS
EMBRACED THE PHILOSOPHY OF “ANTIRACISM.” Last summer, the
superintendent released [5] an Antiracism Declaration promising to
“[dismantle] systems of racial inequity” and circulated a memo
recommending racially segregated training programs for white and black
educators. THE LOCAL TEACHERS’ UNION PRODUCED [6] A VIDEO DENOUNCING
THE UNITED STATES AS A “SETTLER COLONY BUILT ON WHITE SUPREMACY AND
CAPITALISM” that has created a “system that lifts up white people
over everyone else.” The solution, according to the union, is to
overthrow the “racist structure of capitalism,” provide
“reparations for Black and Indigenous people,” and “uproot white
supremacy and plant the seeds for a new world.” 

	In practical terms, it is unclear how these “antiracist” programs
will translate into academic outcomes. THE GAP BETWEEN RHETORIC AND
REALITY AT SCHOOLS SUCH AS WILLIAM KELLEY IS ALMOST BEYOND
COMPREHENSION: THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE TEN- AND ELEVEN-YEAR-OLDS
MARCHING FOR THE UTOPIA OF “BLACK COMMUNISM” CAN BARELY READ AND
WRITE. Rather than come to terms with the pedagogical failure of
Philadelphia public schools, however, educators have shifted the blame
to “systemic racism” and promises of “revolution.” 

	That students at schools such as William Kelley could depart
virtually bereft of basic literacy is a tragedy for them and a shame
for the teachers and adults promising to “plant the seeds for a new
world.” THEY HAVE CONDEMNED THEIR STUDENTS TO JOIN THE RANKS OF THE
MORE THAN HALF [7] OF ALL ADULT PHILADELPHIANS WHO ARE “FUNCTIONALLY
ILLITERATE.” 

	One teacher at William Kelley, who requested anonymity out of fear of
reprisals, expressed deep pessimism about the future of public
education: “I’VE COME TO REALIZE THAT NO POLICY HURTS
AFRICAN-AMERICANS MORE THAN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM AND THE
TEACHERS’ UNION.” THE TEACHER IS RIGHT. In absolute terms, the
numbers are demoralizing. The School District of Philadelphia has
18,000 employees and a $3.4 billion annual budget [8]—and fails,
year after year, to teach the basics of “reading, writing, and
arithmetic.” As it turns out, education is hard; political fantasy
is a useful diversion. 

	_Christopher F. Rufo_ [9] _is a contributing editor of_ City Journal
_and director of the Discovery Institute’s Center on Wealth &
Poverty._            

Links:
------
[1]
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.city-journal.org/contributor/christopher-f-rufo_1334__;!!KGKeukY!jPduFGHj-x5ERcN1UhymOjjA-0c8RVTGcW57utNf-5gXxTeTfsdEJbdXH9-CjCUcat4P__DOLLAR_SYMBOL__
[2]
https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://christopherrufo.com/bad-education__;!!KGKeukY!jPduFGHj-x5ERcN1UhymOjjA-0c8RVTGcW57utNf-5gXxTeTfsdEJbdXH9-CjG21FxYW__DOLLAR_SYMBOL__
[3]
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.philasd.org/performance/programsservices/open-data/school-information/__;!!KGKeukY!jPduFGHj-x5ERcN1UhymOjjA-0c8RVTGcW57utNf-5gXxTeTfsdEJbdXH9-CjI04mb87__DOLLAR_SYMBOL__
[4]
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.greatschools.org/pennsylvania/philadelphia/1943-Kelley-William-D-School/__;!!KGKeukY!jPduFGHj-x5ERcN1UhymOjjA-0c8RVTGcW57utNf-5gXxTeTfsdEJbdXH9-CjHCBhn-a__DOLLAR_SYMBOL__
[5]
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.philasd.org/antiracism/__;!!KGKeukY!jPduFGHj-x5ERcN1UhymOjjA-0c8RVTGcW57utNf-5gXxTeTfsdEJbdXH9-CjDUs6dkk__DOLLAR_SYMBOL__
[6]
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GMTpAZb4Hw__;!!KGKeukY!jPduFGHj-x5ERcN1UhymOjjA-0c8RVTGcW57utNf-5gXxTeTfsdEJbdXH9-CjO7DnTmU__DOLLAR_SYMBOL__
[7]
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.phillymag.com/news/2012/11/20/reading-post-plenty-thankful/__;!!KGKeukY!jPduFGHj-x5ERcN1UhymOjjA-0c8RVTGcW57utNf-5gXxTeTfsdEJbdXH9-CjOo3_-WK__DOLLAR_SYMBOL__
[8]
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.philasd.org/budget/budget-facts/quick-budget-facts/__;!!KGKeukY!jPduFGHj-x5ERcN1UhymOjjA-0c8RVTGcW57utNf-5gXxTeTfsdEJbdXH9-CjH1Ix3m3__DOLLAR_SYMBOL__
[9]
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.city-journal.org/contributor/christopher-f-rufo_1334__;!!KGKeukY!jPduFGHj-x5ERcN1UhymOjjA-0c8RVTGcW57utNf-5gXxTeTfsdEJbdXH9-CjCUcat4P__DOLLAR_SYMBOL__

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