Teacher under fire for controversial homework assignment about black people killed by police: 'Say their name'

'These students are still children'

An Indian Head, Maryland, school teacher is under fire after he reportedly directed students to list names of black people killed by police as a homework assignment.

What are the details?

Henry E. Lackey High School teacher John Folse — a special education teacher, according to The Southern Maryland Chronicle — reportedly issued the assignment through the Charles County Public Schools' online learning portal on Wednesday.

The homework assignment — which directed students to list the names of "black people killed by police" — drew immediate criticism.

Titled "Say Their Names," a portion of the assignment reads, "Write a list of black people killed by police since Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. You need to write their name, the date of their death, and the place."

"For extra credit," the assignment continues, "write a sentence or two about the circumstances of their deaths."

A snapshot of the assignment appeared on a local Facebook group, where it reportedly sparked a vast response.

On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Charles County Public Schools issued a statement on the assignment.

"A topic such as the one raise in this assignment is inappropriate as a stand-alone written assignment," the spokesperson said. "The teacher presented the assignment without background, lesson plans, or in-class discussion guided by a teacher."

The statement added, "Social justice topics are a meaningful way to engage students in the curriculum. Charles County Public Schools uses the curriculum to guide the discussion of social justice topics. Teachers write and review lesson plans with fellow educators and content specialists based on the Maryland standards. Teachers also receive training on how to engage students in discussions about current events that might involve sensitive issues."

Regardless, the district insisted that it encourages "thoughtful discussion of current events and expect teachers to approach these lessons with sensitivity for all viewpoints."

According to WUSA-TV, one parent said, "These students are still children. Yes, they are people who are about to go into the real world and that type of thing, but this is triggering for adults when these types of things happen. So, are children, although almost adults, able to handle this psychologically?"

https://www.theblaze.com/news/teacher-under-fire-for-controversial-homework-assignment-about-black-people-killed-by-police-say-their-name?utm_source=theblaze-dailyPM&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily-Newsletter__PM%202020-09-12&utm_term=TheBlaze%20Daily%20PM%20-%20last%20270%20days

Students say Biden is wrong to support another shutdown

• Campus Reform recently asked students if they would support another nationwide coronavirus shutdown, and if they would support a candidate for president who would support one.
• Most students disagreed with the idea of a shutdown, citing employment and economic concerns.
• “I kind of need it to stay open cause I have to work," one student said.

After Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden recently said he would institute another nationwide coronavirus shutdown if that's what the public health experts recommended, Campus Reform asked students about the idea and, without naming Biden, asked if they would support a presidential candidate who would implement another shutdown.

Biden recently told ABC News during an exclusive interview that if he is elected president and a second coronavirus wave hits the country, and if scientists recommended shutting down the country yet again, "I would shut it down."

“If you shut down, obviously it affects people’s jobs, people’s livelihoods..." 

However, most students said they do not want another shutdown. 

    

     

“If you shut down, obviously it affects people’s jobs, people’s livelihoods in terms of how they make their money and how they make income,” one student said.

“I don’t really support [another shutdown] cause I feel like we’re slowly making progress towards it and it was so hard on a lot of people, who you said, lost their jobs--students especially--when things were completely shut down,” another student added.

Campus Reform then mentioned that this was Biden’s proposal, and asked students to react.


“A little surprised yeah, that is kind of shocking,” one student said upon learning this was Biden’s proposal.

“I’ve lost my grandmother to coronavirus, but people still have to keep their jobs,” one student said in his argument against another shutdown. 

https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=15532

Education

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Well, here are a few that show what the "new normal" will look like in some American schools:








Meanwhile, studies are now finding that Americans are so ignorant of the truth about the virus that they think it is more deadly than it is by orders of magnitude.

So I can't say I'm surprised when Americans consent to ludicrous changes like the ones in these pictures.

Oh, and the other day the AP -- remember that impartial, mainstream purveyor of news? -- wrote what was supposed to be a news article about Dr. Scott Atlas of Stanford being brought on as an adviser to the White House on the virus, but instead (and I know you're shocked) it was an attack piece.

According to the article, Atlas "falsely claimed" that children were at "near zero risk" from COVID.

They are at near zero risk from COVID! How else can "near zero" be defined, for heaven's sake?

Obviously this whole fiasco has been the best recruiter for the self-taught Ron Paul Curriculum, which I devoted years of my life to building, of anything in the past six years.

But what a tragedy for kids.

Meanwhile, two things:

(1) It took COVID-19 and the crazy lockdowns, but a lot of folks are finally saying, "Woods, you were right -- I darn well should start an un-shut-downable business." Here are some beginner videos I'm making available (for free, of course) to get you started building something online as an insurance policy against the crazies: http://www.tomwoods.com/beginner

(2) Tomorrow on the Tom Woods Show I share the public speaking tips I've picked up during a 25-year career as a successful public speaker. All the advice I give is actionable. No fluff. Be sure to subscribe (for free) to the Tom Woods Show, to be sure you receive the episodes as they are released: http://www.tomwoods.com/episodes

Tom Woods

Nashville School Book Teaches Second Graders That White Folks Are Bad

 

A Nashville grade school is using a book that teaches second graders to believe that white people are “bad, mean and racist” against Blacks and Mexicans, an angry dad told the Todd Starnes Radio Show.

“My wife and I were outraged at a couple of the books,” Grant Benson said. “We’re not going to be letting our daughter read this.” 

One of the controversial books is titled, “Separate is Never Equal,” an award-winning book written by a social justice advocate.

The book tells the story of a California family’s attempt to integrate schools seven years before Brown V. Board of Education.

But the story book portrays white children as evil villains. Here’s how Benson described one part of the book:

“The Mexican kids were sent away and forced to sit in the dirt with flies around them and an electric fence that shocked them because white people are bad.”

“This is NOT a civil rights lesson,” he wrote in a Twitter post. “This is self-hate & fake white privilege.”

Benson says he taught his daughter to treat everyone with respect and equality. And he didn’t appreciate the school pushing an agenda. 

“I will be pulling her out immediately. Her first ‘English’ lesson of the year is teaching her that white people are bad, mean & racist against African-Americans & Mexicans,” he wrote on Twitter. 

 

https://www.toddstarnes.com/campus/nashville-school-book-teaches-second-graders-that-white-folks-are-bad/ 

The Sudden 'Shift in Narrative' on the Reopening of Schools

It seems as though as soon as Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that he's authorized the reopening of all school districts in New York State, Democrats on Capitol Hill are suddenly fine with it. Having looked at the infection rate in the state, Cuomo announced on a phone conference with reporters on Friday that it would be safe to resume in-person learning. But he wants individual plans from schools by the end of next week on how they plan to safely reopen.

Suddenly, the likes of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are also urging schools to safely reopen.

"If we don't open up the schools, you're going to hurt the economy significantly, because lots of people can't go to work," Schumer said at his Friday presser.

He may be late to reach this conclusion, but he's right. As Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin noted a few months ago, children's education isn't the only thing that would be negatively affected if they are forced to continue distance learning. Parents will struggle economically if they're not able to find temporary guardians for their kids as they try to return to work.

But teachers' unions made a show of their disapproval. Some placed body bags in front of schools, while others wrote mock wills, predicting their demise if they were forced to return to the classroom with the threat of the coronavirus. And until now, I don't recall Democrats trying to calm their fears and siding with President Trump that we need to put kids back in class. Or, "SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL," as POTUS tweeted.

Viewers suggested that this about-face from leading Democrats has something to do with the upcoming election.

The minority leader also touched on the state of negotiations on the next coronavirus relief package. In sum, it's not going well.

"They don't want to spend the necessary dollars to get America out of this mess," Schumer asserted.

Yet, Republicans say it's the Democrats who are holding up a compromise because they want to extend the $600 a week unemployment benefits until January. The GOP called that a "disincentive" for Americans to return to work.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/cortneyobrien/2020/08/07/wait-now-top-dems-want-to-open-schools-n2573938