Critical Crossroad

Letter to My Students – Sixth Letter in a Series 

Hello:
First, as always and since July 3, 1989 – I love you.  You mean a lot to me.  One of the cool things about being a high school music teacher?  More often than not … MUCH MORE OFTEN (sorry – NOT sorry – for the poor grammar; I am a  music teacher, not an English teacher & writing is a hobby for me, like golf – both hobbies humble me 😊) … the students who are in my music classes choose to be there.  So, any human being who chooses to be with me is a BLESSING / a gift / and I am honored!  One more time… and not the last time … I love you.

My thought for my students today is: please … block the idea that the outside of you or anyone is THE best side of you and the most important side of you!  BLOCK THAT CRAP! 

What is the best side or really … could be the most important side …  YOUR HEART!!  Guard your heart! 

Remember, these “letters” I write to you (my students and others) are letters I can only share outside of the public-school classroom in California.  Appreciate you reading it.  Means – you want to know more about my thoughts.  THANK YOU! 

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There is a phrase “unintended consequences.”  Benefit of the doubt:  To get our students to be more kind to one another, we have developed “Critical Race Theory.”  However, what was meant to help our future be more kind / empathetic toward one another is teaching “race is important.”  YOU (my students / students in general) ARE BEING TURNED INTO RACISTS.  Hence, the unintended consequence.

To see the State of Washington MANDATE “Critical Race Theory” is concerning.  We need people to be more educated on “Critical Race Theory” and then, SPEAK UP AGAINST IT! 

What is “Critical Race Theory?”  I have found pro and con answers: 

PRO:  https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2021/ask-the-expert-critical-race-theory-attack-in-schools

CON:  https://newdiscourses.com/2021/01/what-is-critical-race-theory/

I believe Human Beings are evil.  Yes.  We come out of the womb being selfish (sign of ‘evil,’) in the sense, of being totally dependent on other Human Beings.  No baby cares you are getting up to change a diaper!  With caring and STRONG adults, our children learn not to be selfish / not to be evil.  Yet, with all the great teachings and examples of GOOD, evil is still in our hearts / soul. 

“Critical Race Theory” is another example of good intentions will lead to evil. 

The MSU article:  Critical race theory is not an ideology or a political orientation (my thought:  neither is ANTIFA and look at that non-ideology or a political orientated group’s hurt it causes on others) that assumes white people are bad; it assumes white supremacy is bad in all of its forms.  https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2021/ask-the-expert-critical-race-theory-attack-in-schools 

Doesn’t the professor believe — in the WRONG HANDS (too many WRONG HANDS), since there is only “white supremacy” and not “person-of-color-supremacy (a premise I disagree with – of course, there is “supremacy” by all people – I just call it “POWER.”), this will lead to an assumption / conclusion white people are bad because only white people can be “white supremacists?”  Can People Of Color be “white supremacists” because they support a white leader?  Hmmmmm… 

As a nation, we haven’t evolved to believe, one doesn’t have power because they are the “correct” race / “correct” ethnicity / “correct” gender? Guess we have some more growth.  There are times when I believe my sixteen-year-old student is being an adult and all the sudden he / she does something stupid (yes… I use the word “stupid” in the sense, actions can be stupid) and then I am reminded, this is a child needing to learn how to be an adult.  The United States is the same way.  Just when I thought we were evolving into a beautiful “adult,” all of the sudden here comes “Critical Race Theory” and its children – Equity and Ethnic Studies. 

My students … Critical Race Theory – and it’s children – Equity / Ethnic Studies – is being used to get you to be “activist intellectuals.”  No?   Pacheco describes this process as transforming students into “activist intellectuals” who “decodify systems of oppression” into their component parts, including “white supremacy, patriarchy, classism, genocide, private property, and God.”  https://www.city-journal.org/california-ethnic-studies-programs-merchants-of-revolution

My students … you are being manipulated.  Be aware of this manipulation.  You are being taught that either you are an oppressor or oppressed. Pacheco explained that the ethnic studies curriculum is based on the work of Brazilian Marxist Paulo Freire, who invented the concept of the “pedagogy of the oppressed,” which holds that students must be educated to understand their oppression and develop the practical skills, or “praxis,” to challenge and eventually overthrow their oppressors. Pacheco acknowledged that the Marxist underpinnings to ethnic studies “scare people away” but insisted that teachers must be “grounded in the correct politics to educate students.”  https://www.city-journal.org/california-ethnic-studies-programs-merchants-of-revolution

With “Critical Race Theory” and its children Equity and Ethnic Studies, I believe we are finding more excuses for our failures / shortcomings.  Oppose to accepting, failure is part of learning, and we are not good at everything.  Failure or not being good at everything are parts of BEING HUMAN – not being human of certain skin color or genitalia. 

“See.  I grew up in a house of ‘purple people.’ And you know… ‘purple people’ lack those skills.’ 

“You know!  Magenta people are super smart at math!” 

Our nation is at an important crossroad.  Do we really want our nation to raise or lower expectations due to race / ethnicity / gender?  Do we really want to base success or failure on skin color or genitalia?  For example, there is serious discussion about class offerings based on percentages of groups in your school If 10% of your school has people with twelve toes, then every class must have 10% include people with twelve toes.  If a class does not have 10% twelve-toed people, the class is canceled.  YES!  THAT IS BEING DISCUSSED.  For real!

Since I am a high school music teacher, I think in these scenarios:  No more female choirs.  No more male choirs.  If a band, doesn’t have the same percentage of females / males that your high school has, that band class MUST recruit more of either or … it is canceled.   

You see… GOOD INTENTIONS GOING BAD! 

My students:  We should be teaching you – YOU OWN YOUR RESULTS!  You cannot attribute your results to your race / your ethnicity / your gender!  Get STOIC folks! 

My students:  We should be teaching you… YOU ARE AMERICAN!  The “hyphenated-American” came in the late 1960s as a divisive tool / a tool developed by a Berkeley professor / admitted “Marxist.”  (Hope an Ethnic Studies class would teach you that – it won’t) Consider all the wonderful variety of people in our nation, I see you as an American.  PERIOD.  Not euro-centric-American.  Not Asian-American. Not African-American.  We are AMERICANS.  I recommend “THE PLOT TO CHANGE AMERICA.”  And learn (again, we underestimated the IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE), the root of language.  As with every empire, the are plots to change the empire!    https://www.amazon.com/Plot-Change-America-Identity-Politics/dp/1641771003/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+plot+to+change+america&qid=1623080000&sr=8-1

From Rufo’s article:  The goal, according to the presenters, is to “develop, pilot, and refine an adaptable and scalable Ethnic Studies program design plan and curriculum that can serve as standalone courses or be integrated into core content areas.” This is already happening. Last month, the California Department of Education approved the statewide curriculum, which will bring the “pedagogy of the oppressed” to schools throughout the state. But for the movement’s leaders, the goal is to go further. At the end of the presentation in Santa Clara, Pacheco argued that schools should start transforming children into “activist intellectuals,” beginning in first grade. “[It’s] never too young,” he said, arguing that educators should be “cashing in on kids’ inherent empathy” in order to reshape their ideological foundations. 

My students:  Will you please consider standing-up for your education?  An education that is not seeking to “reshape your ideological foundations.”  That reshaping should be done on your own time!  Through your family / faith!  You should want a K-12 education that wants you to be a Human Being who can CRITICALLY THINK!  Not (play on words) CRITICALLY RACE THEORIZE!! 

We need to stand together as AMERICANS (cue the music).  Other nations are nowhere as diversified as we are.  What brings us together?  The founding documents of our Founding Fathers!  The more we focus on our Founding Fathers’ imperfections (which I guess now includes them being “White Males” (sarcasm – in case you didn’t pick up the sarcasm), the less we focus on their documents; which I believe is the plan.  My students:  you are not being taught how the United States’ founding documents will help you succeed in our nation!  

Their documents can see… AGAIN, CAN SEE… no race / no ethnicity / no gender.  We “racialize” those documents. 

Sarcastic teenage voice:  See, those documents are like —- totally written by dead white men and therefore … blah… blah… blah…

My students:  again, in my class, you will not hear these thoughts in this article .  However, in many of your other classes, you will hear Critical Race Theory and its children – Equity & Ethnic Studies.  Do all you can to respectfully listen / learn their viewpoint and then, courageously / honorably / respectfully question, “How is this topic (topic CRITICALLY RACE THEORIZED; topic centered our Equity (by the way… WHY Equity and not Equality (an American Tenet); topic centered on Ethnicity helping me (K-12 student); ) live a quality life / a better life in the United States of America compared to our previous generations?  I am an American.  I want to be a better American, not a neo-Marxist.” 

Parents!  WHERE ARE YOU?

VIDEO:  Students reject Critical Race Theory after learning what it’s really about!   
https://campusreform.org/article?id=17578

https://whataretheylearning.com/

https://twitter.com/marclamonthill/status/1397522506198753280?lang=en

Attempt to be fair.  You know… give information and then allow a person to arrive at their conclusion (smile)  

https://www.google.com/search?q=what+are+the+benefits+of+critical+race+theory&oq=what+are+the+benefits+of+critical+race+theory&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i390l3.13007j1j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8