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So Your Child's Teacher Is Woke: Suggestions On How To Navigate An Educator Who Operates In Critical Theory.
First, take a deep breath and try and to relax; you are not alone with your frustrations and concerns. There are many other parents that feel the same way. Also, know that there are those of us on the inside battling too. We can win this fight, but it's going to take hard work.
Unfortunately, this is going to be more challenging of a task than the last thread. And it may not be a win-win solution in the end, but this is about your child's future. So buckle up...
1. First things first, get your handy dandy Wokish list ready. https://newdiscourses.com/translations-from-the-wokish/
1. First things first, get your handy dandy Wokish list ready. https://newdiscourses.com/translations-from-the-wokish/
2. This time though, you need to understand Critical Theory more in-depth than just a list of words. When dealing with Woke teachers, you are going to have to outsmart them. Here are some key words worth reading up on in the Wokish Encyclopedia:
1619 Project
Ally
Antiracism
1619 Project
Ally
Antiracism
2. (Continued)
Bias
Critical
Critical Race Theory
Cultural Racism
Decolonize
Diversity
Equality
Equity
Identity
Implicit Bias
Lived Experience
Microaggression
Oppression
Power
Privelege
Queer
Racism
Social Justice
Systemic Racism
Ways of Knowing
White Fragility
White Privilege
Bias
Critical
Critical Race Theory
Cultural Racism
Decolonize
Diversity
Equality
Equity
Identity
Implicit Bias
Lived Experience
Microaggression
Oppression
Power
Privelege
Queer
Racism
Social Justice
Systemic Racism
Ways of Knowing
White Fragility
White Privilege
3. You have to do some homework on the teacher. You are going to have to gauge what their background in Critical Theory is and how much they apply it to the curriculum. A general rule of thumb: the younger the teacher, the greater the chance of them being ideologically Woke.
Why are the chances of a younger teacher being woke higher? The Colleges of Education have been peddling Critical Theory for over a decade with their students. And since young people, developmentally, are far more ideological (due to lack of life experience), they grasp onto it.
You can often measure the teacher's "Wokeness" by the frequency of the Wokish words they use. The more ideological, the more often they speak Wokish. Just listening to them speak, the writings they send out or viewing their social media can tell you a lot. Advanced scouting helps
4. I want to jump off topic slightly for a bit; the older the child, the greater this opportunity is to also teach them about Critical Theory, how to navigate others using it, and to actually teach your child critical thinking skills. Have them go through the process with you.
5. Monitor student assignments; many schools are now using either Microsoft Teams or Google Classroom regardless of schooling from home or in-person. Start having your child show you the assignments posted to their class accounts.
If you don't want your child feeling like you are snooping on them (first...too bad!), say its a chance to learn about how the software works and how they are using it in class. That in its self is also an important tool for them in the long term.
6. When looking through assignments, use your Handy Dandy Woke List. Again, the more the keywords appear, the higher the Woke ranking. IF the assignments are actually presented in a debating format (ex: defend both positions) then I'm ok with that as long as the teacher is too.
7. Engaging the Teacher: Here is the real tough part. Teachers steeped in CT are going to be hard to budge. It truly is a religious zeal for them even though they don't think of it that way. https://newdiscourses.com/2020/09/first-amendment-case-freedom-from-woke-religion/
Many districts are literally forcing teachers to be trained up in Critical Theory; and it can feel like a "born again" religious emotion for some. Be ready for them to get defensive as you challenge their newfound orthodoxy.
8. When addressing an issue with the teacher, pick a focal point (i.e. one thing to lock onto). Why? Because part of CT is victimhood and word games. Do not let them stray off target. Remind them (and yourself) that it's about your child's education, NOT the teacher.
There is no room for compromises in this regard. If the teacher starts to play the victim, speaks about your child's privilege, other students' oppression, etc. STOP them! Get things back to the topic at hand. They will run you in circles before you know it.
If a teacher is truly about the education of all their students, you have some common ground to work from; so get them back to that main point. An aside: If you want to see the word game they play and how to defend your position watch this.
9. One of the hard areas to address is in-class lectures and "discussions." For the sake of the thread, let's go with the teacher isn't taking a neutral stance, that it's quite clear they are pushing CT. Call them on it head-on and ask them to explain their position.
Seek to understand where they are coming from first. Example: Your child is reading The Crucible (about the Salem Witch Trials) and the teacher pushes female oppression as the primary reason for the trials. Ask how they know this and what leads them to this conclusion.
And do your homework on the subject matter. Did you know that The Crucible was written in the mid-1950s by an avowed Communist? It was not written in the late 1600s. So how could the author know what was truly happening back then? Challenge the teacher to justify with facts.
10. Stand your ground with the teacher, but try to never make it personal from your side (even though it's deeply personal). Make sure you are clear that you are challenging the ideas and philosophy, not the person. If they make it personal, that proves how pathological this is.
11. If the teacher will not acknowledge your concerns and is not willing to make changes or accommodations, inform them that going forward you expect that your child's "Diversity of Thought" should be respected as much as the next students.
That last part should be non-negotiable regardless of the teacher's position on a topic. ALL students should be respected in this manner. PERIOD! If they push back; inform them you believe this is indoctrination and propaganda and will approach it as such.
12. On the positive side: use this as a chance to educate your child on Critical Theory and being able to intellectually defend themselves. No surprise, but going forward (ex: going to college) they must have this skill set in place. Being able to articulate their position.
13. In the end, if things do not change. Document everything! All meetings, emails, etc. You will next need to go to the Admin.
And that will be for a future thread.
And that will be for a future thread.
