SEL

Norman elementary school assigns books sympathetic to illegal immigration

As much as I support Ryan Walters’ attempts to root out leftist ideology from our classrooms, it appears that the most damaging instances are flying completely under the radar, and finding their way into the classroom without anyone noticing.

A recent example of how students are being exposed to left-wing ideas is two books that have been assigned to fifth grade students at McKinley Elementary in their advanced reading course: “The Path to Paper Son”, by Grant Din, and “Louis Share Kim”, by Barbara D. Krasner. Both books can be listened to in their entirety in the YouTube link provided.

The books are fictionalized accounts of how Chinese immigrants in the 19th century tricked American immigration officials into allowing illegal Chinese immigrants to gain US citizenship by falsely claiming that Chinese nationals were a part of their family. The books paint a sympathetic portrait of this dishonest tactic, justifying it on the grounds that living in China was too dangerous for these Chinese citizens, and so they must immigrate to the US by any means necessary on humanitarian grounds.

The books are a part of the MyView Literacy program that is used as the primary curriculum at Norman Public Schools, and I believe the primary pipeline through which this political ideology is infiltrating our schools and reaching our students’ minds.

Are these books appropriate for impressionable elementary students? How will these books alter the worldview of young American children, particularly how it relates to our modern immigration crisis? We are experiencing the greatest crisis of illegal immigration that this country has experienced in decades, and justifications for allowing it to continue are identical with the justifications for the Chinese immigration described in these books.

The MyView curriculum appears designed to foster an emotional judgment of immigration long before the true facts of the negative effects of invasion-level immigration reaches our children, and long before they’ve developed the capacity and maturity to understand them. As we know, a deeply-held emotional prejudice will easily overpower facts learned later.

The implicit moral of these two books is that it is okay to allow illegal immigration, even if it means breaking the law, if doing so allows foreign illegals to escape homeland for a better life.

Is this really a lesson that we want our kids learning in school? This is virtually identical to the justifications used today by our leftist-dominated political and humanitarian institutions, that have allowed millions of unvetted and undocumented migrants to flow unimpeded into our country, with tens of thousands of Venezuelans, Haitians, and other nationals given automatic parole and flown in to the US to be settled in unsuspecting communities, bringing cultures, habits, and even crime, that are incompatible with the American communities that are forced to contend with these newcomers.

Books like this smuggle a pro-immigration worldview into our classrooms right under our noses, molding the worldview of our children to automatically support the waves of immigration, and opposing any attempts to stop the flood.

I would urge Ryan Walters to, instead of pushing bibles and chaplains in our schools, instead thoroughly scour the current reading curriculum, primarily MyView Literacy, for political activism disguised as ordinary reading material. This is the overriding manner in which leftist orthodoxy is finding its way into our schools, and it must be rooted out.

The same goes for the Second Step Social-Emotional Learning curricula. SEL has smuggled in leftist ideology far more successfully than any other curriculum, and yet there has been no state-wide effort to sift through this curriculum with a fine-tooth comb and ban it outright.

With our state reading levels sitting at embarrassing levels, why should SEL and other forms of stealth political activism be given priority? Why is there not a concerted effort to focus like a laser on real literacy and math proficiency, or, God forbid, typing proficiency? In our computer age, typing proficiency is vital, and yet a typing class has not been offered to my children in either elementary or middle school.

Our priorities are totally out of whack, and as a result we’re condemning our children to a diminished future.

October 20, 2024 0

Success Highways Edmond Public School’s SEL Vehicle for Middle and High Schoolers

By Emily Wright 1/8/22

In the fall parents of EPS middle and high schoolers received letters with information regarding Success Highways a resiliency curriculum being taught during advisory hour. The letter stated:

“What makes students persevere despite adversity? Resiliency makes the difference! Resiliency is a set of protective characteristics possessed by those who are able to adapt to hardship and succeed. It determines why one group or individual student succeeds and another does not. The research found six interrelated resiliency skills that are critical to student success. These skills include: valuing education, academic confidence, connectedness, stress, health and well-being, and intrinsic motivation. A student becomes more resilient if they improve performance (includes attendance, behavior, coursework), take ownership of their education, set and work towards goals, take responsibility for their lives, manage adversity, and thrive in school and beyond. Edmond Public Schools received a grant to implement a Resiliency Curriculum and Assessment called, Success Highways.”

EPS superintendent, Dr. Grunewald, says CRT is a theory only taught in law schools, but it is actually being practiced in our schools via Resiliency Curriculum and Assessment program, Success Highways. (Resiliency is code word for Social Emotional Learning.) Designed for at-risk, inner city students, this program was originally known has Achieving Success Identity Pathways (ASIP).

Under the guise of safety the schools have accelerated the Marxist indoctrination. I believe most teachers and parents buy what is sold to them and have no idea of the ill-intent behind these programs. The schools will say that students must “feel” safe and accepted to achieve academic success and SEL is necessary, especially now in the midst of a pandemic.

If you peel back the curtain on the objectives and the basis of SEL Curricula you will find that these programs are not about teaching “kindness”, “resilience” or academic success skills. Rather, SEL aims to indoctrinate your child and provide them with a Marxist mindset and lens to view the world with. EPS embraces diversity, equity and inclusion which are the basic concepts one must embrace when seeing the world through a racist CRT lens. Just take a walk through any middle school and high school and you will see posters with DEI terms adorning the walls.

CRT posits that white systemic racism organizes American society and its institutions (police, schools, courts, Pro sports teams etc.)

SEL is the vehicle (delivery system) used to teach CRT notions to students. SEL is not only the delivery system but is CRT in praxis (in practice). SEL is just political programing used to ultimately transform children’s core values, attitudes and beliefs. It divides families and silence dissenters by tacit intimidation from the schools, government, media, Hollywood etc.

SEL is the advancement arm of Marxist ideas under the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion movement. DEI is the introduction of identity politics to your children. The process of divide, demonize and destroy is in full swing and schools are the recruiting and brainwashing posts churning out the Neo-Marxist, America hating army of social justice warriors.

SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS AND SCHOOL BOARDS ARE COMPLICIT! THEY ACCEPT FEDERAL FUNDING AND APPLY FOR GRANTS THAT HAVE USERED IN THIS GARBAGE.

“Resiliency” curriculum promotes “Victimhood Mentality”; Direct Your Ire Not at Your Parents, but at Society (White Privileged People) Jump on the Social Justice Train!

“Resiliency” Success Highways Based on Emancipatory Communitarianism

The author of Success Highways, psychologist Dr. Scott Solberg supports Emancipatory Communitarianism upon which the program is based.

What is Emancipatory Communitarianism? Isaac Prilleltensky first conceptualized EC in 1997. It is the hybrid of liberation psychology and communitarianism. Liberation psychology promotes individualism and groups, whereas communitarianism stresses responsibilities to each other in the larger community. Counselors, psychologists are to become agent for social justice and through your work train your clients to become fellow social justice warriors to work along side with you to destroy America. What about major role parents play or an intact nuclear family plays in child’s success in school. Unlike traditional theoretical approaches, EC favors (targets) the poor and disadvantaged. The end goal: distributive justice; practitioners directly training clients to advocate in political social spheres. EC psychology is being used to advance the CRT narrative pushed 24-7 by our government, the media, professional sports organizations, corporations, Hollywood etc.: (oppressor vs. oppressed), promote equity; level the playing field by redistributing power ( reverse racism against whites).

“In researcher-practitioner collaborations, the clients are most often individuals who receive services from an organization or system. The goal of working with practitioners is to discover and implement strategies that empower their clients to overcome existing challenges and inequities. From feminist psychotherapy (Enns, 1992) we are encouraged to understand the nature of power and, as “trained professionals,” the importance of redistributing this power using egalitarian strategies that enable practitioners to find their own voice in shaping the discourse and perspectives being offered. From emancipatory communitarianism (Blustein, McWhirter, & Perry, 2005; Prilleltensky, 1997) we are encouraged to address social justice by examining whether and how our strategies empower practitioners to effectively intervene within the context surrounding their clients, enabling clients to successfully navigate their own challenges as they strive to realize their career and life goals. From my experiences, all of these skills and perspectives play an important role in setting the foundation for establishing effective researcher-practitioner collaborations.”
Scott Solberg, speaking at the Conference of the Society of Vocational Psychology, May 16–17, 2016, Florida State University

Who is Dr. Solberg, What COMPANY Does He Keep? Who Does He Work For?

The creator of Success Highways is Dr. Scott Solberg. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Counseling and Applied Human Development at the Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development. Solberg translated ASIP into Success Highways, a one-size fits all curriculum that could be marketed to schools in 2006. Success Highways, under the ScholarCentric umbrella. According to his BU bio he serves as a “subject matter expert in providing resources, presentations, webinars, and consultation services” for a number of organizations and agencies including CASEL, and Council of Chief State School Officers.

History professor, director of the Center for Anti-Racist Research and author of How to Be an Anti-Racist, Ibram X. Kendi, is a fellow colleague of Solberg at Boston University.

“In researcher-practitioner collaborations, the clients are most often individuals who receive services from an organization or system. The goal of working with practitioners is to discover and implement strategies that empower their clients to overcome existing challenges and inequities. From feminist psychotherapy (Enns, 1992) we are encouraged to understand the nature of power and, as “trained professionals,” the importance of redistributing this power using egalitarian strategies that enable practitioners to find their own voice in shaping the discourse and perspectives being offered. From emancipatory communitarianism (Blustein, McWhirter, & Perry, 2005; Prilleltensky, 1997) we are encouraged to address social justice by examining whether and how our strategies empower practitioners to effectively intervene within the context surrounding their clients, enabling clients to successfully navigate their own challenges as they strive to realize their career and life goals. From my experiences, all of these skills and perspectives play an important role in setting the foundation for establishing effective researcher-practitioner collaborations.”
Scott Solberg, speaking at the Conference of the Society of Vocational Psychology, May 16–17, 2016, Florida State University

Image result for ibram x kendi books anti racist

CASEL: Distribution Arm of SEL Curricula

Nearly every state Department of Education has partnered with CASEL. Oklahoma State Department of Education has CASEL links to programs and resources on their website. Dr. Grunewald’s response to my November 1, 2021 school board speech mentioning SEL included a link to CASEL via the OSDE site:

“SEL provides a foundation for positive, long-term effects on kids, adults, and communities. Here is a current document from the SDE that defines SEL and why we teach it.” Dr. Angela Grunewald November 2, 2021

We define social and emotional learning (SEL) as an integral part of education and human development.
SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.
Fundamentals of SEL – CASEL

“SEL can be a powerful lever for creating caring, just, inclusive, and healthy schools that support all young people in reaching their fullest potential. In the context of SEL, equity and excellence refers to every student—across race, ethnicity, family income levels, learning abilities, home language, immigration status, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other factors—engaging in high-quality educational opportunities and environments that best promote their healthy social, emotional, and academic development.” How Does SEL Support Educational Equity and Excellence? – CASEL

State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister is a member of CRT/SEL Pushing CCSSO

Dr. Solberg is also an expert consultant for America’s Promise Alliance another educational racial eqiuity organization and the Council of Chief State School Offices. The CCSSO Equity goals include:

Invest in principals’ ability to lead schools that support the whole child.
Integrate analysis of teachers’ ability to teach social-emotional competencies into licensure requirements and teaching frameworks
Provide funding for teacher training on restorative justice
Check for bias in curriculum and assessment as part of state-level review of instructional materials, and assist LEAs in implementing strategies to detect bias in curriculum and assessment, particularly for locally selected or designed materials.
Annually report on multiple indicators of the diversity of the educator workforce

Success Highways/Scholar Centric Blog

Parents your tax payer dollars are being used to fund Marxist indoctrination curriculums. Every company’s website lists CRT dribble and platitudes, thus Scholar Centric’s site did not disappoint. Addressing Race & Political Events in K-12 Schools – Intellispark Derek Francis wrote the Addressing Race & Political Events in K-12 Schools blog post on January 28, 2021. In that post Francis provides an link to an exercise that addresses “racial and political events” under the “Tell the Truth” section of his blog.

This exercise is “Spot the Difference” courtesy of “Woke Kindergarten”. Woke Kindergarten 60 Second Text: Spot the Difference – YouTube Francis says: “Kids are seeing these events unfold and having conversations with peers. Public violence and protest are no longer shocking for them to see. We owe it to tell the kids the truth. Have the conversation. They can handle it. They see it on social media.”

Image result for woke kindergarten — “Counseling psychology places a strong value on working towards **social justice** by focusing efforts on decreasing inequities experienced by low income, high risk, and underrepresented populations. These efforts are informed by an ethical responsibility to use culturally responsive interventions and multicultural communication skills—all of which are necessary when working in community settings.”

Creator of Success Highways, V. Scott Solberg, speaking at the Conference of the Society of Vocational Psychology, May 16–17, 2016, Florida State University

The “RESEARCH” Success Highways is based on is Junk Science! I researched Dr. Solberg, the author of Success Highways, combed through the bibliography of the research paper on Success Highways and looked at the empirical (not scientific) research provided. That’s right this “researched based” program is not backed up with scientifically proven data that yields repeatable results, no matter what factors are added to the testing. Instead the program is based on empirical evidence which is based on observation and experience, things seen multiple times; with the belief that is how they work. Dr. Solberg also conducted this study, not an independent researcher.

“As with any program of evaluation, our work to date has it limitations. Perhaps most obvious is our inability, at present, to assert that ASIP caused the observed improvements in student academic and behavior outcomes.”
“While we do have evaluation data to suggest that engagement in ASIP activities contributes to positive outcomes for youth, our explanations for how this occurs are as yet based in theory.”
School-Based Social Justice: The Achieving Success Identity Pathways Program April 2006Professional School Counseling pg 286

“This curriculum originally was created to assist low-income youth and youth from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds in becoming aware of the oppression they experience daily, both oppression that exists in the environment and how their behavior contributes to these experiences. By teaching youth to understand how the social context shapes their behaviors and to recognize both the explicit and implicit ways that this occurs, school counselors can assist youth to develop an empowered frame of reference (Field & Baker, 2004). Once youth have attained this frame of reference, they then have the ability to choose, with both intentionality and reflectiveness, how to respond in ways that are self-affirming and consistent with their sense of fairness and justice.”
School-Based Social Justice: The Achieving Success Identity Pathways Program April 2006Professional School Counseling pg 285

“It is imperative that school counselors become actively engaged in promoting school success for all students. For youth from low-income and diverse backgrounds, future career opportunities are predicated on achieving educational success. Therefore, school counselors become agents for social justice when creating, implementing, and supporting school-based interventions designed to promote school success, especially culturally relevant interventions that target youth from low- income and diverse backgrounds. This article describes the Ecological Developmental Cognitive Framework designed to inform the development of curricula that improve school success for all youth. The Achieving Success Identity Pathways is described as an example of curricula derived from this framework and a program that incorporates the four main components of the ASCA National Model®.”
School-Based Social Justice: The Achieving Success Identity Pathways Program April 2006Professional School Counseling pg 278

“We would argue that youth from low-income and diverse backgrounds fail in school and society because oppression existing in the youth’s macrosystemic and exosystemic contexts (e.g., history of their racial/ethnic group, society beliefs regarding race, economic status, experience with racism/bigotry, media portrayals, and discriminatory housing practices) creates life experiences that result in internalized dispositions that maintain this oppression(Solberg & Howard, 2000). As a result of growing up within an oppressive social context, youth build a set of beliefs about themselves that are organized around core definitions of distrust, betrayal, danger, hopelessness, anger, loss, inadequacy, and social injustice. These core beliefs serve as predispositions and expectancies that influence their behavior across all social contexts, including school. Without intervention strategies to counter such predispositions that maintain oppression, youth who have internalized oppressive messages likely will continue to fail in school.”
School-Based Social Justice: The Achieving Success Identity Pathways Program April 2006Professional School Counseling pg 279

In Conclusion

Counselors, and teachers are not psychologists. If you choose not to opt your children out of SEL instruction they will be subjected to psychological treatment (abuse) in a non- therapeutic, uncontrolled environment complete with a healthy dose of “career training” (CRT mindset development)

Students are given a survey to pinpoint social-emotional strengths and weaknesses. The data mining will aid school officials in determining who is “at-risk” so “interventions” can be made. A post-test is given to determine SEL gains. I am not sure how you teach and then assess resilience. Genetics, individual life experiences and environment determine one’s resilience. How does teaching resilience address learning loss? How does focusing on feelings teach concepts/subjects students are behind in due to being kept out of a classroom full time for nearly a year and half? Shouldn’t we hire math and reading instructors to address the learning gaps? What does career training have to do with SEL? (Another topic for another day)

Parents take action! Question teachers, counselors, administrators, the superintendent and school board members. Speak at school board meetings. Run for the school board or actively campaign for school board candidates and/or donate to their campaigns.

The last round of Covid relief education funds: American Rescue Plan; requires schools to spend 20% of the funds on interventions that “respond to student’s academic, social and emotional needs.” PATRIOTS WE MUST GAIN CONTROL OF SCHOOL BOARDS!

January 11, 2022 1

GUEST POST: Dear Dr. Grunewald, Conscious Discipline = SEL and SEL = CRT, So Don’t Tell Us EPS Is NOT Teaching CRT

This article was written by Emily Wright, an Edmond Public Schools parent.

Conscious Discipline – Social and Emotional Learning
“Conscious Discipline believes that trauma-responsive social and emotional learning (SEL) is a lens through which transformational change in the areas of racial equality, equity and inclusion is not only possible, but essential.”

Conscious Discipline is the elementary Social Emotional Learning Curriculum, used in Edmond Public schools. Click on the name and try not to vomit as you explore the site. Let not your heart be troubled and drop those Tums!

Edmond Public School superintendent, Dr. Angela Grunewald, insisted once again that EPS does not teach Critical Race Theory during a 25 minute phone conversation with me on November 12.

Why did I get a phone call?: I sent her an email you can read here, in response to her rebuttal of the speaker comments made at the November 1 school board meeting.

Dr. Grunewald’s response to the Social Justice/CRT platitudes galore littering the Conscious Discipline (CD) site was that in the wake of the 2020 death of George Floyd, many companies put out these kind of messages on their websites.

I then asked her what CD edition EPS is using and are teachers/counselors just omitting any subject matter deemed to violate HB1775. She gave the same response: EPS does not teach CRT. She then invited me to come look at the curriculum, and/or sit in on a lesson and attend a parent meeting regarding CD. (I will be attending a parent meeting in January)

Dr. Grunewald then REPEATED that EPS is not teaching CRT.

Read the letter below written by Conscious Discipline creator, Dr. Becky Bailey, that I’ve included in its entirety. You will see that CRT is embedded in Conscious Discipline’s curricula and teacher/counselor training and come to the conclusion that our tax payer dollars are funding the brainwashing of our children!

Posted on July 29,2020 by creator Dr. Becky Bailey:

Recently we shared a public statement about racism, injustice and inequity and outlined our organizational commitment. This follow-up message is the first of many public updates we will provide as we strive to be both transparent and accountable in this critical area.
I firmly believe systemic racism must be dismantled, and I will be part of the solution both personally and professionally. As the voices of the Black Lives Matter movement call for increased equity and social justice, Conscious Discipline will answer with unequivocal support and actionable change.
Conscious Discipline’s methodology is based on and steeped in inclusion. Inclusion and unity are inseparable from our philosophy. Having said that, we are acutely aware that our company profile— particularly that of the independent contractors who make up our Certified and Master Instructor program— does not sufficiently represent the diverse cultures of many of the schools we support. Although our methodology is inherently culturally sustaining and inclusive, we believe increasing our team’s diversity will strengthen our resource offerings, our organization and ourselves, and is essential in supporting racial justice. With the urgency and importance of current events laying many of these issues raw, I feel it is important to convey some of the efforts we’ve taken over the past few years and our current commitments toward lasting change.
CERTIFIED INSTRUCTORS (INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS)
Conscious Discipline Certified Instructors and Master Instructors are independent contractors who are licensed to teach Conscious Discipline. The first 15 years of our Instructor Certification program relied on candidates seeking us out in order to become consultants. This yielded some phenomenal Instructors, but also resulted in many who came from similar life experiences— most were white, female, 35+ years old, suburban and middle class. Our pool of Instructors did not reflect the rich diversity of our nation.
In 2015, we paused in accepting applications for Certified Instructors in order to undertake a dramatic reorganization. In 2017, we launched additional organizational shifts to increase equity, address the lack of diversity, and provide additional training and coaching in our onboarding process. Most significantly, we reorganized into “family” units to provide better mentorship, and we changed from an application model to a recruitment model in order to focus on engaging people of color, especially Black Americans. This intentional shift helps us to actively identify, support, remove obstacles and fast-track promising candidates who are more diverse. It also helps us to better support our growing Instructor family. This worthwhile shift has required a significant investment of time and financial resources. Even with these focused efforts, this is a long-term endeavor as many of our Instructors implement Conscious Discipline for 5+ years before becoming Certified.
We will continue to build diversity and equity in our Certified Instructor program in the following ways:
We will evaluate our Instructor Certification process to accelerate the multi-year requirements around the study, implementation and coaching needed for Certification in order to meet an initial goal of a minimum of 30% people of color, with an emphasis on Black Americans.
We will provide diversity training to all Instructors via our family structure in order to encourage individual growth and assist Instructors in creating events that are culturally informed, inclusive and equitable.
We will enlist a racial equity consultant and a committee from within our organization to work together to formulate the steps for these processes and assist in implementation. Establishing the committee, the specific steps and a timeline are all in-process, and we will periodically post progress updates.
ADVANCED INSTITUTE
The Conscious Discipline Advanced Institute (CD2) is an intense training limited to only 48 attendees and an essential step needed for Certification. In 2017, we shifted CD2 from open registration to an invitation-based event. We reserved 50% of CD2 invitations for people of color, with a definite focus on recruiting Black attendees. We then gifted scholarships to those for whom finances were a barrier. These endeavors have not yet yielded the diversity we seek, so we are examining additional ways to recruit more effectively. We will continue this initiative indefinitely as a specific, actionable step toward increasing equity within the Conscious Discipline community and within the educational system at large.
TRAINING
Over the past decade, I have intentionally sought out research and amended trainings to include information about intergenerational, cultural and generational trauma specifically as it relates to Black Americans and Native Americans. I will continue this internal educational process for myself and our Instructors in efforts to address cultural responsiveness, microaggression, unconscious/implicit bias and the general historical perspective that is neglected in our educational system at large. We will also continue to increase the prevalence of Black and brown teachers, administrators and mental health professionals featured in videos and images during our trainings.
Additionally in our trainings, we will be more intentional and direct about sharing the way Conscious Discipline is designed to function in relation to one’s personal experiences. Conscious Discipline utilizes skills, powers and structures, but no prescriptive curriculum. Our approach supports mindset shifts, a compassionate cultural climate (the School Family), and skills of interaction that promote resilience and healthy relationships for all stakeholders (children, adults, schools, communities, etc.). We ask adults to digest and internalize Conscious Discipline into their mental models of their world, culture, jobs, relationships and children in their care— especially regarding misbehavior. We ask each adult to utilize what they deem helpful and set aside anything that doesn’t resonate, essentially making each person’s experience with Conscious Discipline uniquely their own. One outcome of this personalization is the ability for Conscious Discipline to be culturally sustaining, accessible and applicable to all communities, including communities of color. In efforts to further ensure access to training and resources, Conscious Discipline has invested $1.5 million dollars into under-resourced areas to support their goals with Conscious Discipline in the past three years.
STAFFING
Since 2018, we have engaged a reputable external partner to guide our hiring processes. Our directive is to elevate the best possible candidates for each position, with a priority on increasing diversity in our offices. We currently have two leadership positions and one staff position open. Our goal is to fill these positions once we recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19. Promoting diversity will be a lead factor in filling these and future positions.
OFFICE EDUCATION
Moving forward, Conscious Discipline will provide ongoing education and growth opportunities for our office leadership and staff in the areas of unconscious bias and racial equity. We will engage independent experts to help assess and train employees in regard to our antiracism goals, beginning with our most critical leadership and public-facing job positions. This effort will start immediately using Insperity HR Services, and will expand as we identify additional partners.
SOCIAL MEDIA
In early June, we began to prioritize using social media to share antiracist and race education content from respected thought leaders, including Ibram X Kendi’s Raising Antiracist Kids event, CASEL’s SEL as a Lever for Equity series and the APA’s Uplifting Youth Through Healthy Communication About Raceresources. We will continue to share antiracist content as an ongoing component of our messaging on all of our social media platforms. Our intent is to amplify leading voices and resource providers that encourage safe, productive conversations about racial equality, and to present educators, students, families and communities with opportunities for growth.
LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Like the world we live in, I am in a perpetual state of change and growth. Mistakes and missteps are essential to this process, and I have made many in my lifetime. A foundational concept in Conscious Discipline is to expand the pause between stimulus and reaction to create room for a conscious response. I am a teacher of this process, yet I am still learning this process. I believe the path to systemic and systematic change begins within each individual, and I am leading the way the best I know how— through continuous devotion to learning and improvement.
Over the past two years, these books and online courses have deepened my understanding of race issues and social justice, and helped to uncover my own unconscious bias:How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi, Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice that Shapes What We See, Think and Do by Jennifer L. Eberhardt, Ph.D., Cultural Somatics online course by Resmaa Menakem, Spare the Kids: Why Whupping Children Won’t Save Black America by Stacey Patton, Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond.
I am currently reading My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem and it is profound. I will continue to seek out powerful resources to shape my personal growth as well as the content and organizational policies of Conscious Discipline.
PRODUCT CONTENT
Conscious Discipline has consistently sought to prioritize cultural sensitivity and accessibility in our products and materials, including inviting input and making related improvements. For example:
We have historically instructed our directors and managers to ensure cultural diversity in the content and images featured in our products and support materials. This will continue in a more strategic way, including increased staff training and enlisting guidance from independent experts.
In 2019, an outside firm reviewed the Conscious Discipline e-Course to reveal implicit bias in the content. My team corrected the content that could be changed, and I used the insights as an opportunity for improvement and growth.
We have made multiple adjustments to the fabric of the Feeling Buddies in order to address color variances in certain manufacturing runs. (The desired form for the Buddies is a unisex, racially ambiguous “gingerbread” appearance.)
Moving forward, we will more closely review all new products through the lens of diversity, cultural sensitivity and inclusiveness. Our internal diversity committee and independent experts will work together to develop a Diversity Assessment Framework that will help guide new product development, training, and the marketing of our products and resources.
IN CLOSING
These are initial steps that lay the foundation for much larger shifts to come. I am eager to actively seek ways to create equity and dismantle systemic racism through awareness, compassion, connection and action— starting within myself and Conscious Discipline, and extending outward to those we serve.
Our next step toward these commitments is to develop a specific and measurable plan that will include key milestones, metrics and timelines, and will grow as our knowledge expands. As new opportunities and concerns surface, we will responsively adjust this plan. We will strive for transparency by periodically sharing updates, benchmarks and celebrations on our website and through social media.
We will be listening throughout this process, and are eager to hear from you about addressing racism, our progress or related matters.
Please email drbeckybailey@consciousdiscipline.com with your input.
As Maya Angelou famously said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” I am committed to learning more and doing better. My personal commitment to act in support of equity and social justice begins with myself and extends to my office staff, our Instructors and the Conscious Discipline family. We are all in this together, and we will continue the lifelong process of uncovering our false beliefs and unconscious biases; acquiring new skills; ensuring our policies and actions reflect our core principles of love, unity and equity; and actively living these values embedded in Conscious Discipline.
Thank you for your willingness to join us on this journey.
Wishing you well,
Dr. Becky A BaileyFounder & Chief Knowledge Officer,
Conscious Discipline

Curriculum is designed to teach set objectives. SEL is the latest fad in education and hundreds of curriculum companies have sprung up to cash in on the federal government’s and academia’s push of this garbage.

Curriculum is approved by local school boards of education and must align with the state’s department of education standards that must align with federal standards to access any federal and/or state funds/grants. Therefore state, federal and local education entities are working in tandem to turn kids into social justice/CRT warriors meanwhile SEL/CRT curriculum companies are getting rich off our tax dollars. Federal, state and local governments are complicit in this money laundering, socially indoctrinating scheme.

Progressive SEL foundations/organizations provide funding via grants or awards too. In fact, an Edmond elementary counselor, Janessa Bointy, received the National University System-Sanford Teacher Award for Oklahoma in 2020. She was awarded $10,000 for indoctrinating school children by “demonstrating high levels of inspirational teaching practices by engaging students, building student confidence, motivating students to succeed, giving students a voice and creating an inclusive environment.” “She has been a pioneer in using the Sanford Harmony social and emotional learning program to promote strong peer relations, self-regulation, tolerance, and understanding among students.”

During my conversation with Dr. Grunewald I brought up this counselor and her use of the Sanford Harmony Curriculum and she knew nothing about its use in our district or about this honor that was bestowed upon Ms. Bointy. In my letter to Dr. Grunewald I provided this link: Sunset Counselor Wins Award and $10,000 Prize – Edmond Public Schools (edmondschools.net) I also provided CRT-laced evidence from the Harmony website. Obviously, she failed to read my letter completely, as well as answer all my questions in concerns in a professional, truthful manner. If you or Dr. Grunewald would like to know more about the Sanford Harmony program here is a link from Ms. Bointy’s above mentioned blurb:

Sanford Harmony is a PreK-6 research-based social-emotional learning program that cultivates strong classroom relationships between all students. Sanford Harmony has been recognized by the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) as a quality program. http://sanfordprograms.org/

Back to the phone call.

I bemoaned the fact that my tax payer dollars are being used to ultimately rewire my kid’s thoughts, values and beliefs. I also expressed my opinion that more SEL does not address Covid learning loss and more instruction of core subjects is the solution.

Upon expressing my disdain for EPS’s molding and shaping my child’s identity Dr. Grunewald said since my kids come from stable home with involved parents, they will be able to cope and think for themselves, but SEL is necessary because there are students that come from unstable homes and everybody benefits; some more than others based on individual needs. She said mental health is a district priority now more than ever in light of the Covid pandemic and SEL is great tool to address it. We also discussed the definition of SEL and the link she provided in her response from the OK State Department of Education to explain further why SEL is taught.

CASEL is the author of the definition and framework of SEL that school districts across the country use. I am guessing that CASEL provided this document to the state department and OK State Department just inserted their tag on it. CASEL is a clearing house for all these SEL curriculum companies.

The information provided under the heading Teacher and Parents and subtitle SEL Resources for Parents, Educators and School Communities Related to Covid-19 will lead you to another vomit-inducing link.

Under the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion subheading you’ll find, “Speaking Up Against Racism Around The Coronavirus – The coronavirus became racialized, so it’s critical that educators understand the historical context and confront racist tropes and xenophobia from students and colleagues”, from an organization called, “Learning For Justice”, which is a project of the “Southern Poverty Law Center“.

I also was able to find, COVID19 Resources From America’s Promise Alliance Partner Organizations a Google Document containing this link Talking About COVID-19: A Call for Racial, Economic, and Health Equity | The Opportunity Agenda.

From the Opportunity Agenda:

“We also need to step up our allyship with communities of color. As Race Forward stated: “Implicit and explicit racism has often historically driven government responses to urgent health situations…The Trump administration has used this crisis to stem travel from unaffected regions, including halting asylum seekers at the Southern border. Hate-filled and racist rhetoric has stigmatized people of color as “infected,” threats to public safety, and burdens to the health care system.”
“Being an ally for communities of color starts in our language and messaging. We must avoid slipping into the mindset of “othering” when talking about this pandemic or any other public health crisis.
America is currently grappling with its long legacy of racism and othering. This comes through in our messaging around COVID by allowing implicit and explicit bias to influence our thinking and language, whether it be the example of blaming specific races for the virus and its spread or referring to the virus using derogatory terms.
Instead, we should work together to actively dispel xenophobic myths and racist misinformation – and hold our elected officials and the media to doing the same. Addressing implicit bias and racism is not always easy, but it is imperative, which is why The Opportunity Agenda developed a messaging tool to help advance these conversations.”

Oklahoma has a law banning this type of curriculum/instruction, yet the OK State Department of Education has a resource sheet with clearly unvetted links to CRT political action organizations and CRT disguised as SEL curriculum resources?

Dr. Grunwald’s response to this was: “Well you know when you start clinking on links you could end up on a porn site.”

Parents, educators, patriots please understand that SEL is a conduit of CRT. IT IS A 12 YEAR PROGRAM THAT SOCAILLY ENGINEERS YOUR CHILD by transforming your child’s core values, attitudes and beliefs. SEL lessons focus on diversity, equity and inclusion to promote “kindness” and create a “safe” learning environment for all. These lessons already occur naturally in our homes, families, communities and classrooms. It is not the school’s job to focus on feelings. Their job is to impart objective truth.

YES, Dr. Grunewald CRT is being taught in our schools!

December 5, 2021 2

Edmond Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Angela Grunewald’s November 2nd Response To Parents, Is Either Deliberately False, Or Uninformed By Reality

In a post made to the Edmond Public Schools website, Superintendent Dr. Grunewald addressed what she characterized as “negative and sometimes false comments” made by parents at the 11.1.21 Board Meeting. On the playground we used to say, “It takes one to know one.” Dr. Grunewald’s response to parents in this missive is either deliberately false, or – worse – uninformed by reality. Here’s how we know.

I have known Molly Jenkins – like every other ROPE Board Member – for 8-10 years. She’s tough and smart and like the rest of us, VERY concerned about what is happening to our children in public education.

In the Spring of 2021, she was very troubled by an assignment that was brought to the attention of the EPS Board at a regular Board meeting by a parent who was alerted to the assignment by their child who was completing work online due to COVID.

The class was reading The Absolutely True Diary of A Part Time Indian, a book about a native American boy who lives on a reservation, has troubles in school, reads books and draws cartoons.

Unfortunately, what might be a really interesting book, centers a great deal on the differences between Native Americans and white people from his perspective. Another book in a long litany of books for young adults that introduce race (or sexuality) as a way of indoctrinating readers into certain worldviews.

In May, after the passage of HB1775 preventing the teaching of Critical Race Theory ideals, Molly – still concerned about the “white vs indian” assignment she’d seen – drove to the EPS Administration building and asked for a meeting with Superintendent Grunewald.

She wanted to speak with the Superintendent personally to make certain they were going to follow HB1775 after seeing what she felt to be a completely inappropriate narrative.
An appointment was made and on the day she returned for the meeting with Dr. Grunewald, she was interested to find 10-12 copies of a book sitting on a table in her office with the word ‘equity’ in the title.

“That looks like an interesting book,” she remarked to the Superintendent who then suggested she take a copy to read.

During the meeting, Molly shared her CRT concerns with Dr. Grunewald who assured her they were not teaching CRT tenets in Edmond Public Schools. So, with little further to say after that ‘assurance’, Molly headed home to read the book she was given.

Once home, it took her just about four hours to read the book from cover to cover, she found it so unnerving. On nearly every page she made notes to herself about what she was reading and how it directly connected to the ideals which derive from CRT – the ones specifically outlawed by HB1775.

After reading the book, she immediately contacted EPS Administration to make a further appointment with Dr. Grunewald, which was granted.

At that meeting, she explained to the Superintendent what she had found in the book and that she found CRT tenets on nearly every page.

She asked Dr. Grunewald if she had read the book in its entirety and was told NO, BUT SHE HAD SCANNED IT.

Molly asked the Superintendent who she was giving the book to read – since there had been numerous copies on the table. Dr. Grunewald would NOT give her a clear answer, saying only, “some people around here”. She felt that the Superintendent was very dismissive with her – almost a “you do you we’ll do us” kind of attitude.

Now, let’s examine Dr. Grunewald’s statement from November 2.

Look at the first bullet point. Now, look at this:

What Dr. Grunewald said was simply a talking point described by leftist educators to defend against the use of CRT in schools. In literally means nothing. It’s a deflection for parents who have done their homework and know better.

Bullet point 2 – no one has said it was a standard. Another deflection.

Bullet point 3 – this point references the book we’ll discuss in the next frame – “Belonging Through A Culture of Dignity”.

Bullet point 4 – SEL=CRT. Guest poster Emily Wright (EPS mom of 3) made that abundantly clear in her blog of this week. You can find that here. SEL is Social Emotional Learning, another education fad created by a bunch of leftist teachers in order to indoctrinate children. If you don’t believe me, read this page. Talk about mumbo-jumbo, word salad – not to mention that children’s EMOTIONS are strictly the territory of PARENTS, not schools.

In this portion of her response, Dr. Grunewald claims she’s read the book “Belonging Through a Culture of Dignity”. Here’s what WalMart said about the book when I went searching for it.

“Once these fundamental human needs are understood, educators can gain clarity of the barriers to meaningful student relationships, especially across dimensions of difference such as race, class and culture…Through their work, the authors aim to equip educators with the tools necessary to deliver the promise of DEMOCRACY through schools by breaking the cycle of equity dysfunction once and for all.”
Belonging Through a Culture of Dignity: The Keys to Successful Equity Implementation Kindle Edition
by Floyd Cobb (Author), John Krownapple (Author), Brenda CampbellJones (Foreword)

FULL STOP. There is so much wrong with those sentences it’s hard to breakdown in a blog, but let me do it by asking some questions:

How did public schools create students OF EVERY COLOR and sex smart enough to put a man on the moon without this tripe?
Has anyone looked to see what the National Assessment of Academic Progress scores of Oklahoma students are in Math, Science and Reading? (I have – they’re dismal and have been for a decade) Have schools been teaching, or modifying behaviors?
If you specifically hone in on race, class and culture do you make disparities clearer to children or less clear?
Since when are schools a DEMOCRACY?
Who says there is a “cycle of equity dysfunction” except for the people like Dr. Becky Bailey who stand to make a KILLING on all the stuff she sells to promote ‘dignity’ through SEL programming? Is this about money or the welfare of kids?

Molly read the entire book. Here are some of the most horrifying nuggets from the book:

Pg 42: “Schools routinely offer our students on the margins (e.g., impoverished and minoritized) inferior academic experience to students of affluence and cultural dominance. – Nor did it require educators to prioritize a sense of belonging for students racialized as Black (or otherwise) who were displaced and had to leave the safety and belonging of home schools and move into often unwelcoming school cultures that were exclusively White. Thus a “belonging gap” emerged within racially integrated schools. (Hilariously, ‘bussing’ was created by liberals believing that black students couldn’t possibly get a good education in black schools – a racist notion in and of itself – so they moved them from their homes into white areas to get equal access to education excellence. Yet another one of the ‘liberals screw it up and screw it up worse trying to fix their original screw up’ because they simply have to find fault with something all the time.)

Pg 62: The whole page is filled with racist nonsense, but here are a few examples: “To redress inequity and create a socially just system of education, ensuring access is not enough For educational equity, access and belonging are both vital”. “Historically marginalized identity groups are most vulnerable to the stereotype threat and belonging uncertainty when aspiring to achieve in the dominant culture.”

pg 76: “Perhaps the concept of race (being White, more specifically) is the most prominent example of social exclusion and belonging in US history.”

pg 77: “Whiteness, as Joe Feagin (2013) argues, is more definitely characterized as the absolute right to exclude and, ultimately the entitlement to determine who belongs.” “Entitlement has determined, among other things, where groups of people can live or work, whether or not they have basic rights (e.g., voting, health care), and what type of social activities and relationships they can have with whom (e.g. marriage). In 2018 and 2019, the hashtag #LivingWhileBlack went viral on social media, documenting racial exclusivity Droves of videos show White Americans calling the police on everyday people – Black, Latinx, Muslim, Americans – going about their lives (without markers of Whiteness in places where they are perceived not to belong: Starbucks, swimming pools, golf courses, fitness centers, sidewalks, parks, picnic tables, libraries, college campus tours, and more. To this day, the markers of race often determine the extent to which people feel they belong in any given environment.”

Look up HB1775 and then compare that to these book excerpts. Everything here DEFIES letters a, b, f, g and h of that bill, causing the book – and Dr. Grunewald by pushing it – to violate HB1775.

Now let’s look at her next statement:

Once again, we find that Grunewald has little to say but echoing the talking points of others in the public education cabal.

Apparently, she just surfed the internet and came up with the definition the rest of the sheep use.

And now, how about the concept that we must ‘heal the child before we can educate the child’? That’s a concept that’s been pushed since John Dewey wanted to take control of society by getting between parent and child since parent wouldn’t necessarily bring the child up to be a democratic socialist the way he envisioned children should be brought up. (Read more about Dewey in “John Dewey & the Decline of American Education: How The Patron Saint of Schools Has Corrupted Teaching & Learning” – It was VERY enlightening about why public education is the way it is.)

Now look at her last bullet point.

So they’ve increased the number of counselors. Why? Because the state Department of Education gave schools money to hire counselors – $35 million dollars in ESSR funds to be exact – because, well, COVID. Schools pay half – the state pays half – everyone’s happy. Except that the “School Counselor Corps” as they are being called, apparently come mainly from the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) – an organization that says:

School counselors work toward cultural competence and engage in anti-racist actions by advocating to change racist policies, procedures, practices, guidelines and laws contributing to inequities in students’ academic, career and social/emotional development
American School Counselors Association

You can see more about the ASCA here. The ASCA also pushes SEL, driving more CRT tenets into children through counseling and data-collection surveys (from the company owned by the husband of the daughter of Merrick Garland, the federal Attorney General who told the FBI to investigate parents at school board meetings – oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.)

So, yet again, Superintendent Grunewald seems to literally be falsifying information or have no idea what she’s reading, what she’s saying or what goes on in her own schools.

Clearly EPS is saturated with SEL and clearly, SEL is the pipeline for CRT pushed by counseling services and Dr. Grunewald herself through “Belonging Through a Culture of Dignity”.

In closing, Dr. Grunewald is doing little more than many Superintendents do anymore when confronted by parents who actually care – they are either outright lying, or are too soaked in their own indoctrination to understand what they’re doing to our kids.

This is another excellent reason why SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS ARE PARAMOUNT. School boards can literally get rid of these kinds of Superintendents and hire ones that actually care about kids, not merely pushing what the education cabal wants pushed on kids.

GET INVOLVED IN SCHOOL BOARDS AND SCHOOL BOARD RACES IN YOUR DISTRICT TODAY!

November 12, 2021 0

GUEST POST: Dear Dr. Grunewald, If You Think You’re Not Allowing The Teaching of CRT, What Do You Call Social Emotional Learning (SEL)?

This is a guest post by an Edmond Public Schools (central Oklahoma) parent with three children in elementary grades.

Dear Dr. Grunewald,

Three of my children have attended Heritage Elementary school for 2 years and have had a wonderful experience. The teachers, counselors and administrators are amazing!

I met with Mrs. Frank and the counseling staff on November 4 to discuss my children’s participation in the SEAL classes. I inquired about the curriculum and themes/topics covered in the sessions.

The curriculum being used is Conscious Discipline. The counselors at Heritage write their own lessons based on this curriculum.

I was slightly familiar with Conscious Discipline since it was used at Clyde Howell where my oldest child attended pre-k, 8 years ago. I borrowed a book from the teacher and found it to be comparable to Love and Logic. These I feel were wonderful programs for elementary kids. However, upon returning home I decided to visit the Conscious Discipline website.

I was quite shocked at the description that popped up before clicking on the site link: Home – Social and Emotional Learning It reads: “Conscious Discipline believes that trauma-responsive social and emotional learning (SEL) is a lens through which transformational change in the areas of racial equality, equity and inclusion is not only possible but essential.”

This sounds like a CRT, social justice, whatever you want to call it, platitude to me. A political indoctrination program for kids.

CRT is not just a legal theory taught at the college level. CRT is a movement, a conduit of identity politics which promotes the analysis of many aspects of society through the prism of racism and Marxist victim-hood mentality (oppressor vs. oppressed).

It’s clear to me that CRT has been repackaged and renamed SEL.

On the Conscious Discipline’s home page I also found the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) seal indicating that Conscious discipline has the CASEL SELect Program Designation.

Until recently CASEL downplayed the leftist political bent of SEL, however CASEL CEO, Karen Niemi, announced in December 2020 that her company “has revised its definition of and framework for ‘socio-emotional learning’ to highlight the value of SEL as a weapon for social justice.”

Karen Niemi. “We know from research that attention to students’ holistic learning and development can promote high-quality educational opportunities and outcomes for all children across race, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation and other differences.

Importantly, SEL has potential to promote the academic, social and emotional development of all children. SEL can also help adults and students co-create more equitable schools and communities.

While SEL alone will not solve the deep-seated inequities in the education system, it can help adults and students build more meaningful relationships and develop knowledge, skills and mindsets to interrupt inequitable policies and practices, create more inclusive learning environments and nurture the interests and assets of all individuals.

CASEL will work alongside researchers, educators and policymakers to address issues of identity, agency and belonging that are fundamental to human development”

This is obviously a CRT/SEL school curriculum publisher’s clearinghouse. The NoVo Foundation is a funding partner of CASEL. NoVo focuses heavily on abortion rights, LGBT interests and left-wing economics.

CASEL is basically a political lobbyist group promoting SEL programs in schools and in the workplace.

Here is just a sample of more articles and/or statements that raised CRT red flags from the Consciousness Discipline website: Conscious Discipline – CASEL Program Guide – This is the curriculum description “Strategies supporting educational equity””Conscious Discipline offers strategies for working with bias. This includes training for adults to examine bias and understand how it creates barriers to authentically connecting with students, assessing students SEL needs, and responding to conflict constructively and impartially. “Supporting Racial Equity: Essential Next Steps for Conscious Discipline – The screenshot below captures what Dr. Becky Bailey said on July 29, 2020:

SEL as a Lever for Equity: 5-Part Webinar Series from CASEL – Posted on August 11, 2020 by Conscious Discipline:

“Conscious Discipline believes that trauma-responsive social and emotional learning (SEL) is a lens through which transformational change in the areas of racial equality, equity and inclusion is not only possible, but essential.” (See more in the screenshot below)

“However, Conscious Discipline recognizes that SEL alone isn’t enough to resolve longstanding inequities. We must directly promote equity, listen and learn from one another, and have conversations that feel challenging or uncomfortable.”

I guess “conversations that feel challenging or uncomfortable” means showing my kids Raising Antiracist Kids: 9 Steps from Ibram X. Kendi – the guy who thinks my kids are racist because they have white skin – but here he is promoted by Conscious Discipline.

Dr. Grunewald, does CASEL’s revised definition of and framework for SEL align with our SEAL program?

How do you ensure EPS SEAL curriculums are not promoting the tenets of HB 1775?

You said in your response to the public comments made at the November 1 meeting and Wednesday night on News 9 that EPS does not teach CRT and is only taught in law schools. CRT has invaded all sectors of academia, including education.

I beg to differ and I now believe Consciousness Discipline to be rooted in CRT.

How is EPS using this – or any other CASEL-approved program or curriculum – NOT violating HB 1775?

The EPS website does not have any information regarding SEAL curriculum. While trying to find out what curriculum was being used SEAL, I came across a June 22, 2020 write-up: Sunset Counselor Wins Award and $10,000 Prize – Edmond Public Schools. The article states:”Ms. Bointy” has been a pioneer in using the Sanford Harmony social and emotional learning program.”At the end of the article, it states:”Sanford Harmony has been recognized by CASEL as a quality program.”I did some digging around on the Harmony page and clicked on the Research tab at the very top of the page.

I learned “Students participating in Harmony reported significantly more diverse friends than did those from control groups. Furthermore, these peer influences were related to improved writing and math performance in classrooms using Harmony, but not in control classrooms.”(DeLay, et al., 2016).

Why is an SEL program concerned about collecting data on students and their friends?

From the Harmony-Inspire Rebuilding Communities Tool-Kit page 9, titled: “How can we foster diversity and inclusion in our communities and support many students who have seen and experienced unrest and inequity?”Item 2 says:”Support students in developing their critical thinking skills and forming inclusive attitudes by providing students the tools to identify and reject stereotypes and seek friendships with a diverse group of peers. These skills help them be advocates for themselves and their families, peers, and community members now and in the future. Explore developmentally appropriate critical thinking skills about stereotypes and developing empathy for other points of view in the “Pop that Stereotype” activity.”

Is Ms. Bointy still teaching this CRT-laced program? If so, she and EPS are violating HB 1775.
The U.S. Department of Education has been pushing schools by providing funding and training in physiological, attitudinal and behavioral standards (SEL) for years. ESSER funding can be and are being used by EPS to purchase more SEL curriculum – ostensibly to curb ‘learning loss’.
How does SEL address learning loss? I think more academic subjects should be taught to address that issue instead – art class for all elementary students, handwriting, spelling or more of the core subjects.

Who decides what attitudes, mindsets, values and beliefs should be taught and promoted to a child? You? The government?

No. We the parents do. There is subjectivity among adults who develop SEL curriculum that reflects their attitudes, mindsets, values and beliefs that is then taught to a class which is a group.

SEL/CRT is pushing collective values over individual values. Impressionable elementary children and children undergoing puberty with incomplete pre-frontal cortexes are being influenced to act or think how a group or teacher or school district says or does in order to belong or be “canceled” by the group if they have a different viewpoint. Does a school have any business defining these competencies and teaching them? No.

Why is teaching Great Expectations not enough SEL for Edmond Public School students?

I don’t want someone else deciding who my children are – I want my children to develop their own sense of self.

Sincerely,

Emily Wright

November 10, 2021 0