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Ms. Lourie employs a classic diversionary technique by claiming something isn't something because it's really something else. She writes, Equity is the moral responsibility of public schools, but is under arrest as code for CRT. Well, this is is actually backwards. "Equity" is code for Critical Race Theory (CRT.)
CRT doesn't appear in the school district's plan because of the protests. And these protests are notable to Ms. Lourie because of the conduct of the participants. Apparently there is something unseemly about clapping and cheering (things that have never, ever happened in a school board meeting before...), but I doubt she had any concern about the school board meeting where four students complained about the Fellowship of Christian Athletes school club. And that incident resulted in a lawsuit by the school district.
CRT is controversial, so much so that the Bozeman plan doesn't include the term, instead referring to it as something more innocuous: "Multicultural education." Who can be opposed to that? Why would anyone be opposed to critical thinking? Therefore, opposing "multicultural education" is the same thing as denying there is racism, you see. It means "shielding white children" from fact and history.
Again, classic diversionary techniques.
And she keeps going. She writes of the opposition: A crowded bandwagon is accusing schools of indoctrinating students that our country is pluralistic, complex and not without injustice. No, ma'am. A group of concerned citizens is protesting the indoctrination students into cultural Marxism masquerading as education. And that's what it is, Marxism disguised.
Ms. Lourie twice mentions a moral obligation, but never mentions what morality that would be. Is it her morality? The school district's morality? Her church's morality? The use of the word "moral" conveys a weightiness of duty far beyond a simple teaching process. This is a "moral" thing, so important, so critical, that to deny her the ability to teach "multicultural education" causes her to violate her moral duty.
The last thing to note is that Ms. Lourie dutifully parrots the National Education Association talking points about CRT:
She is an NEA member, so it seems likely she is read in on what her union is proposing for all 50 states.
Monday’s school board meeting attracted ire. “Critical Race Theory,” a theoretical framework utilized in graduate schools and policy think tanks, is not what our board is proposing. They have formed an Equity Task Force to ensure we serve the needs of all students. Equity is the moral responsibility of public schools, but is under arrest as code for CRT. A crowded bandwagon is accusing schools of indoctrinating students that our country is pluralistic, complex and not without injustice.
While this is actually called, “Multicultural Education,” I fail to see the problem. I teach D-Day, 9/11, Pearl Harbor, Veterans Day; and that Native Americans were forcibly removed, enslaved people were not happy, and the Holocaust did, indeed, occur. I prepare students for citizenship in a participatory democracy by helping them ask questions, recognize bias, and solve problems cooperatively in a safe classroom. I have a moral responsibility to nurture the growth of all students; a patriotic duty to help raise an educated generation of compassionate and informed Americans.
An education void of critical analysis, dialogue and exposure is a great disservice to white children. We are tasked with preparing all children for futures in a diverse society. Shielded, white children run the risk of being unprepared for the world that awaits.
In addition to Bozeman’s welcoming nature, there are well documented accounts of racism in our town and schools. To deny the existence of racism in Bozeman erases the reality of many.
There are guidelines for board meeting participation. You don’t refer specifically to school personnel or students; you speak within the allotted time; and refrain from clapping, yelling or interrupting — much like my classroom. Some participants disregarded this etiquette. Had they been my students, I would have called their parents and made them stay in for recess.
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