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Recently, I posted "Why I Support DEI, In One Graph". Separately, I posted "Why I Support SEL, In One Parent's Story". Reader feedback prompts me to add some things.
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| Rotten Tomatoes |
#VeryTardyReview
DEI (or EDI, as the Richardson ISD prefers) stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Simply, it means that "all people, regardless of race, gender, or other demographic attribute, should be able to succeed." Somehow, teaching that noble goal has been twisted into something members of the RISD community, in public comments at a recent school board meeting, called "racist indoctrination" and "hateful divisive ideology" and "brainwashing." Whoa.
Then I came across one simple graph that highlights the fact that something is wrong in RISD, and, yes, it has to do with race. It highlights a racial divide in school rankings. I'm willing to listen to suggestions for how to address it, but I won't be convinced by anything that doesn't start from a premise that race is at the root of a problem here in RISD.
When I grew up, bullying happened. It was frowned upon by teachers, but behind the teachers' backs, in the lunchroom, on the playground, bullying went on undiminished. Why? Because kids weren't taught how to deal with it themselves. Instead, kids were taught to take it without whining. Or, worse, to fight back and risk getting beaten up. Both methods were failures. Relying on teachers being the enforcers makes bullying worse ("Cut it out or I'll tell the teacher."). What was needed was teaching kids a better way to deal with bullies. And teaching bullies a better way to deal with the feelings that caused them to bully.
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| Rotten Tomatoes |