Governor Kristi Noem continues her war against public education (because only stupid white people will continue electing stupid white people like her). But concerned citizen John Tsitrian has posed Noem an important question: where are these public universities and public schools in South Dakota that Noem accuses of undermining America’s greatness?
To this completely nonsensical generalization, I posed a challenge to Noem (seen above in an image from KVRR-News) a week or so ago to provide a list of South Dakota schools that are engaging in this dastardly pedagogical behavior . . . a challenge to which I have yet to receive a reply. That she’s trying to change a status quo about which she’ll never find a factual example says much about Noem’s lack of any training in logic, never mind her already limited grasp of what the study of history entails.
…Meanwhile, in addition to my challenge to Noem to name some of our public schools that are teaching students to hate their country and each other, I’d like to see her name a few college campuses in the state where much the same is taking place.
She can’t do it. It doesn’t exist in real life. Noem is creating the illusion of a crisis, which may do her some good, politically, but is actually a distraction from the real issues that matter in this state [John Tsitrian, “Is Noem Taking a Wrecking Ball to South Dakota’s Universities? Has She Even Heard of Academic Freedom?” South Dakota Standard, 2021.05.27].
If a threat is so prominent and widespread in public education that Governor Noem has to dedicate the month of May to waging war on it, one would think the Governor could easily identify the individuals and institutions who are perpetuating this threat. But like Tsitrian, I’m not holding my breath for our part-time Governor and full-time Presidential campaigner to offer specifics on her public pronouncements. She’s not talking to us South Dakotans; she’s talking to donors and 2024 primary voters.
Does she resort to drumpf standby, “many people have said” without bothering to identify any of the many?
It is truly despicable the caliber of political thinkers magats have churned out since the days of dumbass dubya.
ps John Tsitrian for South Dakota Guv. in 2022 if not sooner. Have mercy.
Gloria Ladson-Billings work in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education involved Critical Race Theory and teaching in classrooms with a diversity of students. She’s pretty clear that Critical Race Theory is not interested in switching out or “cancelling” what is currently being taught. What she thinks ought to happen is that the curriculum expands to include much more of the richness of American history and culture.
Here’s a good link to consider real Critical Race Theory and distinguish it from the righty caricature:
https://ced.ncsu.edu/news/2021/03/25/i-want-to-hold-our-feet-to-the-fire-around-justice-gloria-ladson-billings-discusses-education-after-covid-civil-unrest-during-don-c-locke-multiculturalism-and-social-justice-sympo/
Consider what that might mean for teaching the history of South Dakota. There was never a course on South Dakota history when I attended Sioux Falls Lincoln High School. We didn’t learn anything about South Dakota history. We touched on a few things about Indians in third grade, and we had something on South Dakota history in sixth grade. The fact that I don’t remember anything from it ought to give you a clue as to how effective it was. Things had gotten worse when my daughter, who graduated from RC Central in 2001, was going through her school years. There was virtually nothing.
South Dakota would have to develop some sort of meaningful curriculum. What of South Dakota history are you going to teach? Noem has no clue, but there are historians and teachers who could probably put together some decent ideas that would include diverse viewpoints. Ah, but see, that’s the problem, isn’t it. Noem wants only her voice to matter.
Seems like a certain off their rockers political party’s idea of expanding education is re-writing our past with endings that favor wasicus and dismisses the accomplishments of POC.
News from Sioux Falls Washington High School:
“Rahele Megosha, a high school senior from South Dakota (Sioux Falls Washington), has been named the 2021 Poetry Out Loud national champion. The competition invites high school students to memorize and recite great poetry, both classic and modern. For her win, Megosha recited three poems: “I Am Learning to Abandon the World” by Linda Pastan, “Fairy Tale with Laryngitis and Resignation Letter” by Jehanne Dubrow and Mary Lamb’s poem “Breakfast.”
Her prize comes with a $20,000 award. This fall, Megosha is beginning college at Columbia University in New York City, where she has a full-ride scholarship. She plans to major in biochemistry, with a concentration in either African-American and African diaspora studies or human rights.
According to a feature in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader published last month, Megosha is involved in numerous extracurriculars, including “poetry club, Black Student Union, Warrior youth program, student council, principal’s advisory, volunteering, speech, debate and oral interpretation” at Washington High School in Sioux Falls. She’s also served as the captain of the speech team for the past two years.”
Video of Rahele below. She’s very good!
https://www.npr.org/2021/05/28/1001216079/reciting-poetry-earns-south-dakota-teenager-a-national-prize
The only education I received about the Indian culture was playing with them when we went to my grandmothers’ house. I discovered at an early age they were just people a lot like us. Still today, I have as much or more respect for them than the whites I grew up with.
Kristi just wants to cover America’s A… Nothing serious here folks. What do expect from lying losers. Golly she’s kept all those trans out of sports, they were all over So Dak., weren’t they? Critical Race theory, she’s critical of it, just too many facts involved with that one. Kate Smith will be the civics song of South Dakota. What can you expect from the cancell party of trump?
Well obviously, the Governor needs to send a team of inspectors to Sioux Falls Washington High School.
thanks for adding that to today’s blog, Joe
she’s very good
Great recitation. Thanks for posting this.
I correcdt something I said above. My daughter did have some instruction in Native American history and culture at EB Bergquist Elementary. I remembered I have a little booklet packed away downstairs from that time in her schooling, and that led to recall other things about her elementary education. Bergquist had a lot of Indian kids attending, and so on occasion the school would have a speaker, or a presentation by a parent. Also. Mrs. Vallandra, a Native American teacher at the school, was a great role model who made sure there was some Native American culture included at the school.
When I was on the school board, Central High School sponsored a student drum group and traditional dancing. So, things did improve some from the 1960s to 2001.
Mr. Tsitrian does indeed have a bad case of NDS. I blame his benefactor, Mr. Stan.
Well…the Governor needs to add Bergquist and Central High School to the list of facilities requiring inspection for the presence of Critical Race Theory in their curriculum. The inspection team will include a diverse cross section of Norwegians who represent three synods of Lutherans.
Donald’s mention of then decline of South Dakota history’s place in our K-12 curriculum makes me wonder if the push for more standardized testing has crowded out the SD focus.
I recall my own SD history lessons in sixth grade. I read from an old, fraying textbook in which some enterprising young artist had graffitied a large buffalo to show it peeing profusely. I also remember watching RIchard Muller’s plaid shirt and whiskers South Dakota Public Television-original South Dakota Adventure…which program we could probably bring back as 75% of the SD curriculum Noem says she is looking for.
Donald also gets me thinking about Noem’s continued lack of specificity. Just like she never responds to Tsitrian’s challenge to name specific schools where instances of inimical CRT teachings have taken place, I don’t think I’ve ever heard her give examples of specific elements of South Dakota history that she thinks K-12 students need to know in order to be good citizens. The
Obviously the kids need to learn about John Boland, Hugh Glass, Sitting Bull and Joseph Nicollet.
Recently, one TV station (KELO-land) has done several minutes-long segments on the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot massacre on the “Black Wall Street” section of that city on may 31 and Jun 1 1921, where hundreds were injured, many blacks killed and buried in mass graves and they had even hired airplanes to drop fire-bombs on the black owned businesses. Only 100 yrs past. I’ve read or heard NOTHING about this travesty until this year (on Juanita Jeans)-which is just what Noem would like so much more of by sweeping these things like Wounded Knee Massacre under the historical rug of non-existence.
White supremacists conservatives have kept “cancel-culture’ front and center keeping people from the knowledge of “bad things that happened” out of sight.
Like the current crop of Senate Republicans who don’t want the truth to be exposed by a bipartisan commission.
Monday night, 7pm Mountain, on Keloland…. Tulsa Race Riot-1921
Well…we have a wonderful Historical Society which has published several fascinating books regarding race in South Dakota History including the entire Sitting Bull saga including his imprisonment at Fort Randall and his sojourn in Europe with Wild Bills show. There has been considerably more research and new2 publications on Wounded Knee which every school aqe child in our state needs to know. Another book recounts the MANY African Americans pioneers in South Dakota especially the over 100 freed slaves living and working in Yankton during the steamboat days. And then we have the contributions of the Arabs and Armenians in the period of west river settlement after 1900. The Red Stick murder trial in Deadwood during the 1880’s is a fascinating story of two cultures clashing. There is the struggle of the Sioux tribes to survive during the WPA years of the depression. And then, there is the story of Coe I. Crawford, Governor, Senator, and forgotten campaigner for human rights.There are a thousand great stories of South Dakotans not only struggling to wrest a livelihood from Dakota sod but also struggling to achieve human dignity. The stories must be told.
Andrew Sullivan makes deep sense on CRT:
https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/removing-the-bedrock-of-liberalism-826
Since this thread has turned to racism, I’ll take a sentence or two to discuss “Critical Race Theory”.
CRT teaches that systemic racism is present in every part of American life.
I guess it only took one sentence.
Do you disagree with that assertion, Governor Noem? How about you gurdsnick?
Well…Porter, I believe racism is pervasive in both the public and private lives of the citizens of South Dakota and that it will pop up and become exposed in many surprising ways during the course of day to day events. It is pervasive because its existence is so often denied.
Well put, Mr. Dull
There have been over 100 Tulsa’s since the Civil War, Chinese, Japanese, Hispanics have also had theirs. Native Americans and Canadians too… Republicans just avoid this examination, now they can’t. Its simple for them to lie, lie, deny, deny. Technology has made all of this examination possible, especially with everyone now carrying a camera. Its easy for anyone to look up information so those cowardly red states can cancel all they want, its not going to even slow down the movement.
Pervasive, it is… But, to Noem, it’s essential to DENY it even exists and that anyone that talks badly about this nation’s treatment of indigenous people and imported slaves from Africa/Caribbean is ‘Hating our country or teaching youth to hate theirs!’
Being a leader requires being able to see the truth-even when it hurts.