Hey, did you notice that Governor Kristi Noem’s first three proposed bills for the 2022 Legislative Session are all attacks on public education? Noem’s bill promoting prayer in schools, Noem’s bill banning transgender girls from girls’ sports, and Noem’s bill to block critical race theory (which does not block critical race theory) subvert local control and insult educators’ professional training and judgment. All three bills stoke the rage of Noem’s conservative base, which believes public education threatens their values (and since her base’s values are theocracy, authoritarianism, and racism, yes, public education developing critical thinking skills for democracy does threaten their values) and must thus be crushed.
But it’s o.k. if you didn’t notice that underlying attack on public education in Noem’s bills, neither has the cowed South Dakota Education Association. On South Dakota’s teacher union website, the last news updates are from December 7 and 9, expressing true appreciation for the Governor’s proposed 6% increase in K-12 funding.
I’d like to think the SDEA’s silence on Noem’s cutting into their turf with her culture-war bills is a studious silence to impractical, impotent proposals that sensible citizens and legislators would not dignify with any response other than a swift no vote in committee. But it seems more likely that with a sizable budget increase on the table, SDEA intends to keep quiet about other issues and leave the defense of student rights, teacher rights, and the Constitution from Noem’s campaign ploys to the American Civil LIberties Union and other socially conscientious parties.
I suspect and hope that you are right about why the SDEA is not responding to Noem’s three pieces of legislation. As was noted few if any teachers instruct about CRT, the prayer edict is so heedless it will be ignored and the transgender predicament will end up in court. The best response to Noem playing these “political cards” is to stay out of a debate and ignore them. Why give her more attention in the media?
WHAT??? No book banning proposal, ala Texas?
Loren, just wait. The SD book banning will come. A Texan legislature claims the identification of 800 titles. The spring winds will blow that virus north.
Banning something is a sure-fire way to guarantee students are going to be searching out that material. Back in my school days, the City of Boston was into banning stuff, mostly racy books, movies, etc. If kids heard something was “banned in Boston,” you wanted to check it out just to see what all the fuss was about. I’ve heard that’s what’s happening with critical race theory. Kids are being told they shouldn’t be taught critical race theory, so they are going to find it on their own. It’s much easier now than in my day to search out banned material. Most of it can be found on-line, and it isn’t racy material that is going to be excluded by parental controls.
And before long, magats will have their version, the alternative facts version of CRT to bambooizle impressionable young minds with straight up lies. And then grownups lie about the lies they tell.
Time for a new scarlet letter, the large red letter “L”. And if prissy magats scorn their L wearers as Lesbians, too, so much the better for our side.
SDEA bark back and demand filtering systems in all school classrooms and gymnasiums. Joe Biden (Let’s Go Biden) gave us all the covid money, so demand the legislators use it on schools. Don’t let that waddling duck talk down to you, stand up and fight.
Donald Pay is correct. If you don’t want a kid to read something, that’s the thing he or she will read. It’s all meaningless bull. It’s only good for the anti American Maggots is in intimidation and that’s nothing over time.
As of today there was a bill introduced in Oklahoma to ban books for a few different reasons. If a parent finds it offensive or perverted they can send a request and the school has 30 days to remove it and if it’s not then that parent can collect $10,000 for each day it’s still there. I think I got that right…I don’t have the article in front of me. Would anyone be surprised if this kind of thing comes up in South Dakota?
Agreed, the safest way to ensure a student does not read something is to assign it in class.
MEET THE PRESS did their entire show, yesterday, about CRT, with valid speakers from both sides.
Zero Black speakers were concerned that their kids would retain a lower self-esteem if true history was taught.
However, that was the overriding complaint by the conservative, white speakers.
Think about that, South Dakota.
White privilege on parade, huh Ryan?
White kids are such “snowflakes”, they can’t be exposed to the truth because it might cause them all to grow up and need psychotherapy.?
As a Chicago-born colleague always said (who despite his genius no longer lives in the State of South Dakota which had no use for his genius) “The Kaiser doesn’t listen when the jackass fa*ts.”
Kudos to SDEA.
SDEA could raise teacher pay through getting districts to use solar energy and electric buses.
https://www.kristv.com/news/local-news/solar-panel-saves-arkansas-school-enough-for-teachers-get-up-to-15k-in-raises
Critical Race is a way of looking at things, a perspective, a viewpoint if you will.
But, in essence CRT defines conservatives and we liberals.
Liberals are curious and conservatives aren’t.
One group explores new ideas, the other group is put off by exploration and curiosity.
By making this conflict about what kids are exposed to, conservatives have piqued the curiosity of our inherently liberal kids and shut down the minds of their own kids.
Conservatives, like your Governor, are desperate to manipulate kids to be like themselves.
The Transformation Project Advocacy Network is offering a webinar on January 26 called “The Rise of Anti-Trans Legislation: Where it Came From and How to Stop It.” No word yet on similar public events to be hosted by SDEA.