The Diversity Delusion - a must-read

This book is a must-read. You can buy it (it's worth it) or you can check it out from the Richland Library.

Heather Mac Donald's 2018 book, The Diversity Delusion - How Race and Gender Pandering Corrupt the University and Undermine Our Culture, hits the nail on the head with her hard-hitting analysis and commentary on "diversity".

The Richland 2 school board heard a presentation about cultural relevance on February 26, 2019. You can view the presentation to the board on YouTube. Search for "Richland 2". Then select the video for the 2/26/2019 meeting. Fast-forward to 2:15:10 on the elapsed-time counter for that presentation.

Richland 2 contracted with Gloria Boutte, Ph.D. (pronouced Boo-tee'), founder of the Center of Excellence for the Education and Equity of African-American Students.

The training with Dr. Boutte, which is a combination of in-person and online work, winds up with a trip to Washington, D.C. for a "Capstone Field Study" experience at the National Museum of African-American History and Culture.

For an explanation of the District's Culturally Relevant Training and its "Cohort" program, watch the video. I guarantee you will have questions, especially after you read Heather Mac Donald's book.

Trustee James Shadd (2:49:10) offered his perspective that "an African-American male may get bored with what is going on in class and may speak loudly. A teacher, regardless of the color, may decide that this child is being disruptive. Had they known that, from a cultural standpoint, we express ourselves sometimes in an elevated voice does not necessarily mean that we are angry... We are just more expressive than others."

I'd love to see a debate on that subject. Somehow, I suspect that what teachers endure in the classroom is not just a "loud" or "expressive" student but that there is considerable disrespect that accompanies a raised voice.

Think about what happened at Spring Valley High School in 2015, when Niya Kenny participated in the disruption of a class that ended with her arrest, along with a second, minor and unnamed, disruptive student. She wasn't a student who just spoke loudly or was expressive.

My guess is that many teachers have to put up with that every day, and that's because of what the students are showing up with, when they come to school. It's not the teachers' role to accommodate the student. It's the student's job to behavior himself and herself in school and to apply themselves to the learning process.

Sorry, but Boutte's "Culturally Relevant Pedagogy" doesn't get a passing grade from me, and I believe the District is wasting its (your) money on the training and staffing for it.