Jay Bennish, Vincent Carroll and the Ideological Struggle for our Schools
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Vincent Carroll, editorial page editor for the Rocky Mountain News, has written,
Carroll explains,
The good editor continues,
So, is Ed Swan a mainstream hero who prompted this "public outcry"? Or is he perhaps an ideologue with an agenda?
The Seattle Times records,
I didn't notice a national feeding frenzy over this would-be teacher seeking to spread anti-diversity propaganda via notes penned in the margin. But "Diversity is Perversity" would make a nice bumper sticker for the conservative crowd hoping to defend the privilege of affluent white men.
We are witnessing an ideological struggle for the "soul" of our schools, and the conservatives are on the attack wherever they find an opening. It is time for progressives and enlightened liberals *(if there are any) to join this ideological struggle.
But this isn't just a question of race-- it is also a question of social class. Swan is "the owner of a landscape company in Othello, Adams County," and most of those ensconced on the wealth accumulating side of the employer/employee divide know there's a class war aimed at turning out little robotic wage slaves from our schools.
What might threaten their strategy for endless wealth concentration, based upon the obeisance of an army of unthinking worker drones? Another 'sixties era of student questioning and ferment.
More about that in the next post.
*Are there any enlightened liberals? Sorry, that was unfair of me. But when it comes to Jay Bennish, i've encountered too many liberals mindlessly mouthing the talking points of Rush Limbaugh and Michelle Malkin.
So i recommend some remedial reading about Bennish, and the nature of modern education:
artvoice.com/issues/v5n10/getting_a_grip
[Overland High School teacher Jay] Bennish is the product of a teacher-training enterprise that on some campuses has slipped its moorings...
Carroll explains,
The Chronicle of Higher Education documented this trend in a Dec. 15 article, noting that "some education schools have begun questioning whether students value social justice, acknowledge white privilege, and agree to be change agents in battling sexism, racism and homophobia."
The good editor continues,
Just last month, a public outcry forced Washington State University to revise a politically charged evaluation form for would-be teachers that had been used to identify and punish conservative leanings. One student who had refused to give the expected answers regarding "the complexities of race, power, gender, class, sexual orientation, and privilege in American society" was ordered to take sensitivity training or leave the program. Ed Swan refused to do either...
So, is Ed Swan a mainstream hero who prompted this "public outcry"? Or is he perhaps an ideologue with an agenda?
The Seattle Times records,
Ed Swan considers himself a basic social conservative, opposed to gay marriage, affirmative action and the notion that affluent white men are responsible for a lot of social injustice.
The Washington State University student also opposes abortion and wrote "diversity is perversity" in the margins of a textbook.
I didn't notice a national feeding frenzy over this would-be teacher seeking to spread anti-diversity propaganda via notes penned in the margin. But "Diversity is Perversity" would make a nice bumper sticker for the conservative crowd hoping to defend the privilege of affluent white men.
We are witnessing an ideological struggle for the "soul" of our schools, and the conservatives are on the attack wherever they find an opening. It is time for progressives and enlightened liberals *(if there are any) to join this ideological struggle.
But this isn't just a question of race-- it is also a question of social class. Swan is "the owner of a landscape company in Othello, Adams County," and most of those ensconced on the wealth accumulating side of the employer/employee divide know there's a class war aimed at turning out little robotic wage slaves from our schools.
What might threaten their strategy for endless wealth concentration, based upon the obeisance of an army of unthinking worker drones? Another 'sixties era of student questioning and ferment.
More about that in the next post.
*Are there any enlightened liberals? Sorry, that was unfair of me. But when it comes to Jay Bennish, i've encountered too many liberals mindlessly mouthing the talking points of Rush Limbaugh and Michelle Malkin.
So i recommend some remedial reading about Bennish, and the nature of modern education:
artvoice.com/issues/v5n10/getting_a_grip
