Here’s another example reinforcing the notion that the phrase “go woke, go broke” may have more truth to it than meets the eye.
In a baffling move, a California elementary school reportedly shelled out $250,000 to an organization called Woke Kindergarten for the noble cause of training its teachers in the art of “confronting white supremacy” and “disrupting racism and oppression,” as per the San Francisco Chronicle’s revelations on Feb. 3.
For the past two years, Woke Kindergarten has been conducting its training sessions at Glassbrook Elementary School in Hayward, with the program funded through a federal initiative aiding low-performing schools.
Unsurprisingly, the focus on wokeness and racism appears to have taken a toll on Glassbrook’s students. The Chronicle highlighted shockingly low English and math scores in spring 2023, with less than 4 percent of students proficient in math and just under 12 percent performing at their grade level in English. Both figures represented a nearly 4 percent drop in each category.
According to its website, Woke Kindergarten claims to aim for “supporting children, families, educators, and organizations in their commitment to abolitionist early education and pro-black and queer and trans liberation.” University of California, Berkeley education professor Zeus Leonardo shared with the Chronicle that the intent behind Woke Kindergarten is to make “politics part of the framework of teaching.”
Yet, the program and its mission have received mixed reviews from staff. Tiger Craven-Neely, a teacher at Glassbrook, expressed confusion over the program’s objectives of “disrupting whiteness” and the usage of the phrase “so-called United States.” The program’s one-sided nature, offering only one viewpoint, was critiqued by an anonymous Glassbrook teacher who noted that dissenting voices were not welcome.
Despite dissent within the ranks, Hayward Unified School District Superintendent Jason Reimann maintained that Woke Kindergarten has been a net benefit, citing increased school attendance from 61 percent of students chronically absent to 44 percent.
However, the metric used by the district to determine the effectiveness of providers remains unclear. This situation sheds light on the significant danger that organizations like Woke Kindergarten pose to the development of our nation’s youth.
These organizations prioritize their ideology over the future of the children, setting them up for potential failure while attempting to indoctrinate them into their views. Young minds, still devoid of a mature understanding of politics, racism, and wokeness, are subjected to an agenda that lacks concern for their genuine growth and development.
This issue is exacerbated against the backdrop of the setbacks American students faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, with Education Week reporting a significant drop in aptitude test scores. The urgent need for basic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics takes a backseat when woke ideologies dominate the educational landscape.
Instead of fostering healing and progress, organizations like Woke Kindergarten perpetuate division and hinder the nation’s forward trajectory. By refusing to let go of past grievances, they impede the healing process and deny the possibility of a better future.
It’s high time parents take charge of their children’s education, steering clear of woke ideologies and focusing on the foundational principles of education. The future of our children, and consequently, the future of our nation, is at stake, and it’s crucial to prevent woke organizations from influencing the minds of our youth. Without such intervention, the well-being of our most vulnerable is in jeopardy.
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