As we continue our dive into Social Emotional Learning (SEL) the truth is rearing its ugly head. It is so easy to just point to the other Party, the other side of the aisle, the political opponents, but once again the Republicans’ children in Arizona are deep in the middle of SEL and most don’t even know.
Yesterday on Twitter we were asked “Where is the AZGOP?” That is a good question, and it depends on what is meant by the AZGOP. The political party itself has never helped in local school board or city council elections (there is some action this year finally with some training for potential school board candidates). Several years ago at a Legislative District 18 GOP meeting the Maricopa County Chair, Chris Herring, was bragging about how much money he had raised. A precinct committeeman asked if the county GOP could donate a small amount, only a couple hundred dollars, to a local campaign and he declined. The Arizona GOP has also been missing in local elections. Even a small amount of money would help purchase signs and any volunteers from the Party would be appreciated by the local, often novice candidates. Now we pay the price for the Party’s apathy.
However, the AZGOP politicians in office are another story. Some are right in the thick of the SEL curriculum, and not in a good way. We know enough crossed the aisle to pass SB1376 because they were told by Democrats it would decrease teen suicide but they didn’t pay attention to those who have been attending school board meetings and monitoring curriculum for years.
For example, why is this sad but true Facebook post about Mesa Public Schools resonating among the boots-on-the-ground parents and community members but not the GOP?
This find should be a rallying cry in defense of not just the students in Mesa schools, but the teachers. Are these findings only good when a GOP-endorsed group or think tank says so? The activist parents who attend school board meetings and hold the governing boards accountable get little or no support from the local GOP.
It gets worse. On November 3, 2020 Maricopa County voters went to bed and as we know woke up the next day with far different results than previously thought. That also was the case with county races. Many of the early results showed the Democrat candidates with leads, but as the days wore on many of those seats flipped to Republican. GOP voters were happy Steve Watson beat Jeanne Casteen for Superintendent of Maricopa County Schools. After all, Ms. Casteen is far too liberal, the children will be safer with Mr. Watson at the helm, etc. We were duped again.
Oops!
How many voters knew Superintendent Watson supports teaching Race Theory and Gender Ideology? Did he discuss that when he visited LD meetings last fall? Please let us know if he did.
The April 12, 2021 Maricopa County Schools newsletter is quite interesting. Take a look at this article talking about CRT.
A couple things come to mind. First, there is more word-switch. We were groomed to look at CRT aka “Critical RACE Theory” as a red flag. Now it’s “Culturally Responsive Teaching“. That is tricky Superintendent Watson! Do educators spend their extra time reading thesauruses so they are ready at the drop of a bill to quickly change the dialogue right under our noses? Second, since Governor Ducey signed a bill banning the teaching of Critical RACE Theory in schools, is it okay to teach Culturally Responsive Teaching? There is a $5000 fine so it’s a pretty serious infraction for our poor school administrations. Would Ducey fine Watson, how does that work? Would Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (also a Republican) have to come in and referee this one? That could be juicy, but it would only likely happen if it helped his senate campaign or can land him an interview in the media. The word-switch will probably be enough to let Superintendent Watson slide by.
Here is the rest of the article:
Oh goody, we can buy a book all about CRT! Is it this CRT or that CRT? It’s all so confusing, just contact your district’s field specialist, they can help!
On to recruitment, another topic in Superintendent Watson’s April newsletter. That is a key opportunity to hide Gender Ideology without saying the words. Take note of the “personal and institutional biases” we highlighted. Darn that pesky religion stuff some folks come to school with. Maricopa County Schools better address that!
Within the recruitment link are some timely hyperlinks.
Just in case Superintendent Steve Watson wants to stay within Arizona’s new law (SB1376), he is a big supporter of Social Emotional Learning, which we just proved is a combination of Race Theory (in general White, Christian, Male hate) and Sex Ed/Gender Ideology.
Dobson High School? That is in Mesa, where the activist in the screenshot above uncovered the teacher pay related to Equity studies. And it’s the same district that approved the purchase of online data bases when the residents weren’t looking.
This may seem benign, after all who really pays attention to the County Superintendent of Schools? Actually this is a huge position with many long-term implications. When there is a vacancy on a school board and nobody desires to fill it, the responsibility to find a replacement falls on Superintendent Watson’s office.
The people who shut our schools, told us to keep away from each other, continue to interfere with the medical decisions of our families, and forcefully directed our activities for close to a year are the same people who want to have complete access to kids when their parents aren’t around. With Republicans like these we might as well be electing Democrats.