I have here in my hands …
Thanks to the Simpson Street Free Press for hosting a Madison school board debate Thursday 03-17-22. We’ll include the link when it is posted.
Must admit, was taken aback by the Wisconsin State Journal’s question. Reporter Elizabeth Beyer asked Blaska which classrooms are teaching critical race theory? Suppose she wanted your write-in candidate for Seat #4 to rat out “Mr. Burns’ 3rd-period ancient and medieval history class at Memorial; Mrs. Hying’s 4th-period geometry class, Mr. Sorensen’s study hall at Shabazz, the lunch lady at East …
Portraying Blaska as a reincarnation of Tailgunner Joe may be payback for our scolding Ms. Beyer for writing, without a trace of attribution:
“Critical Race Theory, an academic framework that focuses on racism embedded in the nation’s laws and institutions … isn’t taught in any of Wisconsin’s K-12 schools.”
None of them! A flat-out statement of incontrovertible fact! Ms. Beyer’s story that Sunday was in service to the establishment myth that conservatives are politicizing local school board races to build a farm team for higher office. (Blaska is coming for you, Tammy!)
“In my decades of being actively involved with or observing the Madison schools this is the flat out worst school board I have ever seen.” — former Madison mayor Dave Cieslewicz.
“If it’s not critical race theory, it’s critical race theory-lite,” Columbia University professor John McWhorter explains in the New York Times. McWhorter (himself a black man) is the author of Woke Racism; “How a new religion has betrayed black America.”
McWhorter defines CRT as “See[ing] white people as potential oppressors and black people as perpetual victims of an inherently oppressive system. This “critical approach has trickled down,” McWhorter writes, “into … education-school pedagogy and administration … and from there migrated … into the way they wind up running schools.”
Blaska averred that the WI Department of Public Instruction is pumping Critical Race theory directly into Wisconsin classrooms. That’s school board member Ananda Mirilli’s day job at DPI. Ananda works for DPI’s Disproportionality Technical Assistance Network. The promo for one of its presentations, “Race: the Power of an Illusion,” declares:
Race resides not in nature but in politics, economics and culture. It reveals how our social institutions “make” race by disproportionately channeling resources, power, status and wealth to white people.
Compare DPI’s statement above with that of Encyclopedia Britannica:
Critical race theory (CRT) is an intellectual and social movement … based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature … but a socially constructed … category … to oppress and exploit people of color … to create and maintain social, economic, and political inequalities between whites and nonwhites.
→ Applying an “equity lens’ to academics. A DPI specialty.
Back to last night at Simpson Street, school board president Ali Muldrow was talking the CRT lingo when she accused minority race school resource police officers of “criminalizing” black and brown children. Blaska asked if the school board president was blaming the beat-down of that autistic kid on the police. Or the serial student brawls at East. Or the gun toting at La Follette. Or the …
Blaska’s Bottom Line: Madison public schools not only teach CRT, they practice it.
Blaska Policy Werkes 
38 responses to “Reporter wants names of CRT teachers”
Why, oh why must the socialist class that liberals elect into positions of power, continue to ruin this country by continually dividing our people. Yes, I do mean, OUR PEOPLE!
The socialists forget that the people of this country are from all over the world. Some black, some white, some brown. All different races, creeds and colors who came or where brought to this land.
There were, as in my case, Irish people who came to this country to serve as domestic servants to wealthy people here in New York City, Boston and in other major metropolitan areas. https://exhibits.library.villanova.edu/index.php/lower-merion/tyn-y-coed/irish-domestic-servants
They also forget that many people who came here from China also were domestic servants.
https://www.lib.uidaho.edu/special-collections/t-abraham/chservnt.htm
They even forget the plight of the Appalachia coal miners, many of them who were white, back in the late 1800’s to the 1900’s that literally owed their souls to the companies that they worked for. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2121820
Not many of these people I just mentioned and there are many others, were always treated with dignity and respect. Many of them were treated rather horribly.
So it’s not just that black lives matter.
When will these socialists and the liberals who elect them, figure out that when the end goal of those who are truly in power are achieved, their their useful idiocy will be rewarded with a bullet to the back of their heads?
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
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CRT proponents are saying the exact same thing you are. That people who were once oppressed should be accepted into mainstream society just like the Irish were. They are asking for the same welcome to be extended to black Americans. By too many measures this is still an awaited goal for black Americans, while one can no longer see disparities for those of Irish descent.
I agree that those truly in power benefit from division and I too aspire to unity among all of us.
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No, the civil rights movement wanted more people accepted into mainstream society, based on common humanity. CRT rejects the tenets of the civil rights movement, preferring embrace racial identity as the unit of human value and to keep people divided and perpetually aggrieved.
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Here we go with our who’s on first act.
CRT (the theory) does not say that race SHOULD BE what assigns our value. US media is feeding this lie to us. CRT theorizes that racism unfortunately appears to STILL assign value despite the gains made in the Civil Rights Movement, based upon the observed conditions.
The theory does not “embrace racial identity as the unit of human value”, in the way you seem to be implying, as if “embrace” is an aim. It’s like saying the theory of gravity embraces mass as the unit of attractive force. The theorists using CRT are beginning with an assumption that race should not be expected to correlate with human value. Then they look at the data to see if that’s true. Once, for instance, infant mortality statistics no longer correlate with race we will THEN have evidence that race does not correlate with human value and the theory will fail.
This entire “controversy” is a manufactured political product itself intended to divide Americans from each other, just like every political product in our broken system.
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CRT shows that white males are less valued by society due to the racial disparities in drunk driving stats.
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Of course, Rollie stiffens their argument when he elates: “CRT proponents are saying the exact same thing you are. That people who were once oppressed should be accepted into mainstream society just like the Irish were”.
Sorry Rollie, I don’t recall any specific Irish relief programs or “Affirmative Action” guarantees for ’em, either. They just overcame the perceived injustice… How ? By taking advantage of all the great opportunities this country offered. And still offers.
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I don’t know what you’re saying because I’m not talking about affirmative action, I’m talking about CRT.
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Part of unity is refraining from demonizing people by groups, like “liberals”, “conservatives”, “socialists”, “capitalists”, etc.
In the US we are supposed to be free to believe any philosophy we want, even socialism. You’re free to disagree, but it’s not a show of unity to demonize socialists. Yes, critique policy positions. But to yearn for unity in the same breath as broad critiques of groups doesn’t seem genuine.
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“In 1855, Frederic Law Olmsted, the landscape architect who designed New York’s Central Park, was in Alabama on a pleasure trip and saw bales of cotton being thrown from a considerable height into a cargo ship’s hold. The men tossing the (~500lb/227kg) bales somewhat recklessly into the hold were Negroes, the men in the hold were Irish. Olmsted inquired about this to a shipworker.
“ ‘Oh,’ said the worker, ‘the n*****s are worth too much to be risked here; if the Paddies are knocked overboard or get their backs broke, nobody loses anything.’ ”
The Gotch
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Rollie, take note here from the Gotch’s comment. How soon we, (Well, YOU), forget. And a few other ethnic groups suffered long, but persevered and snatched that ring as well.
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The fact that other race/ethnic groups were also persecuted does not disprove CRT, in fact it strengthens the case. As Irish were absorbed into “whiteness”, their outcomes improved. If “whiteness” allows black Americans to be included their outcomes will also improve. The Irish people didn’t change, society did.
But isn’t the example interesting? It illustrates to me that laborers under capitalism were even more disposable than slaves were. The slaves had up-front costs that would be lost in death, the laborer didn’t. Lots of people say that capitalism is another form of slavery.
What point were you making with that story?
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Cornelius,
I remember reading that quote as well a number of years ago. Sometimes I think that the problem we have in our modern day society is that many people, aided by our politicians and the press, tend to forget the lessons of the past and therefor are prone to repeat them.
In my mind, CRT is just a “white wash” of history.
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If teachers said things like “CRT holds that..” it would be far less evil that what teachers are actually doing. At least then students would know what they’re getting. What seems to be happening instead is that teachers assume that CRT is correct, and then abusing students based on those assumptions. That’s why we have privilege walks, and equity math, and the obsession with making young children discuss their sexual identities.
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You are not holding yourself to the same standards that you hold others. You raise some issues that need to be addressed (especially the use of data to see what is working) but those of us who have daily contact with Madison high school students have no interest in the issues you raise. In fact, I think the last time you spoke to a high school student was 25 years ago. The high achieving students I’m in contact at East don’t know what CRT is and don’t know what you are talking about.
What are their concerns? They need a bus that arrives on time every day; they need a chemistry teacher where English is not a second language; and an edible school lunch. Those of us with means can pay for tutors, drive them to school and pack a good lunch. Their agenda is to get an education that gets them into UW Madison so they can study STEM.
You state that we need cops in schools, yet you provide no evidence that they would prevent any fights. You provide no data on whether the level of school violence is increasing or decreasing. You describe the need for discipline but provide no means to achieve it. Let me assure you, my granddaughter does not need money spent on cops in schools – she needs money spent on hiring someone to supervise an after-school chemistry club.
You did mention the violence perpetuated on the autistic student but fail to address the real issue in special ed. Many people are seeing a mental health crisis in high schools, especially among autistic males. They have severely regressed over the pandemic years, and that regression easily leads to violence. You may want to acknowledge that such a crisis exists.
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Yeah, actually I do provide statistics. If you’re at East high school and don’t notice the chaos, God bless you! BTW: the autistic males probably have regressed but they’re not the ones beating each other. https://davidblaska.com/2021/12/05/madison-schools-war-on-discipline/
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The reference you made was in 2020, where they said the policy was changed 6 years ago (2014). You show data in 2016 and 2019, both under current policy. It is an increase, implying not functioning policy, but “is it enough data”? It really is just two data points. What other variables are in play? What’s the confidence interval? What’s the methodology? If a liberal presented a data table like that to try and change your mind, would it?
I am a bit in jest. Data is funny because when “the other side” presents it, it’s really easy (and fun) to critique it. This happens to liberals all the time (for instance, no matter how much data there is on climate change, somehow it’s never enough). If I was trying to discredit you I could challenge a never ending wild goose chase for more and more evidence under the premise (which may not be true) that my mind could be changed if only better evidence were presented. But for most people on both sides of the spectrum their minds are never changed no matter what evidence there is.
I actually agree that restorative justice, as currently practiced, can’t be the only pillar of a discipline policy. Problem is that it’s a difficult problem.
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“no matter how much data there is on climate change, somehow it’s never enough”
The Climate Criminal Cabal has done little to bolster their case with this…um…heated debate by getting continually caught with, not just their well-manicured thumbs, but whole ham fists…stuffed with Climate Criminal Cash, on the scale.
Brrr!
The Gotch
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David G, Yer missing that rather towerin’ giraffe inna room. Nevermind EHS, the really scary places are the various middle schools sprinkled around the city. Quite a few, yes? And then after a few additional years -Yep, ya best be lookin’ for the HS’s to be showing some problemos..
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This is like a who’s on first comedy act.
R’s say CRT shouldn’t be taught. D’s say CRT is not being taught, only the that race isn’t a biological but a social construct. R’s say that’s the definition of CRT. D’s say, but what is race then? R’s say there’s no such thing as race, it’s all made up. D’s say yeah that’s what we’re saying it’s all made up. R’s say yeah so if it’s made up CRT shouldn’t be taught. D’s say but that’s what CRT is saying, race is made up…. and around and around we go.
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CRT does say that race is not biological but a social construct. By itself, that might be debatable but not particularly momentous. There are far more ridiculous claims and outright totalitarian conclusions that are far worse about CRT. You could start by completing the above thought. CRT actually says that race is a social construct INVENTED BY WHITES TO OPPRESS PEOPLE OF COLOR. That takes the statement from potentially reasonable to downright loony.
Other problems with CRT include:
– Its paranoid insistence on seeing racism in everything
– Its contempt for the individual in favor of the racial group
– Its assertion that racial identity trumps common humanity
– Its prescription of racial discrimination as the cure for (real or imagined) racial discrimination
– Its insistence that your very way of knowing the world comes from your racial identity (i.e., “standpoint epistemology”) which if taken seriously would literally make it impossible for people of different skin tones to reason with each other.
Oh, and then there’s the fact that CRT comes from Marxism – the ideology that slaughtered 100 million people in the 20th century.
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Lots to handle in this one. Yes, race was invented a long time ago in order to oppress people of color. What do you think was happening during slavery? It was in the law.
Marxism was never practiced in the USSR or China or anywhere ever. It’s a theory that was used to attempt to put an attractive cover on tyranny. Every tyrant uses words popular with the people to label their movement, but it’s just words not what they actually do.
Got to check out for a bit, fun talking with you all.
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So it is nothing like a “who’s on first” act. The CRT grifters advance lunatic theories (like the notion that race was invented to oppress PoC) and then you cover for them by some thoroughly anodyne description (that CRT merely believes race to be a social construct). And no matter how much you try to cover for the race Marxists by insisting that real Marxism has never been tried, most people immediately realize that the previous radicals who admitted to being Marxists invariably produced results that were somewhere between disastrous and outright genocidal.
I did like your depiction of Critical Race Theorists as diligently comparing their theories to the data to ensure correctness. That’s funnier than Phil Hartman’s depiction of Ronald Reagan as a mastermind – except that Hartman knew he was doing comedy.
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” ‘In my decades of being actively involved with or observing the Madison schools THIS IS THE FLAT OUT WORST SCHOOL BOARD I’VE EVER SEEN.’ — former Madison mayor Dave Cieslewicz.” (bolds/caps/italics mine)
If the MMSB had one solitary whit of self-awareness, they’d be thinking “If we’ve lost Mayor BikeShorts, we’ve lost The 77 Square Miles Surrounded By A Sea Of Reality.”
The Gotch
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There’s one sure-fire way to determine if CRT (lite or full-strength) is or isn’t being taught in Wisconsin’s public schools: install video/audio recording equipment in every classroom in every public school in Wisconsin and make the recordings readily available to the public (especially parents). Not only will it solve the CRT question, it will reveal the myriad ways teachers are indoctrinating kids in the tenets of identity politics. Of course, the teachers’ unions will fight this tooth and nail, but parents should be firmly in favor of it. Will the write-in candidate for Madison’s school board endorse this proposal?
Dave, you left us hanging off a cliff when you told of asking the school board president if the violence in schools can be traced to school resource officers. What did she reply?
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“install video/audio recording equipment in every classroom in every public school in Wisconsin and make the recordings readily available to the public (especially parents).”
Just monitoring classrooms would ignore where more insidious aspects of Lefty Indoctrication thrive; counselors’ offices.
To wit: If Your Parent Aren’t Accepting Of Your Identity I’M YOUR MOM NOW
Now, did this take place in LaLaLoopyLoonLeftyLand strongholds like anywhere in the Land of Fruit Cakes and Nut Cases (CA), Portland, Freeattle, et al?
Not exactly.
Just up I-94 in Eau Claire!
The Gotch
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Dave G. Your second and third paragraphs were enlightening. I agree the students at East deserve the skills you speak of. That responsibility belongs to the Superintendent and the Madison School Board and the citizens of Madison! If you vote Blaska in you can then hold him responsible too!
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CRT is made to appear seemingly INCOMPREHENSIBLE to intelligent, open-minded people, so: -They must (or should) just believe it exists,
“Damnit, Jim, I’m a Doctor, not a sociologist”…
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Rinse and repeat. There are a lot of more important things to discuss than your weekly hard-on for the schools. Take your 15 write-in votes and move on. How about some capital, state and national news. Cover Vos. People are screaming for him to quit. Gableman? Cover that thieving dink. Stop pandering to the 6 people who post here all the time and do some friggin’ reporting. This post looks like filler to get something online.
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Will Hunter Biden proclaim he is not suicidal?
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“Will Hunter Biden proclaim he is not suicidal?”
Heh! But, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, didn’t Lefty assure everyone that was Russkie Misinformation…?
Anywho, now that they can no longer ignore it, things are starting to heat up:
Lawyer For Stripper/Baby Momma Expects Hunty TO_BE_INDICTED
Expect the wake of Hunty’s mind-numbingly imbecilic criminal insanity, combined with the anticipated November mid-term slaughter of Biblical Proportions, to sweep up the Alzheimer Addled POTUS, to boot.
When Falls The Coliseum…
The Gotch
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“Somewhere out there is a little girl who’s mother was a stripper, who’s father is a crackhead and who’s grandfather is the President of the United States. “
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Write your own goddam blog or get out.
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An incumbent Democrat governor in a reliably blue state recently got ousted in an upset largely over this issue. Parents across the state and country are up in arms about schools trying to raise their kids for them according to the linked WSJ article. School board members in some of the most left wing cities in the US (ex. San Francisco) are being kicked to the curb by voters for this woke BS. And you think it’s a non-story? Seriously?
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In many, many paragraphs, Rollie covers the spectrum from disingenuous to dishonest.
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Thanks, Mark…. Rollie uses so many unnecessary words, and then he posts so frequently, that that can easily be overlooked. I’m kinda thinkin’ maybe Richard-AKA-l’il-Dick may be mentorin’ Rollie in the fine art of obfuscation.
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A PICTURE’S worth a thousand words, am I right…?
The Gotch
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Ha! And nobody in response can bring themselves to any rational retort. All slogans, 1-liners, and anecdotes with no explanation about why they believe what they believe. We are clearly in a post-fact world, and I’ll just do my part to urge voters to think critically and with reason. This is likely why conservatives are so afraid of CRT – they have yet to demonstrate any convincing counter theory beyond slogans.
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What is fact versus fiction regarding the tenets of CRT is beside the point (and I’m past caring). What is not debatable is that some kids are being told by their educators that the color of their skin defines their value and who they are as a person, that their successes and failures are due to varying degrees of privilege and not effort, and that they should feel guilty because of crimes committed by those that are long since dead. Couple this with incidents in industry of privilege walks, letters of apology to minorities and other admissions of guilt under threat of termination, and forums on equity segregated by race. Whether these things are the intent of CRT doesn’t matter—they foster resentment and division, people are tiring of the incessant browbeating, and accounts of them are too numerous to ignore or dismiss out of hand. Declaring that these sort of teachings will pave the path to racial harmony and equality is the language of charlatans. And as we’re starting to see, they are the political platform of losers. Push this nonsense all you want—it doesn’t resonate with the average American and sends people in the opposite direction politically. Former Mayor Dave, who is no conservative, understands this—why can’t you?
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