{"id":2222021,"date":"2024-04-16T06:40:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-16T10:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chicago-schools-teach-children-to-decolonize-and-become-anti-western-activists\/"},"modified":"2024-04-16T06:45:01","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T10:45:01","slug":"chicago-schools-teach-children-to-decolonize-and-become-anti-western-activists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chicago-schools-teach-children-to-decolonize-and-become-anti-western-activists\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago schools aim to educate children on decolonization and foster a mindset of anti-Western activism"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fchicago-schools-teach-children-to-decolonize-and-become-anti-western-activists%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2222021&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Chicago Public Schools teachers are\u2063 guiding eighth graders to \u200dchallenge Western academic norms, promote decolonized learning, and advocacy through the district&#8217;s new English curriculum called Skyline. The curriculum, rooted in critical race theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion, emphasizes far-left activism and anti-Western sentiments. Despite claims of being optional, the curriculum is widely adopted,\u200c sparking debate over \u200bits impact on students&#8217; education and academic performance.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>EXCLUSIVE \u2014<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chicago\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Chicago Public Schools<\/a> teachers are instructing their eighth graders to ignore <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Education\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Western academic tradition<\/a>, \u201cdecolonize learning,\u201d and become political activists, according to the district\u2019s new English curriculum.<\/p>\n<p>Known as Skyline, the brand new, $135 million universal curriculum introduced by CPS in 2021 is rooted in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/critical-race-theory\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>critical race theory<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/dei\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"diversity, equity and inclusion\">diversity, equity, and inclusion<\/a> ideology. While the bulk of what teachers are using to instruct children is behind password walls and largely inaccessible to parents on the school district website, a teacher inside CPS shared several of the English units with the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that highlighted the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-investigation-reveals-white-house-press-corps-is-12-to-1-democrat\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: Investigation Reveals White House Press Corps Is 12 To 1 Democrat\">left-wing bent<\/a> of what students there are learning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey want to teach [students] to think \u2018correctly.\u2019 They want to set them thinking about things like identity as soon as possible and channel their minds on propaganda,\u201d said the longtime CPS teacher, who requested anonymity for fear of professional retribution. \u201cThe idea was that we were, for equity\u2019s sake, going to have this curriculum where every student\u2019s got the same thing, and the same thing was heavily infused with a very far left ideology.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The extensive curriculums follow major themes such as an anti-Western sentiment focused on \u201cdecolonization,\u201d far-left activism, and anti-white messaging.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the eighth grade units introduce and build off the idea of pitting \u201ccolonial academia\u201d against indigenous and African knowledge traditions, such as oral storytelling, in order to break down common societal sources for knowledge, which often includes rejecting the scientific method and other Western academic knowledge structures, arguing that those<em> <\/em>are only the common sources because of \u201ccolonialism\u201d and ultimately need to be replaced.<\/p>\n<p>One unit, called \u201cResearch Through a Decolonized Lens,\u201d assigns far-left novels, including <em>An Indigenous Peoples\u2019 History of the United States for Young People<\/em>, <em>La Relaci\u00f3n<\/em>, and <em>We Rise: The Earth Guardians Guide to Building a Movement That Restores the Planet<\/em> in order to \u201ccapture past and current colonial violence, settler aggression, and activism of Indigenous peoples globally\u201d and \u201cteach students about how alternate (non-Westernized) axiologies can guide the solving of societal problems.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThrough their learning of Indigenous knowledge systems, including collectivism and intergenerationality, students are introduced to the Decolonized Research Methodology, a framework designed to decolonize research and study, prioritizing students\u2019 learning and knowledge over proving or disproving of theory,\u201d the curriculum states. \u201cStudents will begin to think critically about the transfer of knowledge as a form of power and control.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Chicago district\u2019s eighth grade curriculum is the latest example of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/milton-friedmans-revenge\/\" title=\"Milton Friedman\u2019s Revenge\">public schools embracing<\/a> the language of progressive activists in the classroom. The problem exploded into view nationally during the pandemic, when many parents encountered for the first time what their children were being taught thanks to remote learning. In the years since, the debate over how to structure lessons about race, history, and sexuality has only grown more heated.<strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While CPS assistant press secretary Damen Alexander characterized the curriculum as \u201coptional,\u201d he also told the<em> Washington Examiner<\/em> that \u201cteachers from nearly 90 percent of all District-managed schools have been using Skyline in School Year 2023-24.\u201d In addition, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chalkbeat.org\/chicago\/2023\/3\/31\/23663499\/chicago-public-schools-skyline-curriculum-covid-recovery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according<\/a> to education news organization <em>Chalkbeat<\/em> Chicago, the district has been pressing schools to adopt Skyline or provide evidence that their curriculum meets Skyline standards.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTeachers report that their students are engaged with texts and lesson activities and that they are exploring scientific phenomena and challenging math concepts at every grade level. We are encouraged by this feedback and look forward to seeing the adoption of Skyline continue to grow,\u201d Alexander said. However, the longtime teacher who spoke with the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> disputed those claims, claiming to have not met a single other teacher who likes the curriculum. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cEquity remains a paramount value for CPS,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cThe district\u2019s development of Skyline guarantees that any CPS teacher has free access to a high-quality curriculum that reflects the lived experience of Chicago students.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At CPS, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/public-schools-near-rochester-mandate-anti-racist-curriculum-overseen-by-blm-leader-who-said-i-dont-care-if-the-whole-city-burned-down\/\" title=\"Public Schools Near Rochester Mandate \u2018Anti-Racist\u2019 Curriculum Overseen By BLM Leader Who Said \u2018I Don\u2019t Care If The Whole City Burned Down\u2019\">eighth grade students<\/a> are presented with alternative theories on family structure and dynamics, where \u201cstudents may be unsettled by learning that counters the narratives they may have learned in the past. This is part of the process of dismantling colonial narratives,\u201d according to the English curriculum shared with the <em>Washington Examiner.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This curriculum was built specifically for CPS and was introduced in a soft launch in 2021, according to the CPS source. By 2023, CPS began requiring it in every classroom, and the source<strong><em> <\/em><\/strong>inside the district told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that there are very few exceptions to using Skyline now. The teacher said as the curriculum proliferated across the district, workers came with trucks to remove all materials that were not Skyline-approved.<\/p>\n<p>The focus of the curriculum comes as learning statistics from Chicago schools show unsettling results.<\/p>\n<p>Both elementary and middle school <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/education\/k12\/illinois\/districts\/city-of-chicago-sd-299-110570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>reading proficiency<\/a> levels in the district are at 16%, and their math proficiency is 12%. High school students in Chicago drop to 15% for reading proficiency while doing slightly better in math at 14%. In the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, CPS eighth graders rank <a href=\"https:\/\/nces.ed.gov\/nationsreportcard\/subject\/publications\/dst2022\/pdf\/2023010xc8.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>below<\/a> that of students in most major cities while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.illinoisreportcard.com\/District.aspx?districtId=15016299025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>spending<\/a> $18,000 per pupil.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo put it bluntly, 14-year-old children in America\u2019s third-largest city are barely able to read, yet instead of remediating this crisis, CPS chose to spend finite tax dollars to buy new curriculum using politically charged graphic novels,\u201d Nicole Neily, president of Parents Defending Education, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cStudents deserve to be inspired by great literature, encouraged to pursue greatness, not to patronizingly cater to the lowest common denominator using childish cartoons.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many of the colonialism narratives presented to students in these sections of the eighth grade English unit are sourced from <em>Black Panther<\/em> graphic novels and movies, which build from developing the colonization premise to pushing an activist mentality rooted in rejecting common Western bases for problem-solving. \u201cThe teacher facilitates the gradual introduction of nonfiction supplemental texts that reveal to the reader that[[<em>Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet<\/em> author Ta-Nehisi]Coates\u2019 fictional collective consciousness is, in reality, a beautiful adaptation of West African griot oral tradition around resistance, perseverance, and abolitionism,\u201d the curriculum states.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cColonized academia frames research as a way to answer predetermined questions, using sources that have been deemed credible by the academy, often leading to a predicted conclusion,\u201d the curriculum adds. \u201cIn contrast, decolonized research methodology is the process of engaging with sources of<br \/>knowledge and critically evaluating them, which leads to the generation of questions and the development of authentic truths for each student.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After being told to think using the decolonized methodology, the next unit introduces students to that framework as used in \u201ccontemporary youth advocacy\u201d with the goal of \u201ctransferring decolonized research and advocacy methodologies to the lives of CPS students.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Students are introduced to several far-left child activists, including climate activist Greta Thunberg and anti-gun activist Emma Gonz\u00e1lez, because \u201cstudying youth advocacy provides an emphasis on a key characteristic of decolonized learning: viewing traditionally silenced individuals or groups (in this case, young people) as valid sources of knowledge who have the power to change the world,\u201d the curriculum states.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cTeaching eighth graders to use a decolonizing lens and mindset to view the world is poisonous and divisive, as well as a harmful rejection of the truth,\u201d Rhyen Staley, a Parents Defending Education researcher and former Illinois public middle school teacher, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cChicago students deserve better, and parents must demand better of the education establishment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>CPS did not return a request for comment from the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Djalia and Collective Consciousness<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"View Grade 8.2a Unit Plan on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/723206857\/Grade-8-2a-Unit-Plan#from_embed\">Grade 8.2a Unit Plan<\/a> by <a title=\"View web-producers's profile on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/user\/701058553\/web-producers#from_embed\">web-producers<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Griot and Afrofuturism<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"View Grade 8.2c Unit Plan on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/723207338\/Grade-8-2c-Unit-Plan#from_embed\">Grade 8.2c Unit Plan<\/a> by <a title=\"View web-producers's profile on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/user\/701058553\/web-producers#from_embed\">web-producers<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Research Through a Decolonized Lens<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"View Grade 8.3a Unit Plan on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/723207745\/Grade-8-3a-Unit-Plan#from_embed\">Grade 8.3a Unit Plan<\/a> by <a title=\"View web-producers's profile on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/user\/701058553\/web-producers#from_embed\">web-producers<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Decolonization in Contemporary Youth Advocacy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"View Grade 8.3b Unit Plan on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/723208310\/Grade-8-3b-Unit-Plan#from_embed\">Grade 8.3b Unit Plan<\/a> by <a title=\"View web-producers's profile on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/user\/701058553\/web-producers#from_embed\">web-producers<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In an exclusive report, Chicago Public Schools teachers are guiding eighth graders to challenge Western academic norms, promoting decolonized learning, and advocacy. The district&#8217;s 2021 English curriculum, Skyline, costing $135 million, centers on critical race theory, diversity, equity, and inclusion<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2222022,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/iStock-1413735509-1024x540.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2222021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/iStock-1413735509-1024x540.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2222021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2222021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2222021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2222022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2222021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2222021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2222021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}