A Valentine Pizza for Teacher

Last night in the ONT, there was a lot of discussion about pizza. There were some unusual pizza ideas in the comments. But this school assignment is different from any discussions I have had about pizza in my life:

Students at a Connecticut middle school were reportedly instructed to use "pizza as a metaphor for sex" and asked to cite their favorite toppings -- including cheese for "kissing" and olives for "giving oral."

The eighth-graders at John F. Kennedy Middle School in Enfield received the "Pizza and Consent" assignment, which compared ordering a pizza to receiving consent, Fox News reported.

"We can use pizza as a metaphor for sex," the assignment said, according to Parents Defending Education.

"When you order pizza with your friends, everyone checks in about each other's preferences, right? . .

This assignment was apparently devised some months ago, so I hope they remembered to advise the 13 and 14 year olds to keep their masks on during sex.

The bizarre assignment then continued on another page, under the headline "Personal Pizza."

"Now that you know this metaphor for sex, let's explore your preferences! Draw and color your favorite type of pizza. What's your favorite style of pizza? Your favorite toppings? What are your pizza no-nos?" it read.

"Now mirror these preferences in relation to sex! Here are some examples: Likes: Cheese = Kissing Dislikes: Olives = Giving Oral," the students were told. . .

Draw and color your favorite type of pizza? Meanwhile, in China they are teaching middle school kids The Iliad, English, Greek, Latin and Calculus. And how to fire missiles.

District's explanation: The assignment was supposed to be revised. OK, groomers.

The local news kind of glossed over discussion of the pizza issue in the school board meeting.

There are people who would rather that parents not see assignments like the one above.

A deleted tweet from yesterday's Quick Hits:

There are also people who would rather that parents not know about violence like this in a Las Vegas school.

Yipes!

The pizza assignment and the Las Vegas video reminded me of a proposed bill in Utah regarding Parental Rights in Public Education. It focuses on parental rights to review instructional materials, etc., to remove students when instruction is objectionable, and on limiting federal power over the educational system.

A female to male transitioning teacher saw an opportunity to continue her/his/their series on Power, Knowledge and other apparent personal debate themes in an English class. Includes more thought than the usual feelings-based leftist assignment, but still:

Write at least 3 paragraphs analyzing the bill, its purpose and motivation, and its impact. Consider the following as you read the bill and write your analysis:

How does this bill fit into the freedom vs. security debate? Would this bill grant more freedom or more security? Who is losing freedom or security? Who is gaining freedom or security?

How does this bill fit into the knowledge/power vs ignorance/bliss debate? Who is motivated to keep students ignorant? Who is motivated to increase student knowledge?

Why might certain people (governments, parents, etc.) want to prevent students from reading certain material or learning about certain issues (race, gender, history, politics, etc.)?

What are the benefits of passing a bill like this? What are the setbacks?

I am uncomfortable with the "who is motivated to keep students ignorant" question, especially since it seems to be part of an ongoing lesson series. In the case of Critical Race Theory, for example, the issue is not so much keeping students in the dark about subject matter as the "lense" through which the subject matter will be viewed.

I would invite you, and the parents of the kids in this teacher's class, to evaluate the pizza assignment according to the questions asked by the teacher about the bill on parental rights. Were parents in Connecticut trying to limit teacher knowledge and power?

Critical Race Theory

James Lindsay has written a book called Race Marxism: The Truth About Critical Race Theory and Praxis. The video below includes some very interesting information, but if you don't have time for all of it, the introduction to the book is at 4:30 minutes. Lindsay gives a very good summary of the development of CRT at 14:00 to 22:00. Stacey Abrams makes a guest appearance in the development of CRT. Surprise! Video includes this quote from a high school level introduction to Critical Race Theory:

Critical race theorists are highly suspicious of another liberal mainstay, namely rights.

Lindsay says he is feeling slightly more hopeful in the last couple of months than he was earlier last year. Are you?

Music and Dance

Rita and Fred, Dean on vocals. Only available on YouTube. Sorry. But it's kind of nice in a manufactured sort of way, I think.

Hope you have something nice planned for the weekend.

This is the Thread before the Gardening Thread.

posted by K.T. at 11:14 AM

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