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Monday, September 24, 2012

More Devolving

Devolving into what, I'm not exactly sure.  Absurdity, certainly.

From this article (hat tip to Chuck Thinks Right):
Oregon Principal Claims That Peanut Butter And Jelly Sandwiches Might Be Racist

Portland, OR – Elementary school principal Verenice Gutierrez suggested that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches might be racist and culturally offensive during an interview with the Portland Tribune....We now live in a world that is so politically correct, that what we eat for lunch might offend others dining at the same table. The Harvey Scott K-8 administrator was discussing the district’s equity training program which was created to lessen the achievement gap, when comparing the popular lunchbox staple to potential racism.

The Oregon principal “picks up on the subtle language of racism” every day, and used the seemingly innocent looking peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to illustrate her point, according to Fox News.

Verenice Gutierrez had this to say about the allegedly offensive bread spread:

“Another way would be to say, Americans eat peanut butter and jelly, do you have anything like that. Let them tell you. Maybe they eat torta or pita. What about Somali or Hispanic students, who might not eat sandwiches?”


The district’s equity program is entitled, “Courageous Conversation” and it is designed to take educators on a journey through an intense course so they can understand their own white privilege...
The entire article is HERE.

Chuck's rant on the topic is HERE.

I know for a FACT that similar idiocy also goes on in the Fairfax County Public Schools here in Northern Virginia.

Every grading quarter, teachers are hauled in for in-service days loaded with the kind of nonsense that Gutierrez spouts in the excerpt above, and principals are FORCED to make sure that they submit paperwork showing how culturally diverse and culturally sensitive every single activity is.

To keep your job in the system, you have to listen to and put into practice this insanity.

One of my best friends serves as principal at one of the elementary schools, and she and I had occasion to have a long conversation yesterday.  The 2012-2013 school term will be her last year, and she can't wait to get the hell out because she's been fighting an uphill battle for over seven years with the political correctness idiocy emanating from the top.

It's a wonder that any learning at all is taking place!

And my friend entered the public education profession with such high hopes.  Her hopes were completely dashed about three years ago.  That timing involving the past three years –  just a coincidence, of course.  NOT!

25 comments:

  1. Words cannot adequately illustrate how asinine this is. This event is part of a larger broken paradigm in our public education system....and reaffirms my committment to homeschooling my daughters.

    The "white privilege" tripe was foisted upon me when I attend the Army's Equal Opportunity Leadership Course. It was a hollow concept then, and it remains so.

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  2. Just when one thinks it cannot get more absurd.

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  3. A few years ago we'd all think this was a parody, but sadly, we are devolving into farce, a pitiful self-parody.

    One more reason education needs to be privatized. Run it like a business and this idiocy will die on the vine.

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  4. From what I'm observing this school term, more and more families are fleeing public education, particularly in the elementary and middle school grades.

    Christian publishers are experiencing a run on their materials. Everything is on back order!

    This indicates to me that more private schools are up and running with larger enrollment. Home schooling is also gaining in numbers.

    No wonder!

    Who in his right mind wants his children exposed to such absurdity as that indicated in the body of this post?

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  5. I read this nonsense a couple of weeks ag. I have a meesage for all Americans with children of school age: GET THEM OUT OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS NOW!!!

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  6. Actually, I suppose that this eventuality was inevitable. Lady Liberty wears Harmonia's necklace. And when she is no longer perceived as something beautiful... she is no longer loved.

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  7. "it is designed to take educators on a journey through an intense course so they can understand their own white privilege..."

    Here's the problem. Educators are going on their little mental journeys instead of teaching kids. These little mental journeys into their imagined racially motivated society is getting us a dumber and dumber country.

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  8. This is utterly ABSURD. A sandwich is racist... REALLY?! How?! It is a staple for all kids during the years- wait, that's it. White kids (well, all kids) used to bring it to school, but it's a 50's things. Gotcha.

    ...That is the most childish thing ever. It is like saying jumping rope is racist, or apple pie, or, or... it is child's logic to see that way. As is calling a black kid black when describing him... (still annoyed at that!), but I digress. This country is getting absurd with guilt over something that ended years ago. No one alive was a slave. No one under, what, 50, grew up during segregation. So why are we harping on it? Its been over for YEARS. Let bygones be freakin bygones.

    and ' picks up on subtle language of racism' yet DIDN'T notice this whole dang thing IS racist- towards whites? Really? Are we whities not included?

    And the pathetic school system of America is enforcing this. Aye carumba. The corruption has advanced to the top- oh wait it started there and is leaking down. Something rotten in Denmark to be sure, and its bureaucrats who are so guilty over nothing they have no skin and assume no one else does either. This is the height of paranoia insanity.

    Glad to see all the rats are fleeing the sinking ship, but I'd like to see everyone else admit the Titanic is sinking!

    -Wildstar

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  9. The whole world is going crazy PC. We're doomed if we can't slap some sense into these morons.

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  10. Yeah, I've noticed that "choosey moms" all happen to be WASPs.
    (heavy sarcasm for those who don't know me).

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  11. Whenever a topic as offensively silly as this come up, I have only one thing to say:


    EREISSARBDRATSABHOHCTIBOHTRAFHOTITHOTNUCHOWERCSHOKCUFHOKCUSHOSSIPHOTIHSHOTSIRHCHO

    ~ FT

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  12. If peanut butter and jelly is racist to Hispanics, are tacos racist to European-descent Americans? I hope not, I love both foods.

    As for sandwiches being racist to Hispanics, try translating "un bocadillo." They also like "las hamburguesas." As for me,
    "Me encantan los bocadillos de mantequilla de cacahuete y gelatina." That phrase, by the way, was used as an example of peanut butter and jelly in an online Spanish-English dictionary. I think it is safe to say that Hispanics also like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. My Filipina wife certainly does as well.

    It is way past time to trash this insane PC ideology that, no doubt, causes much more racial resentment than it cures.

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  13. Oh, by the way, the phrase "Me encantan los bocadillos de mantequilla de cacahuete y gelatina" is translated as "I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."

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  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  15. Instead of our problems solving
    We just keep right on devolving
    Racing into the Abyss
    Once we're gone, who us will miss?



    ~ Ora Jinnal

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  16. The genesis of this post is so patently absurd that I can't think of a comment which would denigrate it more than it does, on its own face! Otherwise it just reenforces the fact that 'Vouchers' are past due!

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  18. No parent who is paying attention should want their children in an American public school.

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  19. I have worked as a teacher in both the public and private sector. I've seen madness in private schools, too -- but not usually to the extent of this particular blog post. I emphasize the word "usually."

    Even though I now work with homeschoolers, I do have quite a bit of contact with children and parents involved in the public education system. A lot of dismay out there. Yet, the madness of the political correctness -- absurdity and parody, really -- continues. Meanwhile, the students' learning is getting lost in the shuffle all too often.

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  20. What's next? Oh I know AOW!!! Reese Cups. Never mix chocolate with peanut butter, it is racist! LOL! See we could think up this crap all day long! I think I find "white chocolate" racist....OMG, LOL! I just came here ticked off about Obama after watching Mr. AOW's post to find this and I am sorry, but I had to laugh at the absurdity of it. This nation is better than a peanut gallerty and way beyond nuts!!! and yes................

    That pun was intended.

    xo Layla

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  21. AOW,

    Keep up the good work. I,at this time, don't know what else to say. See what I said above.

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  22. Speaking of food, dated September 24, 2012:

    School lunch calorie limits leave bitter taste with some Kansas students

    Some Kansas students and at least one political leader say new school lunch guidelines aimed at limiting calories and encouraging good nutrition are having an unintended consequence:

    Hungry kids.

    [...]

    The major sticking point: a new federal rule that sets calorie maximums for school lunches — 650 calories for elementary-schoolers, 700 for middle-schoolers and 850 for high-schoolers.

    Protesters in Kansas and elsewhere say 850 calories isn’t enough for some high-schoolers, particularly athletes who can burn calories by the thousands.

    State education and nutrition officials say portion sizes at most districts haven’t changed. Students in Wichita, for instance, can get more food at lunch this year because there’s a wider array of options, a la carte items and nearly unlimited servings of fruits and vegetables...


    There is also a problem with wasted food.

    Furthermore, According to Livestrong.com, teenagers need between 2,000 and 3,000 calories per day to be healthy, and athletes can need as many as 5,000 calories. But the new regulations limit the intake to just 750-850 calories on the tray. Which, if the food is unpalatable, means the students may not be getting even that much.

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  23. I'm pretty sure I'd be offended if she were at my table, but I think a compromise can be reached, she just has to leave. Unless she's some sort of racist.

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  24. Then let them eat ribs, fried chicken and watermelon.

    I love all three.
    What does that make me?

    Of course since I cannot BEAR the current prez, I guess that PB&J rationale must be true.

    Ayuh!

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  25. Epa,
    You mentioned ribs, fried chicken and watermelon.

    Aha! The food that I love!

    I'm also crazy about fried chicken livers and cornbread.

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