11/30/2014
Obama White House to Promote Ferguson Indoctrination
– Including Classroom Memorials to Mike Brown and letters to Darren Wilson
This week just four days after the grand jury investigating the August police shooting in Ferguson, Missouri of unarmed robber Michael Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson resulted in no charges being filed, the Obama White House promoted leftwing indoctrination of students by teachers about the case that calls Brown a victim of police violence. The Obama Justice Department still has an open investigation in to the shooting.
The White House Twitter account with the handle “White House Af-Am Ed @AfAmEducation “ (White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans) tweeted at 3:45 p.m. EST Friday, November 28:
“ICYMI: 5 Ways to Teach About Michael Brown & Ferguson via @chrisemdin http://huff.to/1BCgGk0 Also see @PBS @teachingchange @RethinkSchools”
The link in the tweet goes to a Huffington Post article by Dr. Christopher Emdin, Ph.D. that was first published August 20th, eleven days after the Brown shooting. The article was updated on October 20th.
Dr. Christopher Emdin, Ph. D. Photo from the White House
Emdin’s bio page at the Huffington Post reads in part:
“(Dr. Emdin) is a Professor at Columbia University Teachers College and is the Director of Secondary School Initiatives at the Urban Science Education Center in New York. He holds a Ph.D. in Urban Education.”
Emdin was honored this year by the Obama administration as a ‘Champion of Change’ so it is natural the White House would promote his effort to indoctrinate students in the leftwing mythology of Michael Brown.
Emdin encourages teachers to engage their students in discussing the Brown case, which is fine as in point one where he suggests teachers first find out what their students know about the case. But he crosses the line to indoctrination. For example his point four where he urges, students make a classroom memorial to “honor Michael Brown” and “create a counter-narrative to negative stories and images about Ferguson and Michael Brown”:
“4. Create a classroom memorial.
“During the first few weeks of classes, students can create a memorial to Michael Brown on a classroom bulletin board. This activity involves having students use whatever they feel skilled in to create something that would honor Michael Brown and other people who have been victims of police and other violence. Students may choose to draw, write poetry, design art pieces, paint, or collect news clippings. Students can use this opportunity to create a counter-narrative to negative stories and images about Ferguson and Michael Brown, or even to document stories and images they have seen in the media about the case. Engaging in this type of activity allows teachers to understand youth strengths and form classroom solidarity.”
Emdin’s point three encourages students being assigned to write letters to Officer Wilson and others involved in the case:
“3. Ask students to write letters.
“One of the chief ways to engage youth in the first few weeks of school and also develop their sociopolitical awareness is to give them an assignment to write letters to all those who are involved in the shooting. This includes politicians, police officers, the families of victims of the violence, and even the deceased…”
Point two tells teachers to make the connection between the Brown case and other recent controversial deaths of African-Americans:
“2. Help students make connections.
“It is important for young people to learn how to make connections between the Michael Brown shooting and similar cases that have emerged in recent history. While a discussion of the Michael Brown shooting and the current events in Ferguson are powerful, conversations about Michael Brown with a consideration of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Renisha Mcbride and other cases that involve similar scenarios place the events in Ferguson in proper context…”
Point five is: “Carry the theme for the rest of the year.”
Classroom solidarity, sociopolitical awareness—this is what matters in the world of liberal education.
The article closes with this notice:
“To learn more ways to being (sic) Ferguson and Michael Brown into the classroom, follow the #HipHopEd and #FergusonSyllabus hashtags on Twitter.”
Clicking on #FergusonSyllabus shows teachers are using the Brown case for indoctrination.
As an example of the attitude held by the education establishment, here are a few tweets by an educator in San Francisco:
“To those being weird about the #Ferguson posters around… This is a “social justice”-oriented school. I don’t know what you were expecting”
“Also, only 30-ish% of students are White. Do you really think we’re going to be REMOTELY pro-Wilson in this situation?”
Parents might want to ask their children what their schools are telling them about the situation in Ferguson, Missouri before they return to class next week.
Congress might want to look in to why the Obama administration is promoting the indoctrination of students about the Brown case.
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