Minnesota lawmakers are reviewing legislation involving dept. of ed recommends ‘woke kindergarten’ in sel resource, an issue with potential local implications in Como.
The state department’s workbook includes a link to instruction created by a self-described “abolitionist educator” called “Woke Kindergarten." SEL is often framed as helping students develop emotional awareness and self-regulation skills, which certainly contribute to students’ academic success.
The problem, however, is that the authoritative source for SEL curricula — the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) — is dramatically shifting the focus away from simply encouraging emotional and character development to “encouraging students to understand their personal experiences primarily according to race, gender, or other group classifications,” writes Judith Sears for the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism (FAIR).
CASEL’s “transformative SEL” — which is what MDE’s course is built on — “entirely redefines CASEL’s original five basic SEL competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making,” continues Sears.
To train school staff on this “transformative” form of SEL — which MDE notes “is aimed at redistributing power to promote social justice through increased engagement in school and civic life” — the state department’s workbook includes readings rooted in critical social justice ideology, a suggested call to action that includes “commit[ing] to returning your land,” a push for equity over equality, and a link to pedagogy created by a self-described “abolitionist educator” called “Woke Kindergarten,” to name a few.
According to its website, Woke Kindergarten “is a global, abolitionist early childhood ecosystem and visionary creative portal supporting children, families, educators and organizations in their commitment to abolitionist early education and pro-black and queer and trans liberation.” Included in its list of 60-second teaching videos for kindergartners: Additionally, a “Woke Wonderings” section includes graphics asking “unconventional questions rooted in liberatory thought”: what would happen if “the legitimacy of the Supreme Court” was challenged, if the police were abolished, if borders were eradicated, if militaries were defunded and abolished, if the U.S.
defunded the Israeli military to assist with “Palestinian liberation,” if capitalism was “disrupt[ed],” if landlords were abolished for free housing for all, and if “stolen land” was “given back,” among others. Under “Woke Word of the Day,” children are introduced to “language of the resistance” and “liberatory vocabulary.” Incorporating critical social justice formulations “into standard curricula under the guise of the character-forming role of education is deeply problematic for a number of reasons,” continues Sears.
While MDE notes that educators don’t have to take the department’s course to meet the cultural competency license renewal requirement, any alternative training does have to meet certain criteria before it will be approved: including self-reflection and discussion of systemic racism, gender identity including transgender students, and sexual orientation to “deepe[n] teachers’ understanding of their frames of reference, potential bias in these frames, and the impact of bias on expectations for and relationships with students, students’ families, and school communities.” The state agency is certainly not hiding its ideologically rooted goals.
As the measure advances, residents of Como can follow amendments and contact Athena Hollins regarding the final language.
Article Source: Alpha News: “Minnesota Dept. of Ed recommends ‘Woke Kindergarten’ in SEL resource”
