High School teacher accuses school of indoctrination, orange backlash or toxic green?

[Raze]

Math teacher Paul Rossi at Grace Church High School in Manhattan has accused the school of indoctrinating the students in antiracism, which he claims is a divisive ideology.

https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/i-refuse-to-stand-by-while-my-students

The school responded by firing him and sending a letter to the community arguing that he was misquoting them.

https://www.fairforall.org/grace-church-whistleblower/

However Paul responded with another letter, and released audio of his discussion with the head of school about this, where he claims the head of school admits to demonizing the white students.

Is this stage orange backlash, or is it stage green going too far?

[diamondpenguin]

A teacher should never be taken as an authority figure. Those people got their heads too far in their ass. If they aren't there to teach the kids how to do math, they should shut up and go home. Honestly if they aren't going to teach the kids skills, they're worthless. To say that just because you are a teacher makes you an authority figure is horseshit. If I was the school admin, either you teach the kids skills or go home, no authority figure political horseshit. Teach the kids skills, or shut up. The teachers who sit in the corner on their phones not lecturing, and teaching the kids, or worthless to the world. Kudos to this guy for at least teaching the kids, he did not deserve to be fired. The kids should question the crap out of their teachers. Question your professors, question your teachers, question your boss, question yourself, question it all. NO one is an authority figure. THATS HORSESHIT!!!

[Forestluv]

26 minutes ago, Raze said:

Is this stage orange backlash, or is it stage green going too far?

It's a combination. Paul Rossi is clearly blue/orange resisting green. He has a similar orientation of Jordan Peterson. 

The easiest way to tell is that Rossi is criticizing green from below, not from above. He is trying to pull green down, not pull green up. He is highly antagonistic to green initiatives and has no interest in improving them. 

For example, he insists that white people are being demonized as evil. This is a classic blue/orange response that green wants to shame them and guilt-trip them. 

Paul's position is that the school board is demonizing him and white kids as being evil. Yet that is not the orientation of green that is motivated by diversity, equality and inclusion. This is a hyper-sensitive response referred to as "white fragility". A blue/orange level person will not have meta awareness of this and will perceive DEI initiatives as an attack, take a defensive posture and play victim. Rather than trying to improve the teaching content, he wants to prevent the teaching content. 

A yellow-level person criticizing from above would have a very different orientation. For example, a yellow-level person would understand how a blue/orange level white person may become defensive regarding teaching things like institutional racism. And a yellow-level person would be more interested in improving how to teach content, rather than trying to prevent it. For example, a yellow-level person may criticize green by saying "Yes, teaching about institutional racism is valid content, yet the way it is being presented will be interpreted as threatening to some white faculty and may give the impression that white children are to blame and inherently bad. Let's restructure the content in a way that teaches de-personalizes blame".

I also read Paul's essay and he makes some valid points, yet he has a contracted blue/orange mindset and cannot see larger systems and nuances. For example, he gives the classic blue/orange view of being "colorblind" and treating all students the same so nothing is projected upon them. In some contexts, this is true and has value. It is the right-wing idea that anti-racism projects victimhood onto bipoc. There is some truth to that in some situations. Yet Paul has a myopic binary view and cannot see the bigger systemic, nuanced picture. Paul's myopic view has partial truth, yet in some contexts it turns a blind eye to racial disparities. In one context, all students should be treated the same - in other contexts they should not be treated the same. Different students have different issues. Some issues are socio-economic, some issues are group and some issues are specific to them personally. Paul is not able to see these distinctions and puts them all in one category of treat everyone the same.

Unfortunately, Paul (and blue/orange), puts everyone in their own category. This is desire for privilege and status quo. For example, Paul was outraged that the school encouraged faculty to use the term "parents" rather than "mom and dad" since some students have same-sex parents. Paul wanted to keep using the terms "mom and dad" because it fits his in-group. He is not aware of how that creates a barrier for students that have same-sex parents. Yet Paul doesn't care about creating a better solution so that kids with same-sex parents are better included. Paul could have responded with "Yes, it is important that all kids are included and have a sense of belonging - yet I don't think only using the term "parents" is best. Let's brainstorm even better solutions". No, Paul is outraged that he might lose hetero-sexual terms and doesn't care about greater inclusivity for kids with same-sex parents. 

[hoodrow trillson]

On 4/21/2021 at 4:30 PM, diamondpenguin said:

A teacher should never be taken as an authority figure. Those people got their heads too far in their ass. If they aren't there to teach the kids how to do math, they should shut up and go home. Honestly if they aren't going to teach the kids skills, they're worthless. To say that just because you are a teacher makes you an authority figure is horseshit. If I was the school admin, either you teach the kids skills or go home, no authority figure political horseshit. Teach the kids skills, or shut up. The teachers who sit in the corner on their phones not lecturing, and teaching the kids, or worthless to the world. Kudos to this guy for at least teaching the kids, he did not deserve to be fired. The kids should question the crap out of their teachers. Question your professors, question your teachers, question your boss, question yourself, question it all. NO one is an authority figure. THATS HORSESHIT!!!

Thank you for saying what I was going to post!

I agree.  It's wild to me that teachers think they're an authority figure.  They aren't even getting paid enough to feel that way so it's obviously coming from a different area of concern aka their beliefs.  

 

[Danioover9000]

   It's not so easy being a teacher. If there is no need for teachers, and you don't have the qualities developed, a good enough self image of being a teacher, or have a positive outlook of yourself teaching others similar to having a compelling vision, you have no business teaching. That's like being a politician, mostly by the culture/family's choice, not really yours, and sucking at it because you don't have the qualities to match that career role, and an inauthentic self image that was fed to you from outside, not really constructed mostly by you.

   Then again, we can't wipe out teachers from existence, as there's some purpose and a need for them being in a society. Even if it's attempted, and it's successful, we don't know enough how getting rid of teachers would impact the children and families that have to raise them. Some families and parents might be able to handle the education of their children, like home schooling. However, some are already struggling with their basic roles of being a father and mother, acting like parents and doing their parental roles as providers, protectors and installing some basic values, their life experiences, and beliefs in them, regardless if it's likely later on the beliefs turn limiting.

[Danioover9000]

@diamondpenguin

On 4/21/2021 at 9:30 PM, diamondpenguin said:

A teacher should never be taken as an authority figure. Those people got their heads too far in their ass. If they aren't there to teach the kids how to do math, they should shut up and go home. Honestly if they aren't going to teach the kids skills, they're worthless. To say that just because you are a teacher makes you an authority figure is horseshit. If I was the school admin, either you teach the kids skills or go home, no authority figure political horseshit. Teach the kids skills, or shut up. The teachers who sit in the corner on their phones not lecturing, and teaching the kids, or worthless to the world. Kudos to this guy for at least teaching the kids, he did not deserve to be fired. The kids should question the crap out of their teachers. Question your professors, question your teachers, question your boss, question yourself, question it all. NO one is an authority figure. THATS HORSESHIT!!!

   Is this before or after watching Leo's video on authority?