Chicago Public Schools New Afro-centric Curriculum

Discussion in 'West Mall' started by Clean, Apr 23, 2014.

  1. Clean

    Clean 5,000+ Posts

    This seems like a really good idea, doesn't it? What problems could this possibly cause (if true, of course)?

    Chicago Public Schools (CPS) plans to introduce a new "Afro-centric" curriculum for kids in kindergarten through 10th grade.
    The kids of CPS will be introduced to topics like:

    "They Came Before Columbus" - Africans populated the new world before Columbus.
    "Critical Race Theory" - white racism is pervasive throughout America.
    "The Black Athena" - Greeks stole their ideas from Egypt, which was populated by black people.
    "Racism is Around Me Everywhere" - a poem
    "Being an Advocate to Social Justice" - they're encouraged to go to ACLU website

    and more "normal" things like discussions of slavery, the civil rights movement, and, of course, Supreme Leader Obama.

    This seems like the American equivalent of those Middle Eastern schools that teach Wahhabism. But, as Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis famously said, "the city belongs to African Americans and not white people", so I guess they can do what they want.


    The Link

    FYI, according to this website The Link, CPS is 43% black, 44% latino and 8.5% white.
     
  2. Larry T. Spider

    Larry T. Spider 1,000+ Posts

    From what I understand, the examples given are on outside websites and may not be related to lessons that kids are hearing. But, CPS is a mess, no doubt. They are in a terrible position in which they have to take kids from terrible home lives and do the best they can with them. I have no idea how to fix the mess up there, but this isnt it.
     
  3. Third Coast

    Third Coast 10,000+ Posts

    With the vast majority of white middle and upper-middle class students going to private schools, or moving to the suburbs, Chicago public schools are essentially socioeconomic ghettos.

    A poor student generally equates to poor performance in school and reducing the 85% low income CPS enrollment is the greatest factor in turning things around. That means getting some of those kids out of private schools and back in the public system. Easier said than done and this afrocentric whatever is not the way to go about doing it.
     
  4. chango

    chango 2,500+ Posts


     
  5. Clean

    Clean 5,000+ Posts


     
  6. Horns11

    Horns11 10,000+ Posts

    The Black Athena stuff has been studied from a literary standpoint before... not as history. If an African American student takes it as history, then that's their critical thinking problem. 6th graders in Texas learn about Greek Mythology all the time, but I don't think anyone insinuates that Gods/Goddesses **** actually happened. If people want to believe that the Greeks took some of their mythology from Africans, I don't see how that affects much.

    As for the topics like "Critical Race Theory," it looks like they spitballed ideas from the fringe element of TheAfrican.com and turned it into curricula. There's not a thing in the Barbara Byrd-Bennett presentation that shows any of this... just a general scope of the main ideas for African American History (which is a required credit in Illinois, much like Texas history is a required credit here). The Daily Caller is trying to run with news by insinuating that the craziest, batshit parts of TheAfrican.com and saying "LOOK! That's what they'll be teaching!" when there's no proof it will be implemented.
     
  7. Mr. Deez

    Mr. Deez Beer Prophet

    If true, this is obviously nuttiness and anti-intellectualism to the extreme. However, I'm a bit skeptical. Consider the opening sentence, "Chicago public schools are set to introduce a new Afro-centric curriculum, according to a closely-guarded copy obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation." If DC has the copy, why not upload it so that readers can read everything to verify the story's characterization of the curriculum? Don't get me wrong. I don't defend the Chicago Public Schools, and it certainly wouldn't surprise me if they did something this idiotic, but I do approach the DC story with a degree of skepticism.


     
  8. Horn6721

    Horn6721 10,000+ Posts

    This link is from CPSD
    Mr Bennett discusses the new curriculum
    "

    CHICAGO—Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Barbara Byrd-Bennett today announced the inclusion of a new interdisciplinary African and African-American studies program across all core disciplines and in all schools and starting in January 2014. This new program was developed to heighten students’ understanding and awareness of African and African-American history and culture, while also fulfilling CPS’ commitment to ensuring that students are 100 percent college ready and 100 percent college bound.

    The Link

    maybe this will enhance diversity but wonder how the Latino children and parents will feel. How long before there will be a Latino centric curriculum?
     
  9. CanaTigers

    CanaTigers 2,500+ Posts


     
  10. bedhead

    bedhead 100+ Posts

    May we begin using the term "Black American" if we must single out this one group. Now that DNA is so easily and affordable to use, many "African" Americans have been surprised that they have very little, if any, African blood running in their veins.

    I so don't understand why black Americans can't just fall in line like all of us--immigrants all and just go by American. My DNA showed me to be both heavily Norwegian and Scottish. I would never identify myself by those terms.

    If you say "slavery" many Irish, Chinese and other ethnicities were used as slaves to build railroads, etc.

    There is a chance we could get over some of this racist stuff if we quit putting people in their own special category, with magazines, TV channels, beauty pageants etc., the list goes on. How many movies recently have fanned the flames of the terrible white man and how he mistreats the black man.

    I find it sadly amusing that Halle Berry received so much attention for being the "first African American" to receive the Oscar. Her African DNA is microscopic.

    While we are at it, why don't we just stop with the "FIrst...." stuff. It can breed animosity and offers a great excuse for those who commit crimes, abuse Government hand outs and nurtures a hatred in many cases of white people.

    Yes, the history was terrible, but perhaps it is time to move on. I don't find many Jews going after those of German heritage.
     
  11. Crockett

    Crockett 5,000+ Posts

    There's certainly a lot more useful to be learned about the African American experience in America than was covered in the high school history and civics classes I took.

    There are a lot of African Amercan students in the Chicago public school system. If studies of race interest and intrigue students generally not interested or intrigued in school it's a winner. Learning how to learn and think critically (no matter what the Texas Republican Party Platform asserts) is a valuable skill. Academic learning in areas of interest can have positive and illuminating effect on other sorts of learning.
     
  12. Larry T. Spider

    Larry T. Spider 1,000+ Posts


     
  13. Michtex

    Michtex 1,000+ Posts


     
  14. Roger35

    Roger35 2,500+ Posts


     
  15. Macanudo

    Macanudo 2,500+ Posts


     
  16. Horn6721

    Horn6721 10,000+ Posts

    Larry T
    I posted a link from the Chicago Public School District that you can read and see if the curriculum will be "race' heavy.

    I predict a backlash from the Latinos who are now the largest %.
    Likely as of now blacks still hold the most school board and decision making positions but that won't last long.

    I can't speak for any other district that the one I attended but our history classes included the achievements and contributions of a great great number of Black Americans and the horrors of slavery.
    However it was balanced out by ways we tried to equal the playing field AND the reality that slavery didn't start with the USA and certainly didn't end when we did.
    I am not sure twisting things t o an Afric-Centric view is productive.
     
  17. Larry T. Spider

    Larry T. Spider 1,000+ Posts


     
  18. Horn6721

    Horn6721 10,000+ Posts

    larryT
    You walk the talk. IMO Your opinions on here count for 50 of ours
    This from you seem particularly cogent. But when has reasoning ever meant anything to any bureaucracy?
    Chicago will screw their kids up even more with this
    " I think having those opinion based topics is fine (debating is great for critical thinking), but in elective courses containing students that are meeting all of their core academic obligations. "
     
  19. Sangre Naranjada

    Sangre Naranjada 10,000+ Posts


     
  20. IvanDiabloHorn

    IvanDiabloHorn 1,000+ Posts

    How could this curriculum possibly help blacks in the real world? What a sham. Our whole revisionist history curriculum in schools is one of the reasons we are graduating dumbasses. I would bet money if you gave a random graduating senior class a one question test that queried "What was the primary cause of World War Two?"
    at least 35% would answer "The Holocaust".
    So, I guess why not teach a curriculum in Chicago that Africans caused all of the world's greatest achievements
    while ignoring the fact that Africa is a backward hell hole that had it s greatest years under European colony rule.
     
  21. theiioftx

    theiioftx Sponsor Deputy

    Maybe they should just focus on teaching them to read, write and do simple math while not shooting each other after school?
     

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