Assault on education

[China]

Northland school book ban advocate now facing child molestation charge

 

A Gladstone man, who recently spoke in support of banning books from North Kansas City School District libraries that depicted sexual acts, is facing a felony charge of second-degree child molestation and a misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree domestic assault.

 

Ryan Utterback, 29, is also facing a misdemeanor charge of furnishing pornographic material or attempting to furnish to a minor in a separate case.

 

Utterback did not answer questions about the charges from KMBC 9 Investigates on Thursday as he showed up to the Clay County Courthouse for a hearing. Utterback's attorney, David Bell, declined to comment about the charges.

 

In the first case, a probable cause statement alleges Utterback laid down on a bed with a child less than 12 and fondled the child in December of 2020. The child told investigators Utterback placed the child on his lap, where he proceeded to move the child’s body against his while touching the child’s thighs, according to the probable cause statement. In the same case, but in a separate incident in September of 2020, Utterback stuck his finger through a ripped hole in a teenager’s jeans and started rubbing on the teenager’s leg, according to the probable cause statement. The teenager told investigators it felt uncomfortable, and that the teenager “didn't like it at all,” the probable cause statement said.

 

A separate case alleges Utterback started showing videos sexual in nature on his cellphone to a young child around the time the child was 4 years old, according to a probable cause statement.

 

KMBC 9 Investigates started looking into Utterback's case after sources told KMBC he spoke in November against books in North Kansas City school libraries showing sexual acts.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[LD0506]

[China]

A state-funded pre-K program led to ‘significantly negative effects’ for kids in Tennessee

 

Children who attended Tennessee’s state-funded voluntary pre-K program during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years were doing worse than their peers by the end of sixth grade in academic achievement, discipline issues and special education referrals. The trend emerged by the end of third grade and was even more pronounced three years later.

 

These are the latest findings of a multi-year study that followed 2,990 children in Tennessee schools to look at the long-term impact of the state’s public pre-K program. The results, which were released earlier this month, could bring more scrutiny to public pre-Kindergarten programs and raise the question of whether they adequately set low-income children up for success.

“At least for poor children, it turns out that something is not better than nothing,” said Dale Farran, a professor in Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College, director of its Peabody Research Institute and one of the authors of the study. “The kinds of pre-K that our poor children are going into are not good for them long term.”

 

The latest study is part of a series of reports by Farran and fellow researchers at Vanderbilt University about Tennessee’s voluntary pre-K program. The team’s past findings surprised early childhood experts and advocates who herald high-quality pre-K as a necessity to help prepare children, especially those from low-income families, for kindergarten.

 

The first part of the study of Tennessee’s program was released by the Vanderbilt University researchers in 2015. The results, said Farran, were “alarming”: The positive effects of the state-funded pre-K program faded out by the end of kindergarten and turned “slightly negative” by the end of third grade.

 

In the most recent study, the researchers found that children who did not attend the program fared better down the road academically and behaviorally. They compared two cohorts of low-income children, including one group that had been selected to receive a spot, at random, from applicants for the state program and one group of children whose parents applied for a spot but did not receive one. Some of the children who did not receive a spot in the program attended Head Start, center-based child care or had home-based care.

 

By the end of sixth grade, the children in the study who had been randomly selected to attend the state’s pre-K program were more likely to be referred to special education services than their peers who had not secured a spot in the program.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

An open letter to the McMinn County Board of Education regarding MAUS

 

Dear McMinn County Board of Education,

 

My name is Gregory Paul Silber. I’m a Jewish-American writer, editor, and critic specializing in comics and pop culture. Like many people who I am sure have contacted you over the past few days, I am saddened, furious, and insulted to learn of your decision to ban Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer-Prize winning graphic memoir Maus from your schools.

 

 

I was just 13 when I read Maus for the first time. I didn’t find it in school nor was it assigned reading; I simply discovered it. Regardless, I am now a 30-year-old man and can confidently tell you Maus changed my life for the better. It saddens me to think that your students will be deprived of that experience. Maus not only taught me about The Holocaust in ways that I hadn’t yet absorbed from conventional education, but about life after trauma, about the pain children inherit from their parents, and about hope.

 

I don’t know how much, if anything, your students have learned about the Holocaust. By the time I was their age, I had known about Hitler, the death camps, and related monstrosities for many years. I knew antisemitism has existed throughout the long history of the Jewish people, and I knew it was still out there. I’m not just talking about Neo-Nazis and other hate groups that are easy for some to brush off as irrelevant fringe groups. I had experienced antisemitism first-hand from my own peers, like the first grade classmate who told me I was going to Hell for not believing in Jesus.

 

For Jews like myself, the Holocaust is not some distant historical event. I heard about it from my family and religious school teachers. I met Holocaust survivors. It’s existentially difficult to come to grips with the fact that some of the same people who were starved, tortured, and forced to watch their friends and family die in ways that most of us can hardly imagine are still alive to tell their stories, but it’s not ancient history. Today, most living Holocaust survivors would have been the same age when they experienced such unimaginable horror as your students are now.

 

Click on the link for the rest

[The Evil Genius]

 

[Cooked Crack]

 

[Larry]

You mean, when it only takes one parent to ban a book, then you get all kinds of perfectly fine books getting banned?  

 

Obviously, this must be a completely unintended side effect of these Republicans unanimously voting in favor of imposing such rules.  

 

* Just like their completely unintended side effect of voter suppression.  

[The Evil Genius]

 

[Captain Wiggles]

 

Oh life how you imitate art so the well. 🤭

[Destino]

I’m not sure how I feel about parents being able to watch their kids in class.  Kids act up, especially in public schools, and disciplining them can lead to lawsuits and all sorts of accusations.  Seem like cameras would be a natural byproduct of this reality.  Had to argue that a teacher was wrong for suspending a kid when you can send their parents a video of them telling the teacher to **** off.  
 

I’m also entirely against schools withholding anything at all from parents outside of extreme circumstances.  What it comes down to is I don’t trust anyone when it comes to my kid. 

[China]

A Texas parent demanded a Michelle Obama biography be pulled from schools because they said it would make white girls feel 'ashamed'

 

A parent in Texas called for a children's biography about former first lady Michelle Obama to be pulled from school libraries because they viewed it as unfair to former President Donald Trump.

 

The Katy, Texas, parent took issue with a book titled "Michelle Obama: Political Icon" by Heather E. Schwartz, saying it "unfairly" depicted Trump "as a bully," according to NBC News, which on Wednesday published a list of 50 books that parents in Texas have asked schools to remove.

 

The request came as books depicting race, sexuality, and gender have faced heightened scrutiny from conservatives in the US, with many demanding certain titles be pulled from school libraries.

 

The parent in Katy, who was not named in NBC's report, said the book about Obama gave the impression that "if you sound like a white girl you should be ashamed of yourself," NBC News reported. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[LD0506]

22 minutes ago, China said:

"if you sound like a white girl you should be ashamed of yourself,"

 

Was the parent referring to trump here?

 

I think they are already doing everything necessary to make their child ashamed, no ban necessary

[Busch1724]

On 1/25/2022 at 8:40 PM, EmirOfShmo said:

 

The best way to ensure public contempt for every level of government is by pitting various parts of it against one another, dumping it all on the courts to resolve, and then telling a million parents to do whatever they want in the interim (just do it with “love”). It hardly matters what a court says at this juncture—parents have been told to defy any authority but their own. Teaching just became significantly harder in Virginia. And so did learning, if that’s something they still care about.

 

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/01/virginia-masks-schools-glenn-youngkin-chaos.html

 

 

This is all correct and helps create this divisive climate we currently live in. It's not just its affect on teaching, but the level of discourse among people within society. Leaders who can't strategically think are a HUGE problem. 

[China]

Furries Are Leading the War Against a Book-Banning Mississippi Mayor

 

Last week, a Mississippi mayor tried to strong-arm a local library into banning some books. The result was swift, and in retrospect, entirely predictable: A group of furries got on Twitter to do something about it.

 

The first tweet came on Friday, from Soatok, a furry with an avatar of a sparkling, blue, wolf-like creature: “We interrupt your usual program of ****posts, memes, and cute fursuits to bring you something with real-world impact.”

 

Soatok, who asked to be identified by his online handle, was referring to the news that Mayor Gene McGee of Ridgeland, Mississippi, was withholding $110,000 of funding from the Madison Country Library System. Library officials told the Mississippi Free Press that the mayor had demanded they purge their collection of LGBTQ+ books, which he called “homosexual materials,” before his office would release the money.

 

Tonja Johnson, the executive director of the county’s library system, told VICE News that the withholding of this money even temporarily would have a “significant impact on services that are available” and potentially affect their ability to pay library employees.

 

This is where the furries come in. Soatak is a security engineer at a large tech company, but he’s also a furry—a member of a community that’s mostly known for being really into anthropomorphic fantasy animals and dressing up in fursuits at conventions. 

 

That last part probably seems completely ancillary to the very serious matter at hand (the banning of books), but it’s not.

 

In an attempt to assist this Mississippi library, the furry community has launched a fundraising frenzy over the past few days, to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. While book banning, or attempted book banning, has recently become something of a theme around the country, this small-town mayor seems to have inadvertently picked a fight with the wrong crowd. 

 

After the mayor’s announcement, the library began an online fundraiser. The goal was set at $2,500.

 

Soatok said that when he first came across it, the fundraiser had yet to raise a single dollar. So, he tweeted out a link to the fundraising site, encouraging his community to donate. To kick things off, he included a screenshot of his inaugural donation of $500.

 

“For a little bit, nothing really happened,” he told VICE News. “Then, things just started blowing up.”

 

Though Soatok doesn’t have a large Twitter following, his post was quickly amplified by popular furry accounts. Within hours, the goal of $2,500 had been reached. The next morning, Soatok tweeted a new screenshot: The library’s fundraising page had reached just over $9,000. And over the weekend, the donations continued to pour in.

 

At the time of writing, the fundraiser is at just over $44,000— slowly creeping toward the halfway point of the $110,000 that McGee is denying the library. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Califan007 The Constipated]

 

 

 

[LD0506]

[The Evil Genius]

 

 

Edited February 4, 2022 by The Evil Genius

[China]

Rigid education?

 

 

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

[Simmsy]

14 hours ago, Cooked Crack said:

 

Oh, so he's actually a fascist in fleece? Ok, maybe a bit much, but I like using light alliteration every once in a while. This man is a buffoon, I originally thought he was just unqualified, he's actually an idiot. Republicans can't help themselves but to vote for morons. I've also heard Youngkin was a garbage business man who bought the primary, actually can't find too much on the guy.

[China]

They're Burning Books in Tennessee

 

Last week, McMinn County made news when the school board voted to ban beloved graphic novel Maus — a Holocaust story told with anthropomorphic mice and cats — due to instances of swear words and nudity. While the vote happened in early January, it went viral following a report from TN Holler.

 

Last night, Mt. Juliet pastor and pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Greg Locke decided to turn it up a notch by organizing an old-fashioned book burning. The books included millennial staples like Harry Potter and Twilight — hits of the early Aughts that were targeted by Christian book burnings back in the day.

 

In a sermon preceding the bonfire, Locke described beefing with "Free Mason devils" and said "I ain't gonna be 'suiciding myself' no time soon." Locke also said people aren't mad that they were burning books, but mad because of the books they were burning — implying that his critics, even other pastors, were devil and witchcraft supporters.

 

You can see the footage in Locke's Facebook video of the event — the burning starts about an hour in.

 

Click on the link for the full article and video

[China]

Committee Controlled by Dems Kills Youngkin Education Bills

 

A Virginia Senate committee on Thursday killed two key pieces of education legislation sought by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, including one that was designed to eliminate teaching of critical race theory in K-12 schools.

 

The committee also killed a bill that would have made it easier to create charter schools in districts that perform poorly on math and reading.

 

Education reform has been a key part of Youngkin's agenda, but Democrats hold a narrow 21-19 advantage in the Senate. Republicans had held out some hope that the Senate Education and Health Committee, which has several moderate Democrats, would provide bipartisan support to parts of Youngkin's agenda. So far, though, Democrats have largely been able to kill Youngkin's bills.

 

The critical race theory bill would have banned the teaching of “inherently divisive concepts” in the schools. It died on a party-line vote with all nine Democrats on the 15-member committee voting against the bill.

 

The Youngkin administration is still seeking to scrub out critical race theory concepts at an administrative level. Youngkin issued an executive order requiring the Department of Education to review and root out any policies that teach “inherently divisive concepts."

 

Both the bill and the executive order defined “inherently divisive concepts” as those that portray once race, sex or religious faith as inherently superior, or teach that an individual is inherently racist as a result of his skin color.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Simmsy]

46 minutes ago, China said:

Committee Controlled by Dems Kills Youngkin Education Bills

 

A Virginia Senate committee on Thursday killed two key pieces of education legislation sought by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, including one that was designed to eliminate teaching of critical race theory in K-12 schools.

 

The committee also killed a bill that would have made it easier to create charter schools in districts that perform poorly on math and reading.

 

Education reform has been a key part of Youngkin's agenda, but Democrats hold a narrow 21-19 advantage in the Senate. Republicans had held out some hope that the Senate Education and Health Committee, which has several moderate Democrats, would provide bipartisan support to parts of Youngkin's agenda. So far, though, Democrats have largely been able to kill Youngkin's bills.

Absolutely, ****ing love this move for two reasons:

 

1. I heard there was a more "conservative" dem state senator that could be a problem going down the line. Perhaps that person will not be a problem going forward.

 

2. I'm a black liberal, seeing as how CRT is not being taught, I probably would've let them have that victory of banning it. I'm glad the senate dems stepped up and said no, I like that they're willing to fight for Virginia.

 

I believe that whoever wins should be able to enact their agenda, but Youngkin is just reckless, he'll kill us all just appease his small base. Where is that recall petition?

[skinsmarydu]

22 hours ago, The Evil Genius said:

 

 

Not only that, but where did Abel & Cain's wives come from? 🤨

There is no answer.  

[China]

Oklahoma bill would fine teachers $10k for teaching anything that contradicts religion

 

Oklahoma Republican Senator Rob Standridge has introduced a bill that would allow people to sue teachers if they offer an opposing view from the religious beliefs held by students.

 

The proposed act, named the “Students’ Religious Belief Protection Act” means parents can demand the removal of any book with perceived anti-religious content from school. Subjects like LGBT+ issues, evolution, the big bang theory and even birth control could be off the table.

 

Teachers could be sued a minimum of $10,000 “per incident, per individual” and the fines would be paid “from personal resources” not from school funds, from other individuals or groups. If the teacher is unable to pay, they would be fired, under the legislation.

 

The act will be introduced into the Education Committee next week, but it doesn’t specify which religious beliefs will be used to prosecute offending teachers.

 

Click on the link for the full article