Killing Children's Minds at Dalton

Normally, when your local public schools are not educating your children but are indoctrinating them in woke ideology-- see previous post-- you will try to send them to private school. If you cannot afford New York City’s obscenely expensive private schools, you will move to the suburbs. One suspects that the latter solution now appeals to more and more people.

For now, we note that private schools like Dalton Schools have completely gone over to the dark side-- they are now teaching critical race theory and woke ideology. 

For those who are not familiar with the New York private school world, Dalton counts as a decidedly progressive place. This means that we do not feel especially sorry for the parents who are now up in arms at the turn toward wokeness. They are inveterate unreconstructed progressives-- it could not have happened to a nicer bunch of people

Of course, now that they see that the school is actively destroying their children’s minds, they are beginning to rebel. The New York Post has the story, along with a letter written by an angry parent. Among the points in the letter, the only solution is for parents to boycott Dalton, to find new and more serious schools for their children.

Obviously, the Dalton administration considers that any criticism of the current anti-racism curriculum counts as racist, as a thought crime.

As noted in the previous post, children indoctrinated in this mindless ideology are not going to be competing in the world.

The parent offers this description of a Dalton education:

Every class this year has had an obsessive focus on race and identity, ‘racist cop’ reenactments in science, ‘de-centering whiteness’ in art class, learning about white supremacy and sexuality in health class. Wildly inappropriate, many of these classes feel more akin to a Zoom corporate sensitivity-training than to Dalton’s intellectually engaging curriculum.

He wants his children to receive a progressive education. He is obviously deluded on this point. Teaching critical race theory is today’s version of progressive education. He does not like what this education is doing to his children, but he should perhaps have thought about that before voting for progressive politicians:

In place of a joyful progressive education, students are exposed to an excessive focus on skin color and sexuality, before they even understand what sex is. Children are bewildered or bored after hours of discussing these topics in the new long-format classes. Dalton used to awaken children’s imagination with fiction, art, Aztec bookmaking, the Renaissance, ITL and Carmino Ravosa musicals. Having children focus on skin color and their sexual identities, rather than immersing them in the beauty and joy of human civilization, the wonder of science and nature, or the meaning and power of words and math and music, seems nuts to us.  

Say what-- Aztec bookmaking. This apparently counted as progressive education in the past. Normally, it would be considered pagan idolatry. But, what do we know?

Plus, this progressive parent has figured out that anti-racism is racist. Duh? He should be less worried about politically correct dogmas and more worried about what his children are not learning-- and about how they will function in the marketplace when the only thing they know is critical race theory. He tells us that many parents are considering leaving-- it is the only thing that will drill some sense into administrative heads:

This new “anti-racist” obsession with race is incredibly exclusionary and hurtful to many of the children and their families, and many are considering leaving. Why would anyone voluntarily send their children to be taught that they are guilty regardless of their decency and kindness? A school where they are constantly reminded of the color of their skin, not the content of their character. What Black parent wants the other children to feel sorry for their kid and look at them differently? We have spoken with dozens of families, of all colors and backgrounds, who are in shock and looking for an alternative school for their children. 

As it happens, he wants his children to learn how to be empathetic. It’s another buzz word that signifies less thought and more feeling. Do you honestly expect that these children to compete for the high tech jobs of tomorrow:

We totally understand the administration’s desire to do something. We simply object to “anti-racism” on philosophical, ethical and pedagogical grounds, and we support other ways to oppose racism and teach children to become thoughtful and empathetic people. In our view, these recent curricular changes achieve precisely the opposite results as intended.