Grand Haven superintendent made a point to tell me they don’t teach CRT in GHaps.
Two days prior to this, GH’s director of curriculum did a video through the Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance (LEDA) partnering with New Detroit to talk about the controversy surrounding CRT. They specifically had questions for Mary Jane Evink, GH’s director of curriculum for how it was going introducing this topic in Grand Haven public schools.
“Grand Haven is overwhelmingly white, so I wonder what their response was, even bringing this up.”
The timing of this townhall was unfortunate for them because parents had recently been digging into CRT taught in Grand Haven under the guise of DEI and they were claiming it wasn’t being taught. Yet, it appeared that this meeting discussing CRT in k-12 schools in Grand Haven was planned far in advance of these events.
copy and paste this link into your browser to view the video.
https://vimeo.com/647028019
Starting at the 32:30 mark, Mary Jane Evink is introduced. One thing that struck me was the personal experience she relayed. She tells us that she grew up in Grand Haven. When she left for college she felt very uncomfortable and was resentful towards her community they hadn’t prepared her to talk to “others”. What struck me was that she believed she had to talk differently or behave differently towards “others” because they weren’t white. We’ve spent thousands of dollars in taxpayer money funding this new indoctrination in the aftermath of her personal issues 25 years ago with how to talk to people. The simple solution could have been to teach truthful history, the facts are the facts…and also teach that we treat all people well…irrespective of their skin color.
You don’t treat “black and brown” people different than white people. You don’t start a conversation with a black person by saying “tell me about your oppression, I’m working on decentering my whiteness”….you’ll sound like an absolute nutcase, the average black and brown Joe on the street will laugh in your face!!! As they should!!!
Try this instead..
“What are you into?”
“What are your hobbies?”
“You watch any good series on Netflix lately??”
Say the same things you would say to people who “look like you”.
Anything besides this is fake, virtue signaling, robotic sounding nonsense.
Here is my final communication with the superintendent and board of EDU when he told me CRT wasn’t part of GH.” 11/19/21:
Dear Scott Grimes and board members,
With all due respect, Haily Barton and Mary Jane Evink were both recently (Tuesday night this week) the guest speakers at a virtual town hall titled "CRT, what it is and isn't" discussing the backlash of them bringing CRT to GH public schools. Parents have educated themselves on this topic and are not fooled that calling it "DEI" that somehow it is different. It involves the same ideology and teachings. As guest speaker, Hailey Barton said they needed to be "co-conspirators" in this work. An interesting word choice considering a co-conspirator, by definition, is an accomplice to something that causes harm. They spoke specifically about their work in GH schools, not outside in the community...in your school...CRT.
I wholly agree in teaching history...ALL of history...the good, the bad, the ugly; both American and World history most certainly contain an abundance of all three!
We're actually going through 8th grade American History with our boys at home this year. We just finished reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin together. We're doing a deep dive on the laws, the culture, the complacency of many citizens, the contrast between the attitudes and actions of the Christian abolitionists and the southern preachers, the fear of many across America who knew slavery was wrong, yet stayed neutral and silent...and how doing nothing allowed the immoral and evil harm that fell upon the innocent to legally continue as long as it did!
PLEASE continue to teach that. I promise you that no one that I've spoken to has any issues with GHAPS teaching history.
CRT, under the guise of your DEI committee, and the ideology utilized in Grand Haven is not that. Although, CRT /DEI slickly utilizes much of America's sordid past (that should be taught) with the intent of persuading an adoption of all CRT ideology to a sympathetic, compassionate, and kind people, of which Grand Haven has an abundance of. Yet CRT /"DEI", unlike "teaching history" goes beyond "teaching history" by literally accusing people of racism for their skin color, stripping them of their voice in the discussion, and shaming them for of the immorality of people who share their skin color. That is where the problem lies. That is why CRT, that GH teaches, under the guise of DEI, is divisive. It will not and does not bring about healing, unity, and the diversity we hope to have (and I DO believe that is GH's goal??) It brings about resentment, because it involves accusing and shaming students and teachers for their skin color and automatically assumes their guilt, irrespective of their actions....we have "inherent racism, implicit bias" if " white". It is how you end up with teachers telling students, born in 2007, that they "need to own their white privilege". Or how a 4th grader is accused and talked to about being a racist because he's wearing an Adidas shirt and his military family doesn't wear Nike. It’s how we end up pressuring teachers to sign statements acknowledging their "whiteness". Can you sincerely not see what is wrong with that???? And if teachers and students don't acknowledge their "whiteness" and swallow this narrative that all are guilty by skin color alone...unless they confess their whiteness....what kind of message does this give our minority students?? Hey kids, everyone around you is inherently racist if they don't adopt our DEI narratives. Does that cause healing or division?
Perhaps you need to take some time and understand what CRT is and how your current DEI committee and direction has allowed it to fester in your school. There is a reason why you have many good teachers , including Benjamin Rodgers, feeling despondent about the direction Grand Haven has taken with this.
There are so many other positive avenues Grand Haven can take to bring about diversity and openness and understanding between ethnicities. Healthy, positive ways. I was able to partake in my activities in my pubic school years in the Detroit area learning how to do just this. CRT/DEI is not that.
I DO believe you mean well, all of you. I believe you're being swallowed up by an ideology you don't fully understand. It is my hope that you will further educate yourself on why you are getting backlash from parents. I can assure you, it isn't because they're all tiki torch carrying white supremacists. I have yet to meet even ONE white supremacist since I started this discussion with parents nearly four years ago when Calvin Terrell, was brought in to train staff and students under the guise of anti bullying.
The parents aren't stupid. They've educated themselves on this. I hope you do as well.
Jen .S.