The Dalton School in Manhattan is mired in controversy after it was revealed that its teachers are proposing a list of radical changes in an effort at equality.
The story: Several teachers at the private school signed a manifesto that contained numerous suggestions that would purportedly ensure the school keeps its promise of being an anti-racist institution. However, parents are opposing the proposed changes that were reportedly triggered by the anti-racism and anti-police brutality protests earlier this year, following the death of George Floyd.
The proposed changes include covering the student debt of black staffers after hiring them, paying students of color for being featured in any promotional material for the school, and mandating that all staffers issue “anti-racism” statements, according to The New York Post.
Teachers also want the school to hire diversity officers and psychologists to work with students of color and help them with their “race-based traumatic stress,” and one staffer to teach black students how to “navigate a predominantly white institution.”
The manifesto also lists suggestions that would remodel the curriculum, such as removing any high-level academic courses by 2023 if black students aren’t as successful at them as white students, introducing courses that highlight “Black liberation” and “challenges to white supremacy,” and a complete change of all materials in a way that they promote diversity.
Some parents say that the battle for racial equality has gotten out of control.
“My ancestors experienced white supremacy by being slaughtered. The idea that being white automatically means you are privileged or a white supremacist is ridiculous. My child comes from people who had to fight for everything they got. “It’s just about skin color now,” one parent, who’s Jewish, said.
“It’s completely absurd and a total step backwards,” a father, who pulled his children out of the school, said. “This supposed anti-racist agenda is asking everyone to look at black kids and treat them differently because of the color of their skin. The school is more focused on virtue-signaling this nonsense than it is in actually helping students of color. More parents are going to be pulling their kids out.”
The school claims that these are just ideas that teachers believe might improve “Dalton’s commitment to becoming an anti-racist institution.
“The school does not support all the language or actions it contains.” a spokesperson for the school said. “Dalton’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism is grounded in our deep appreciation for the dignity of all community members, an understanding of differing life backgrounds, empathy for one another, and the ability to engage and listen with respect across differences.”
Worthnoting: Naked Dollar blogger Scott Johnston, who first reported on the manifesto, said these were demands and not proposals. He said teachers “are refusing to come back until they are met.”
The school denied the allegation.
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