By: Diane Benjamin

VIDEO would be much better, but below is the text from 2 parents. I heard a report this morning from the Attorney General’s office about kids posting inappropriate pictures online. Parents and government, what did you think would happen when you are sexualizing kids in kindergarten?

The next school board meeting is June 9th. Read especially the second comment. This indoctrination is unacceptable. Parents need to show up in mass – if you actually care about your child’s future. CHILDREN DESERVE BETTER. They are being taught to be racist and hate their country. VIDEO folks, it is badly needed. Video of the kids discussing what they have been taught about Abraham Lincoln needs to go viral. Don’t have a camera? I volunteer to film.

1)   

I wear a mask at most of my appts over 26 counties statewide. But after 10 min I begin to get dizzy, short of breath and have difficulty focusing. I cannot begin to imagine how our kids feel having to mask an entire school day. My 3 youngest children, all previous students of D87 were pulled from your district and homeschooled this past year. As a single mom working full time I am grateful to a network of friends who have afforded me that privilege. Others aren’t so fortunate. ISBE stated that Illinois lost 35,822 students last year. K declined 7.8%, 1st grade 4.8% and 2-3 grade by nearly 3%. As you know enrollment is key for new evidence based funding from the state. Sure. It could be speculated as to the reason for this student loss. Moves out of state, private schools (many not masking) or due to homeschooling and not due to mask mandates. In my small circle alone I know of 16 kids pulled from your district this past year due to mask mandates alone. According to educationdata.org each child receives $14,840 in federal, state and local funding. Just those 16 kids amounted in a loss of over $237k for your district. If masks are mandated again this year, what financial impact will that have on your district!? According to ISBE, in person school is mandatory! 

Flanagan- Cornell district 74, Red Hill Comm unit district 10, Bridgeport, Hancock county and Luka grade schools have already announced OPTIONAL masks for next year regardless of IDPH and ISBE “guidelines!”. Faith Christian in Cannahon and Parkview Christian in Yorkville were in person and maskless all this past year with zero issues.  And don’t worry, ISBE and IDPH are our next targets. You can’t continue to hide behind these organizations. They offer Guidelines. Not laws or mandatory expectations. You are elected officials with obligations to the people and most important the children you serve. Fl, Tx, Sc, Iowa, and areas of MO have dropped mask mandates. Follow suit and let our kids breathe!

2)

I’m here tonight to address growing racism in our schools.

The death of George Floyd obviously sparked a lot of conversations about race. As I talked to my daughter and her friends last summer, I realized that they’ve learned a lot here in District 87 that is not only factually incorrect but also theoretically pretty Anti-American.

I’d heard of things like the 1619 project, and the teachings and beliefs of Black Lives Matter but I had no idea that it had seeped into our school system here in Mclean County.

I had one child graduate from a Christian school and the other just leaving Bloomington High, and even though there’s only 3 years in age difference, they have such different outlooks on all social issues.

 The eldest who went through private school is pretty patriotic, appreciates his freedom and this country. He doesn’t think about race. He judges people on their character, not skin color- which is how they were both raised to be. 

My daughter who is graduating this year from Bloomington High, and her friends who are of different races have been taught to think only one way and it’s not coming from their parents. . 

This couldn’t have been made any more clear to me than once the riots started and I began some tough conversations with these seniors. I was shocked to hear my daughter and her friends talk to me about white privilege, White Guilt or white shame and about how unfair and unjust this country has always been to minorities. That it’s time for whites to sacrifice for Black Americans.

Our country isn’t perfect. It has taken a very long time to get to where we were with race over a year ago. But just like us, this country has made huge mistakes. We must learn from them!  That’s how we grow and become better people and a better nation. 

These kids ALL think cops are evil and should be defunded yet they had no idea about actual facts, numbers, or statistics.                                                                                                                                                                                                  

My jaw hit the floor when I was told by a group of 4 kids that Abraham Lincoln was a racist, he didn’t really free anyone, our entire country is based on stealing land and built upon the backs of slaves. That we, as a society, but ESPECIALLY whites, owe reparations to blacks. I could go on because that’s just the tip of the iceberg of opinions kids have been learning. 

 But to summarize, I was hearing things right out of the 1619 project which has been discredited by most credible historians, and the Marxist ideas perpetuated by Black Lives Matter.

Critical Race Theory being officially brought into the curriculum is going to further the racial divide among kids as young as kindergarten! Parents won’t have an option to opt out because the of new school books just purchased. Even science books now require CRT.

The entire concept of Critical Race Theory IS in itself racist! 

 Both district 87 and unit 5 as well as our local universities have always been proud of the fact that they are tolerant and inclusive.

I’d say any decent human being is on board with that. Anything other than tolerance and inclusion would be unacceptable.

 But as the entire Nation makes these words – inclusion- diversity- equality and equity – hot button issues, the words become much less about their actual definitions and more about a political stance. Because of this, we see a huge division of people by race, class and gender.

I believe that many people who’ve so easily jumped onto the so called EQUITY agenda, do not even realize that the entire purpose of this plan is actually to tear people apart and cause even MORE racial tensions. This is something that radical characters in history dreamed of seeing in America someday, in order to do away with our democracy. And the political progressives, who never stop, have progressed us backward in the case of race, by design! 

As we look at histories of other countries, the further down this road we go, more people will begin to feel like they don’t need to try to achieve or excel at things like education in order to get what others have.

Why would we, if we are predestined to all have the same. To reach for equity, not equality, encourages people to see things like education, careers and general life success and lower them to a very low base line, so everyone feels equity- or being “the same”. 

This cannot be confused with equality. 

I think a good analogy here, is if a school were to take students from all academic levels and put them into special education classes in order to make sure they all end with the same knowledge. 

 In contrast, in order to be equal, a school would offer a range of class levels, giving everyone an equal chance to work hard, and work to the best of their individual abilities.  

Bottom line, Critical Race Theory pits students against each other based on skin color and shames white students for actions in the very far past that they had nothing to do with. 

We have more than enough of that happening in entertainment, media, and in general society.

 Parents have enough to fight off and steer our kids through. Especially NOW! 

We shouldn’t be fighting our own schools for the right to have some of the most important conversations with our own kids and not have to worry about them being taught different values in school. And with CRT, we will need to try to battle our kids being taught to have a racist outlook. 

 We don’t need the schools to teach our kids how to feel about each other, or themselves for that matter, based on skin color, sexual orientation, or financial status. These crucial conversations should happen within families. 

 As parents, kids rely on us to shape and guide our kids morals and core beliefs. Meaning, we should keep social and political conversations between families, not teachers.

Otherwise, you as educators, are pushing your own views onto our kids.

There is a saying I heard recently that most parents would agree with: 

If you’re an educator and your students know your political beliefs, you’ve failed them.

It’s your job to make them think for themselves, not to think like YOU do.

I’d take that one step further, and say- Parents and kids do need you, but they need you to teach basic school subjects again. Reading, Writing, Math, science, factual history, geography, civics, world history and so on.

Let parents teach them about social issues.

 Thank you