I am keen to be on the panel should it be accepted. Also, as I was ill at
the time, is there a recording of Charlie’s presentation that I could
listen to?
-GB
On Sat, Nov 23, 2019 at 15:06 Marjorie Stamberg <marjoriestamberg@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Could all CSEWers and other involved comrades please weigh in on this ASAP.Gordon R. Barnes Jr.
The NyCORE conference is March 21st. and the deadline for proposals is
December 16. Fresh from listening to Charlie's brilliant presentation on
a Marxist critique of Critical Race Theory, I am intrigued by the idea our
doing a panel to reach a wider audience of educators than just ourselves.
Charlie B and I have talked about this proposal and it MIGHT be workable
if we want to do it. Remember, we usually pack the house when we present at
NyCORE.
Also remember, our (excellent) proposal got rejected in 2018, so it's not
a sure thing.
I am attaching the conference call which is social-justice-psycho-babble
at its worst, and the conference is entitled "Freedom Dreams" in which one
is supposed to have a dream about the ideal classroom, curriculum,
society---gag me.
However, buried in the verbiage is the sentence:
"We invite proposals from educators in varied settings that focus on a
diverse range of topics. *Relevant political critiques are welcomed, as
are curricular ideas, classroom strategies, theoretical frameworks that
lead to praxis, presentations on community work, and other ideas for
inspiring practice. Some possible workshop themes to consider are: critical
race theory*, gender and sexuality in the classroom, spaces for
organizing and convening with similar justice-centered organizations,"
Our Marxist critique certainly goes against the mainstream liberal
thought, but there must be teachers out there who are uneasy about the
pervasive ideology of white skin privilege that dominates academia and now
is mandated at the NYC Department of Education. We Marxists are the people
who fight racist oppression in capitalist America, and we cannot allow our
voice to be silenced in the face of CRT defeatist ideology which turns
teacher against teacher, and only serves capitalism.
Charlie thinks we might get away with a panel format -- which could
include himself, Yari (who has written passionately on this topic) and, I'm
thinking, possibly Gordon, bringing in the CUNY academia side, possibly
Guadalupe, who's horribly over-burdened as a teaching fellow, but spoke at
our study group about how this ideology is affecting teachers of science.
On the negative side, our proposal for the 2018 conference was rejected.
That proposal was entitled "ICE--Hands Off Our Students," and began
"Educators are in the front-lines in the battle over education." Everything
indicates we were rejected for the simple reason that we are a Marxist
tendency. The deciding committee was (still is?) run by the insufferable
Rosie Fascella, the secret ISOer, and now even further to the "social
justice" right.
The previous leadership group (Prof Bree Picower, Education Professor at
Montclair NJ State and a supporter of Mumia, and Edwin Mayorga, from CUNY
Urban Edu department, who weren't Marxists, but respected us and felt we
had something to say, have since gone on to other things....)
So there's a very good chance we would be rejected. However, it's
possible we could be accepted, and if so it could be an important event,
especially since we have the goods on CRT.
What do comrades think? If we want to do it, we have to start now pulling
the panel and proposal together.
M
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