Kathleen Anderson addressing joint Amherst Pelham School Committee meeting
The NAACP seems to have the answer to recent troubling racial events at Amherst Regional High School: sensitivity training for all employees, A-L-L employees. And that these cultural competency trainings become a "graduation requirement for all students."
So yes, under those carpet bombing conditions the perp responsible for leaving racist notes in bathrooms targeting a teacher of color will probably be ensnared in a "competency training session", but you have to wonder if it will do him or her any good?
Not to mention wondering how much all this training is going to cost.
Greenfield PD had a solution
If you like this story help make this happen:
46 comments:
I want some cultural training.I grew up in Hadley and someone called me a dumb Polack once. My wives uncle is a drunken Irishmen.Where's going to end!
I'm not sure how much this training is going to benefit. Amherst is already the self touting land of acceptance, and when confronted with a situation that does not conform exactly to their persona they throw more money at it. what these kids need is a swift kick in the pants not another hug and therapy session.
Just because NAACP demanded all these trainings doesn't mean they are going to get them. I will almost guarantee the school will do none of what Kathleen Anderson "demanded. "
Anderson's approach and delivery is divisive and arrogant, and, from MY cultural perspective, (which I am 100% competent in,) serves to increase tensions rather than help seek "common ground".
Anderson claims ALL white people are racist, even if they don't know it. I was going to wonder whether she will be satisfied after forcing "cultural competency" training, but I see now she wants to impose this on our children and school personnel, in her words, "until we all breathe our final breaths". She is a detriment to peace and civility in this town.
Folks should not worry. No one in the schools takes Kathleen Anderson seriously and none of her demands will be met. Saner minds will prevail. Bad move on the part of the NAACP to elect her President. With that move alone they lost all credibility.
Oh, what a train wreck!
I just read in the Gazette about the new graffiti in the boys bathroom about Ms Gardner. I think this teacher needs to get a grip and just go back to work and stand up to the person(s) doing this. What high school teacher has not been written about in the bathrooms. We all know how high school kids can be. If they sense a vulnerability they will exploit it. If Ms Gardner said I don't care what anyone writes about me anywhere anytime this graffiti craze against her would end.
Kathleen is the president of the local chapter of the NAACP? That can't be good for the organization. while she will clearly fight to the end for her cause, she is not open minded and does not listen to others views. I have spoken at length with her and her views seem locked in the past. No room for change in her mind. While it may not be her intention she seems like she wants to world to bow down to her and beg for forgiveness for acts committed by people, to people we will never know and would never associate with. Just because you live in liberal Amherst does not mean you can expect the people to make up for racial injustice done over centuries.
At least team Maria is good at listening without doing anything. They are going to need a lot of that to get through this mess.
Larry,
Do you know more about the back story of the teacher who keeps being harassed at the schools. I remember reading somewhere that she was in Northampton for 10 years, I am assuming without incident, and switched to the Amherst schools for the diversity.
Northampton is supposed to be less diverse, did she have problems there. Was that school better able to deal with the issues? Why such a radical change from one town to another. I would be interesting to know.
Could be a good interview for a new digital paper, maybe?
According to my kids and some of their friends who are black.There are some teachers in the high school who are using the classroom as bully pulpit to further their own personal agenda.
Teachers have used the classroom to push their personal agenda for years. Anyone else remember the wacko that talked about government conspiracy and aliens....in a Spanish class?
How about principals who push their own agendas...anyone remember Russ Vernon Jones lecturing kindergartners through 6th graders about white privilege? If my child had been in that school at the time I would have taken them out so fast your head would spin. I send my child to school to learn not to be lectured to about white privilege...especially at the elementary level. Does anyone honestly think little 5, 6, 7, 8 year olds have a clue what white privilege is? Does anyone think that is an appropriate topic for kids that little? We have had some real nut jobs teaching our kids and that is something that will never change in Amherst.
Bigotry starts in the home. Bigotry starts in the home.
Bigotry starts in the home.
And, respect for all humankind starts in home too.
From the looks of it, there are a number of adults "contributing" to Larry's blog that need some serious education on those topics.
Some of us would love to have this kind of leverage to get a foreign language program that stays around and flourishes in the elementary schools.
Kathleen Anderson is the bigot...not the people writing on this blog.
Unfortunately this issue will be overshadowed by K. Anderson's own biases. She is not the voice of reason. She is the most closed minded judgmental human being I have ever had the displeasure of coming in contact with. Just because she makes demands does not mean they should be enacted upon. I highly doubt they will. What is needed is to stop the divisive labeling of groups and start community building with a common goal.
Anderson claims ALL white people are racist
How neatly ironic. Here's someone who claims that "All [pick a color] people are [pick an attribute]."
She might as well declare, "I am racist myself."
Could someone explain to me how the latest graffiti found is racist? Also, if it said, F--- that teacher" what led them to believe it even meant her? Especially since it wasnt the girls room like the others.
Anon 442 it isn't racist. That's why I said 1st thing this morning that this teacher needs to just go back to work and stand up to these jerks. Right now the kids writing stuff in the bathrooms have all the power. If this teacher must went back to work she would take the power back.
If Caroline Gardner actually was a "teacher" in Northampton for 10 years (or even three) she'd have had tenure -- a lifetime job.
Why would she give that up to be an UN-tenured teacher in Amherst?
Northampton doesn't strike me either as some bastion of right wing ideology or as some place unfriendly to women's issues....
Larry,
Can you confirm that the language in the bathroom was the three words mentioned in Anon 4:42 posting. Or was it something clearly racist, which we don't need details on. I trust your opinion. Certainly if that is true than those 3 words are not racist.
According to the Gazette those were the 3 words. The Gazette was quoting Maria Geryk.
Someone remarked earlier about "respect for all humankind." Frankly, I've seen nothing in the comments, thus far, that's disrespectful to humankind. Just because some of the commentary doesn't fit the politically correct mold of The People's Republic doesn't make it disrespectful. While we're on the subject of respect, how about respect for the students and staff of Amherst schools, who need not be subject to frivolous cultural "training."
It really is becoming a dog bites man story.
So, yesterday there is a rally at the High School in support of Ms. Gardner. Nothing wrong with that - glad so many came out in support of her. Amilcar Shabazz posts a few things about the rally on his Facebook page. Nice pics and a few nice comments.
Then you get to the comment by Michael Burkart: "Good to see that many white faces among the students and adults."
Really Michael? What an incredibly racist statement! It's people like this (I would put Russ Vernon Jones in this category) that exacerbate the problem. That make the problem worse. They are not contributing to solving the problem...they are part of the problem. Instead of seeing a group of people supporting Ms. Gardner, they see a group of black people and a group of white people and maybe even some Asian people...and I am sure there were also Latinas and Latinos there. By constantly dividing people up by color instead of seeing us all as one, they are perpetuating the problem. These people who purport to be so sensitive and purport to be in the forefront of trying to solve the problem are the ones who are a huge part of the problem!!
To 6:37 pm (obviously Ed)--
Yes, Carolyn Gardner was a teacher at Northampton High School. No reason to enclose that word with quotation marks. She is highly qualified.
People change jobs for lots of reasons. It could be an interest in a different curriculum. It could be a desire to skip the traffic on the Coolidge Bridge. It could be any number of things.
Your implication in an earlier post that there is some sort of back story, that there must have been something going on at Northampton High School is completely unfounded. It's not surprising, since most of what you say is completely unfounded.
Your statement that teachers have a job for life is also untrue. When schools make cuts in staffing, those cuts could affect any teacher, even those with professional status. Also, teachers are subject to ongoing evaluations. If a teacher failed to improve under a professional growth plan, he or she could lose a position.
You can tell Russ Vernon-Jones cares more about racial equity than the rest of us by the front and center position he assumed at the rally.
So a disgruntled adolescent has just learned a valuable lesson: ordinary graffiti doesn't get you very far, but throw in a racial slur and--wow! You can 1) make a teacher (who you don't like) cower in fear, 2) disrupt the entire school community, and 3) get a certain element of the town to run around with their hair on fire. I bet this kid is feeling mighty powerful today.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hood+fight
So Anonymous April 1 at 9:01, two questions:
Do you dare use your real name?
What is your definition of of racism that would have my comment be racist?
Maybe its time to stop pointing out skin color, country of origin, etc etc. It is only building walls. There is so much tension right now its crazy. People picking sides. Teachers going to the rally even though they think this has been blown out of proportion. Everyone worried about how things look. Stop being so damn PC and live as the neighbors we are.
"There is so much tension right now it's crazy."
So, look for the kid who thrives on these issues that create tension.
I think one of the best places to start becoming color blind is to stop filling out all of the state and federal optional requests for ethnicity. It would make it real hard to track any of this stuff if we all stopped checking those boxes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRw5BxFTqrE
Fck Amherst.
-Squeaky
This is not Anon 901 Michael but I would like to hear you defend your comment about white people? I think Anon 901 made a good point.
Just call me Anon 737. :)
time for some more peace, love and understanding?
Anon 737, Tell me your definition of racism and how my comments are racist. What's your reason for not using your real name?
This is Anon 737. I did not say your comments were racist. I actually don't think they were racist. But I do wonder why you thought it important to express your joy about the being so many white faces. To me it seems to say that you don't think a white person would want to show support for a black person who has been attacked. That seems odd to me.
"Go Die, Squeaky."
I hope your day goes better.
Be happy,
-Squeaky
Anon 373. I wasn't surprised to see that many white faces. I did see the turnout of whites as important because it sends a message that the target of the graffiti, a black woman, is not being left unsupported. I know from several decades of race work, that things change when whites demonstrate through clear action that they/we will not be silent in the face of acts that target people of color. Regardless of who has been doing the graffiti, the turnout of support says a lot about the values which people are willing to support.
I did not say your were surprised, Michael. I said I thought it odd that you felt the need to comment about white faces being there. And I still think it's odd. Did you notice any Asians? Lationos? Disabled? Gay? Lesbian? Mixed Race? Why comment about white people? We are all one. The more you try to keep us separate the more we will be separate.
Anon 10:41,
Your comments seem indicative of the problem of Amherst. Reading to much into everything everyone writes and says.
It is considered a "best practice" among the free market Fortune 500 companies to track how people from different races are faring in terms of rates of promotions, terminations (both voluntary and involuntary), performance ratings, and rates of being hired.
These companies do this for business reasons: their customers are racially diverse, or their workforce is racially diverse.
You cannot manage what you do not measure. Companies measure ROI, market share, performance evaluation, quality performance, etc.
Different groups within the corporation face different levels of career opportunity. In banking, women comprise 65% to 75%of the workforce. yet they are less than 35% of upper management. Companies have found a lot of subtle processes that advantage men but not women. I have been closely involved in a lot of situations like these.
I do notice who, by race, is present or absent in most settings. So, too, do many people of color. Most whites I know don't bother doing this tracking. Of course, in most settings of work and community we whites are either the majority or the decision makers.
Companies have incorporated these practices. I have worked for 20 years with Fortune 500 companies on these projects. Whether you agree or disagree with their decisions, that is how the business world has decided to handle diversity.
You just keep on counting those white people Michael. What a sad way to live.
Is that Katheen Anderson calling for sensitivity training? If I'm not mistaken the same Katheen Anderson who after the changes in security nearly broke the front door to Crocker Farm down? And once inside asked why she should have to use extra gas because a few kids died? Yeah she's real sensitive.
- Amherst Anon
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