Education thread

[neoplacebo]

Well, TN has carved up a majority Black city into three separate districts. But they say race has nothing to do with it. Now this morning, the first news story I see is one about the Knoxville school district banning Alex Haley's "Roots" book. Guess there's nothing racist about this, either. I swear this country is getting crazier by the day.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/ten ... 36505.html

[GoCubsGo]

Well, TN has carved up a majority Black city into three separate districts. But they say race has nothing to do with it. Now this morning, the first news story I see is one about the Knoxville school district banning Alex Haley's "Roots" book. Guess there's nothing racist about this, either. I swear this country is getting crazier by the day.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/ten ... 36505.html

She said Roots had recently been elevated to the district’s review committee for consideration over a passage in the novel’s 84th chapter, which it determined was not “age appropriate” under Tennessee law. “Broader themes or historical significance of a work as a whole is not a consideration under the law,” Harrington added.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reported that the KCS book-banning committee had previously reviewed an excerpt from Roots and did not recommend banning it. KCS did not answer a question from the Guardian on what new concerns had been raised.

The decision means the material can still be taught in classes; it just cannot be available on library shelves.

[neoplacebo]

Well, TN has carved up a majority Black city into three separate districts. But they say race has nothing to do with it. Now this morning, the first news story I see is one about the Knoxville school district banning Alex Haley's "Roots" book. Guess there's nothing racist about this, either. I swear this country is getting crazier by the day.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/ten ... 36505.html

She said Roots had recently been elevated to the district’s review committee for consideration over a passage in the novel’s 84th chapter, which it determined was not “age appropriate” under Tennessee law. “Broader themes or historical significance of a work as a whole is not a consideration under the law,” Harrington added.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reported that the KCS book-banning committee had previously reviewed an excerpt from Roots and did not recommend banning it. KCS did not answer a question from the Guardian on what new concerns had been raised.

The decision means the material can still be taught in classes; it just cannot be available on library shelves.

I was pretty surprised that Knoxville would do something like this. It's one of the few liberal leaning areas of the state.

[Vrede too]

The TN Leg is weird, GoCubsGo.

Well, TN has carved up a majority Black city into three separate districts. But they say race has nothing to do with it. Now this morning, the first news story I see is one about the Knoxville school district banning Alex Haley's "Roots" book. Guess there's nothing racist about this, either. I swear this country is getting crazier by the day.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/ten ... 36505.html

... Roots had recently been elevated to the district’s review committee for consideration over a passage in the novel’s 84th chapter, which it determined was not “age appropriate” under Tennessee law. “Broader themes or historical significance of a work as a whole is not a consideration under the law,” Harrington added.

Heaven forbid that educational value be the standard.

Other titles banned by KCS under the act – of which there are now 124 – since early 2025 include The Handmaid’s Tale, Water for Elephants and The Kite Runner.

According to a report from October 2025, Tennessee ranks third in the country with more than 1,600 books banned over the previous year, surpassed only by Texas and Florida.

I can't find whether your Sullivan County also bans Roots from its libraries.

The Knox County School Board has one Black out of 9 seats. It also has one non-voting Student Representative, Albert Liu, likely Chinese American.
https://www.knoxschools.org/about/board-of-education
The Sullivan County School Board and Director of Schools are all White.
https://www.sullivank12.net/board

Alex Haley spent some of his younger years in Tennessee and later returned to live in Knoxville. There is a statue of him in East Knoxville, and he is buried on the grounds of his childhood home in Henning, which is now a museum....

Irony. Henning is in west TN, though.

[neoplacebo]

The TN Leg is weird, GoCubsGo.

Well, TN has carved up a majority Black city into three separate districts. But they say race has nothing to do with it. Now this morning, the first news story I see is one about the Knoxville school district banning Alex Haley's "Roots" book. Guess there's nothing racist about this, either. I swear this country is getting crazier by the day.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/ten ... 36505.html

... Roots had recently been elevated to the district’s review committee for consideration over a passage in the novel’s 84th chapter, which it determined was not “age appropriate” under Tennessee law. “Broader themes or historical significance of a work as a whole is not a consideration under the law,” Harrington added.

Heaven forbid that educational value be the standard.

Other titles banned by KCS under the act – of which there are now 124 – since early 2025 include The Handmaid’s Tale, Water for Elephants and The Kite Runner.

According to a report from October 2025, Tennessee ranks third in the country with more than 1,600 books banned over the previous year, surpassed only by Texas and Florida.

I can't find whether your Sullivan County also bans Roots from its libraries.

The Knox County School Board has one Black out of 9 seats. It also has one non-voting Student Representative, Albert Liu, likely Chinese American.
https://www.knoxschools.org/about/board-of-education
The Sullivan County School Board and Director of Schools are all White.
https://www.sullivank12.net/board

Alex Haley spent some of his younger years in Tennessee and later returned to live in Knoxville. There is a statue of him in East Knoxville, and he is buried on the grounds of his childhood home in Henning, which is now a museum....

Irony. Henning is in west TN, though.

I just thought it curious that this happened right on the heels of the Memphis redistricting. But then I consider that the KKK was born in TN and just shake my head. No idea if Haley's book is banned here. I guess I could call them and ask. On second thought, maybe not. I might have to give my name and there's no telling what I might say depending on what I'm told.

[GoCubsGo]

[Vrede too]

https://x.com/WGNNews/status/2061984970244047101

"proud representation of her Muslim and Arab communities" VILL NOT be tolerated in Clayton, North Carolina.

Brains, principles, courage and beauty, Leen Hijaz will go far.


You can lead students to a campus, but you can't tell them what to think.
West Virginia spent $3M on an ‘anti-woke’ college program. One student is enrolled

... A recent $45 million budget shortfall had just contributed to 28 academic majors being cut and hundreds of people losing their jobs....

Ironic that Republican lawmakers are so stupid.

... The Trump administration has led the anti-woke charge, threatening to withhold billions of dollars in federal funding to top universities to extract policy and curriculum changes, while cutting off federal partnerships between the military and top universities, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has called "woke breeding grounds of toxic indoctrination."

Heaven forbid that soldiers be educated.

[GoCubsGo]

Meh, Petey is too busy obsessing about the beardo's.