Education thread

[billy.pilgrim]

Why do they lie about everything?

[Vrede too]

Coming Soon to a state(s) near you.

“UF professor opines Florida's new anti-DEI law is behind the push to drop sociology from schools”

“Another controversial move in Florida's education system is a proposal to drop sociology, the study of social life and the causes and consequences of human behavior, as part of their general education requirement for public college students.”

“One would assume that there are political reasons associated with trying to preserve a kind of conservative agenda to minimize opportunities for people to talk about or for students to learn about race or gender or sexuality, history and social class," says Marsiglio.“

https://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/uf-p ... s-35672209

Yet we still hold teachers responsible for our failing education system.

My father was a sociology prof and author. I doubt he ever expected to be a victim of RW cancel culture, and he definitely would have objected. It gets worse:

Florida Censors William Shakespeare In Classrooms For Being Too Gay

Not really "Gay", but sexually suggestive.

... Because of Florida's “don’t say gay” law prohibiting sexually explicit classroom materials or topics in schools, students in a Florida district will only read excerpts from Shakespeare’s plays instead of the complete works. This is just one example of the consequences of the law on the state's education curriculum....

In the classic Romeo and Julie, Shakespeare suggests premarital sex between the underage couple, and many other Shakespeare plays use titillating puns and innuendo....

Oh noooes, titillating puns and innuendo

In further news, it's being proposed that the 'spear' in his name implies a phallus and should be removed. However, 'Shakee' hints at jiggling and twerking. So, he will just be referred to as 'Bill from England'.

Why do they lie about everything?

Because being xtian absolves them of all accountability. For example:

US FTC sues Grand Canyon University for deceptive advertising, illegal telemarketing

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday it has filed a lawsuit against Grand Canyon University for deceptive advertising, illegal telemarketing and misrepresenting the school as a nonprofit....

The FTC accuses them of "deceiving prospective doctoral students about the cost and course requirements of its doctoral programs and about being a nonprofit, while also engaging in deceptive and abusive telemarketing practices," according to a statement.

The university "has been operated for the profit of GCE and its stockholders, and pays 60% of its revenue to GCE," the commission alleges....

Wait, xtian leaders are lying, scamming tax cheats and xtian students are perpetually gullible? Say it ain't so!

[Vrede too]

Bill Ackman’s wife is accused of plagiarizing part of her dissertation

Neri Oxman, an academic and wife of billionaire investor Bill Ackman, plagiarized parts of her doctoral dissertation at MIT, according to a report from Business Insider.

Ackman has become one of the most prominent critics amplifying a series of accusations, including plagiarism, against Harvard’s leader, who resigned this week.

The Business Insider report, which CNN could not independently verify, said Oxman “plagiarized multiple paragraphs of her 2010 doctoral dissertation.” The report “found at least one passage directly lifted from other writers without citation.” ...

Opps, but doesn't Business Insider understand that the rules are different for rich White folk?

Harvard's Claudine Gay cited 'racial animus' in her resignation letter. But experts see a bigger attack on DEI.
A diversity, equity and inclusion expert explains what other factors came into play that caused Gay to have the shortest tenure leading America’s oldest institution of higher learning.

... “She was targeted partially due to her race, but as part of the larger, extremist, right-wing push to reverse social progress under this banner of anti-wokeness,” Lily Zheng, a DEI strategist and best-selling author of DEI Deconstructed, told Yahoo News.

Yep, Ackman is a fanboy of Kyle Rittenhouse and Elon Musk, and he advocates for the permanent blackballing of pro-Palestinian students:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Ackm ... onal_views
Otoh, his philanthropy is pretty rad:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Ackman#Philanthropy

Back to the article:

... A day after stepping down, Gay penned an op-ed in the New York Times in which she said she was “called the N-word more times than I care to count,” in her short six months at Harvard.

“It is not lost on me that I make an ideal canvas for projecting every anxiety about the generational and demographic changes unfolding on American campuses: a Black woman selected to lead a storied institution,” Gay wrote....

“Understanding our current racial landscape as a zero-sum game, where only one group of people can ‘win’ is at the heart of a lot of the current anti-wokeness, anti-DEI movement," said Zheng....

“There’s value for DEI for institutions at Harvard, institutions that have in the past, and in the present, continue to be bastions of this ‘old boys club,’ this kind of informal network that is fundamentally anti-meritocratic, and is about people from one set of social groups helping others from the same social group,” Zheng affirmed....

Why do we still have to fight for the same things my Mom marched for 60 years ago?

[billy.pilgrim]

I've got a 305 Florida mobile and I basically never get solicitation calls and when I rarely get one the phone proclaims it spam. Lady O got on some Repugs list for a while, who kept sending mail to her as "Robert." She kept blocking the numbers and eventually they stopped.

Solicitation calls are down to only 2 or 3 per day since I changed to an iPhone, suddenly I’m getting about 5 to 10 calls from locals asking why I just called them.

I’ve been politely telling them that I didn’t call them and that I will text them an explanation. Then quickly hanging up before they start arguing or cussing me.

This is the most recent version of my text. If anyone has a better idea, pass it on.

I hope this explains. I didn’t call you, but I know who did.
Telephone solicitors are almost as evil as the Advantage Medicare and other products they sell.
They use computers to make their calls from anywhere in the world appear as local numbers. It’s called so
fyi - their computers call hundreds of numbers at once so they don’t have to waste “their” time waiting for someone to answer. That’s why there’s usually no one there when you answer your phone.

The link below is the Federal Communications Commission’s information on “spoofing”.

https://www.fcc.gov/spoofing

Medicare works. Medicare Advantage is a scam that republicans passed during the Bush administration that turns your publicly funded not-for-profit Medicare into private high profit insurance.

https://www.newsweek.com/medicare-exper ... ge-1642841

[Vrede too]

I've got a 305 Florida mobile and I basically never get solicitation calls and when I rarely get one the phone proclaims it spam. Lady O got on some Repugs list for a while, who kept sending mail to her as "Robert." She kept blocking the numbers and eventually they stopped.

Solicitation calls are down to only 2 or 3 per day since I changed to an iPhone, suddenly I’m getting about 5 to 10 calls from locals asking why I just called them.

I’ve been politely telling them that I didn’t call them and that I will text them an explanation. Then quickly hanging up before they start arguing or cussing me.

This is the most recent version of my text. If anyone has a better idea, pass it on.

I hope this explains. I didn’t call you, but I know who did.
Telephone solicitors are almost as evil as the Advantage Medicare and other products they sell.
They use computers to make their calls from anywhere in the world appear as local numbers. It’s called so
fyi - their computers call hundreds of numbers at once so they don’t have to waste “their” time waiting for someone to answer. That’s why there’s usually no one there when you answer your phone.

The link below is the Federal Communications Commission’s information on “spoofing”.

https://www.fcc.gov/spoofing

If this is a true copy of your actual text you may wish to fix the incomplete sentence:
It’s called so
If that's just a copy and paste glitch here, no biggie. We know what you're trying to say.

[billy.pilgrim]

I've got a 305 Florida mobile and I basically never get solicitation calls and when I rarely get one the phone proclaims it spam. Lady O got on some Repugs list for a while, who kept sending mail to her as "Robert." She kept blocking the numbers and eventually they stopped.

Solicitation calls are down to only 2 or 3 per day since I changed to an iPhone, suddenly I’m getting about 5 to 10 calls from locals asking why I just called them.

I’ve been politely telling them that I didn’t call them and that I will text them an explanation. Then quickly hanging up before they start arguing or cussing me.

This is the most recent version of my text. If anyone has a better idea, pass it on.

I hope this explains. I didn’t call you, but I know who did.
Telephone solicitors are almost as evil as the Advantage Medicare and other products they sell.
They use computers to make their calls from anywhere in the world appear as local numbers. It’s called so
fyi - their computers call hundreds of numbers at once so they don’t have to waste “their” time waiting for someone to answer. That’s why there’s usually no one there when you answer your phone.

The link below is the Federal Communications Commission’s information on “spoofing”.

https://www.fcc.gov/spoofing

If this is a true copy of your actual text you may wish to fix the incomplete sentence:
It’s called so
If that's just a copy and paste glitch here, no biggie. We know what you're trying to say.

Thanks, I missed that. I’m not exactly sure what I was trying to say, but I’ll fix it.

[Vrede too]

If this is a true copy of your actual text you may wish to fix the incomplete sentence:
It’s called so
If that's just a copy and paste glitch here, no biggie. We know what you're trying to say.

Thanks, I missed that. I’m not exactly sure what I was trying to say, but I’ll fix it.

De nada. I guessed that you meant:
It’s called spoofing.

[Vrede too]

Why do they lie about everything?

Henceforth, Florida will replace data-driven analysis of modern society with White supremacist revisionist "history", while also re-erecting barriers for marginalized groups:

Florida Public Universities Replace Sociology With U.S. History Course In Core Curriculum
The change shows a "misunderstanding of sociology as an illegitimate discipline driven by ... ‘woke’ ideology," said the American Sociological Association.

Students at Florida’s 12 public universities will be offered an American history class instead of sociology as an option in the general education core curriculum, the state university system’s board of governors announced Wednesday.

This follows a similar move last week by Florida’s Board of Education, which banned the use of public funds for diversity, equity and inclusion programs at all 28 state colleges in Florida, in what appears to be yet another effort by the Republican-led state to clamp down on education....

This is what fascism looks like. If the Dems ever do regain power it will take them years to just undue the damage the GQP has wrought. Florida progress will have to wait.

[billy.pilgrim]

Coming Soon to a state(s) near you.

“UF professor opines Florida's new anti-DEI law is behind the push to drop sociology from schools”

“Another controversial move in Florida's education system is a proposal to drop sociology, the study of social life and the causes and consequences of human behavior, as part of their general education requirement for public college students.”


“‘ One would assume that there are political reasons associated with trying to preserve a kind of conservative agenda to minimize opportunities for people to talk about or for students to learn about race or gender or sexuality, history and social class," says Marsiglio.“

https://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/uf-p ... s-35672209

Yet we still hold teachers responsible for our failing education system.

My father was a sociology prof and author. I doubt he ever expected to be a victim of RW cancel culture, and he definitely would have objected. It gets worse:

Florida Censors William Shakespeare In Classrooms For Being Too Gay

Not really "Gay", but sexually suggestive.

... Because of Florida's “don’t say gay” law prohibiting sexually explicit classroom materials or topics in schools, students in a Florida district will only read excerpts from Shakespeare’s plays instead of the complete works. This is just one example of the consequences of the law on the state's education curriculum....

In the classic Romeo and Julie, Shakespeare suggests premarital sex between the underage couple, and many other Shakespeare plays use titillating puns and innuendo....

Oh noooes, titillating puns and innuendo

In further news, it's being proposed that the 'spear' in his name implies a phallus and should be removed. However, 'Shakee' hints at jiggling and twerking. So, he will just be referred to as 'Bill from England'.

Yet somehow the right wingers blame liberals for destroying education.

[billy.pilgrim]

“WPLG reported that parents at iPrep Academy in Miami received permission slips asking them if they wanted their kids to participate in February's Black History Month activities.
The offerings include schoolwide and classroom-based presentations "showcasing the achievements and recognizing the rich and diverse traditions, histories, and innumerable contributions of the Black communities," WPLG reported.

One parent, Jill Peeling, told the local news station she was "shocked" by the form, which would in effect allow parents to remove their children from classes highlighting Black accomplishments.”

“Steve Gallon, a member of the Miami-Dade School Board, told WPLG that the policy aligns with a recent state board rule, which is itself an extension of the Parents' Bill Of Rights.
"We have to follow the law," Gallon told the local news station.
However, he said: "Something feels very off here, and the fact that the school needs to cover themselves against the state feels even worse."’

In spite of a parent providing evidence of the form, along with a School Board Member admitting that the form was sent out, the desantis Department of Education says it’s a “lie”.

“Florida's Department of Education, in a statement sent to BI, called the story a "media driven lie."
"Any insinuation that students need permission to study African American history is absolutely false," it said.”


https://www.businessinsider.com/florida ... 2024-2?amp

[Vrede too]

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9 ... e-defunded

"Republican Mississippi State Auditor Shad (named for the fish) White speaks at the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Miss., July 29, 2021. Calling numerous social science and humanities degree programs “indoctrination factories,”'

Shad, whose mother knew what she was doing when she named him for a trash fish, "said there should be no taxpayer funding for “useless degrees" in “garbage fields” like Urban Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, German Literature, African American Studies, Gender Studies and Women's Studies. Claiming some academic programs are hotbeds of political radicalization"

The other White meathead.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shad_White
University of Mississippi
President of the Harvard chapter of the Federalist Society
Director of a conservative think tank
Reliable GQP foot soldier
Director of a RW legal org
Charter schools defender
Figures, but there are a few positives, too, including:
Public school art teacher Mom
Rhodes Scholar
Investigated the largest public fraud scheme in state history, including Brett Favre


https://www.blueridgedebate.com/viewtop ... 21#p189321

Small wonder that even his Mom saw him as a fish.

Speaking of (Small) Favre and (Fish) White, leave it to Mississippi to further screw things up:

Mississippi politicians divided over Brett Favre payment plan

Mississippi's Republican attorney general sued the Republican state auditor Thursday, saying the auditor is trying to usurp her authority over recovering interest on misspent welfare money from retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre -- money that was supposed to help some of the poorest people in the U.S.

Attorney General Lynn Fitch's lawsuit says that filing litigation over improperly spent money is the responsibility of the attorney general's office, not the auditor's....

Lynn Fitch

Too complicated and far away for me to care about who is "right", other than to enjoy a good 3-way con fight GoRepuQsGo

[O Really]

Do we wish rational ancestors had just let them secede? Or maybe boot them out now for terminal stupidity.

[Vrede too]

Do we wish rational ancestors had just let them secede? Or maybe boot them out now for terminal stupidity.

Mississippians, RepuQs or Green Bay fans?

[GoCubsGo]

Do we wish rational ancestors had just let them secede? Or maybe boot them out now for terminal stupidity.

Mississippians, RepuQs or Green Bay fans?

Yes.

[Vrede too]

Do we wish rational ancestors had just let them secede? Or maybe boot them out now for terminal stupidity.

Mississippians, RepuQs or Green Bay fans?

Yes.

Liberty University fined $14 million for federal crime reporting violations

The U.S. Department of Education is fining Liberty University $14 million, the largest penalty on record, for failing to comply with a federal campus crime-reporting law.

Department officials announced the settlement Tuesday. It came after a lengthy investigation that found numerous violations of the Clery Act, a federal law that requires colleges to record, and warn their communities about, campus crimes and dangerous situations.

The department's findings are detailed in a more than 100-page report, which describes how, from 2016 to 2023, the Christian university in Lynchburg, Va., demonstrated "serious, persistent, and systemic violations." The report says the college discouraged students from reporting crimes, did not adequately respond to incidents of sexual violence, failed to tell the campus about criminal activities or dangerous situations (such as gas leaks), and did not maintain an accurate or complete list of crimes.

I'm shocked that RW xtians would be so illegally misogynist, cavalier and dishonest, shocked I tell you

... The $14 million fine is the largest Clery Act settlement yet. In 2019, Michigan State University was fined $4.5 million for Clery Act violations, and in 2020 the University of California, Berkeley, was fined $2.35 million.

That's a huge jump. Is the former related to gym doctor Larry Nassar in whole or part?

[O Really]

Where does the $14 mil go?

[Vrede too]

Where does the $14 mil go?

General fed budget?
Department of Education?
Anti-crime program within DoE?

NOT to Liberty proselytizing is good enough for me.

[O Really]

I'd like to use part of it to widely publicize what Liberty did that resulted in the fine.
Aren't some Christian sects big into shaming the errant?

[Vrede too]

I'd like to use part of it to widely publicize what Liberty did that resulted in the fine.
Aren't some Christian sects big into shaming the errant?

I'm cool with anti-Liberty proselytizing, too.

Shaming "sects" - You mean Catholics and Jews?

[Vrede too]

Xtian madrassas:

Louisiana Requires Every Public School Classroom To Display The Ten Commandments
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed the law Wednesday, making Louisiana the first state to implement such a requirement.

Boon for poster makers, (tens of?) thousands of classrooms.

... The law prevents students from getting an equal education and will keep children who have different beliefs from feeling safe at school, the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation said in a joint statement Wednesday afternoon.

... In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a similar Kentucky law was unconstitutional and violated the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says Congress can “make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The high court found that the law had no secular purpose but rather served a plainly religious purpose.

GoACLUGo