Caption:...I got this shot of Ceasar Chavez Elementary taken from Folsom Street. I love the green canopy on Folsom, and the way the mural of Ceasar Chavez radiates over the yard and into the neighborhood.
Posted on 05/08/2009 4:24:18 PM PDT by counterpunch
César Chávez Elementary School 825 Shotwell Street San Francisco, CA. 94110 Voice/TTY (415) 695-5765 Fax (415) 695-5843 Email: sch603@muse.sfusd.edu
Silent Language of the Soul (©1990), mural by Juana Alicia & Susan Cervantes, welcomes diversity in our school. Full image (500 K)
Si Se Puede (©1996) mural by Susan Cervantes, keeps César Chávez' s struggle for justice and dignity alive. Full image (340K)
Our Mission Statement César Chávez School is a community of life-long learners, achievers and activists who support self determination. We incorporate and integrate academic skills, leadership development, and cultural awareness that is relative to the reality of our community. We are committed to the spirit, philosophy and actions of César Chávez. We learn about and participate in political action and personal growth that will empower our community to reach our full potential of higher consciousness in order to be globally responsible, respectable and loving human beings that will transform our community.
I think they meant “relevant”, but when you’re trying to generate academic mumbo-jumbo and call it a mission statement, it doesn’t need to make sense.
Caption:...I got this shot of Ceasar Chavez Elementary taken from Folsom Street. I love the green canopy on Folsom, and the way the mural of Ceasar Chavez radiates over the yard and into the neighborhood.
Here’s the good news. Teaching based on ideology is almost always seen as a scam and a waste of time by the students themselves. I’m thinking about the mindless Marxist drivel students produced during the Soviet era merely to pass through the system, get the grade, and get out.
The more the system forces the leftist viewpoint down the throats of the student, the more the student responds with the reflexive ironic boredom found in any group of oppressed serfs. The student learns to regurgitate the party line, which also teaches the student that the party line is without content or meaning. It’s not a surprise that 40 years of leftist indoctrination have produced students who are apathetic, disinterested, and cynical.
I see it in my classroom every day. The bright kids know they’re seen as props for leftist utopianism, and the rest know that they have to keep their mouths shut and heads down to avoid saying or doing anything that would get them noticed for offenses against diversity or prevailing opinion. It takes me at least a year to promote what used to called “discussion.” The students feel that they shouldn’t say anything lest someone else is “offended.”
A fair amount of this stems from the self-esteem movement of 20 years ago, too, which has its basis in the leftist belief that everyone should be equal. No one wants to stand out. In fact, every year I get a certain number of kids who carefully study the class and work diligently to turn in work that meets the effort of the average student.
The end result is that the left is seen as the doddering idiots in charge, or, to paraphrase an old Soviet joke, we pretend to go along with your beliefs, and they pretend it’s education.
I really believe that one day it will collapse like dust, just as the old Soviet Union did. Until then, though, I’m reminded of one bright student who looked at this colorful laminated poster from some educational supply house with the words, “Everyone can succeed if they try!” The student gave me a wry smile and said, “It’s fascism lite.” Out of the mouths of babes.
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