Vera-Thank you for the summary of the slow-motion train wreck that is our school district run by progressive ideologs. Our twins somehow made it through K-12 and graduate college in two weeks. Our family all agree that if they were enrolling in kindergarten next fall it would be in private or home school--not SB Unified.
Vera Témoin - translated means Truth Witness - is a perfect name for the writer of this. Whoever you are, really, please run for office here. We need your Truth.
Cultural Marxism on full throttle in the SBUSD. Their long march through the institutions started decades ago and it's now paying dividends as they now control the public education system. Their foot soldiers are intimidating their detractors and traditionalists with the primary goal of upending our nation as we know it. Look no further than the Culture Revolution in China. It's the same playbook...the Maoist playbook. This "warfare" is playing out all over the country and it will not stop until it is forced to stop.
Yes a good synopsis of SBUSD policies and procedures. One point to realize is for every woke teacher, admin, or school counselor there 60 parents. And hundreds of grandparents, uncles, aunts and so those people are all voters. We cannot change these dyed in the wool woke government school workers, but changing parents by making them aware is a better prospect.
If parents knew their kids were being hunted by gender twisted teachers, coaches and staff, would parents just do nothing?
Or, would they react protectively and stand up for their kids, and demand a normal school environment.
Then comes the voting out of these outrageous school leaders, principals and board members. That is a way to create change. And of course voting for vouchers is also a good plan, because then parents would have a choice. Do they want their kids hunted and coerced, or do they want a decent education without all the woke drama nonsense. See more at our new education website. Coalition4liberty.com where we plan to help student and young people with financial education and literacy.
It is not clear how vouchers could possible ruin the finances of any school district. Sure, schools may find parents don’t choose the government school over a more serious academic institution. But that is not the parent’s fault. Government schools have nearly endless resources from property tax incomes, spend lavishly on administration while short changing teachers and students for instance.
Vouchers give parents a choice of schools. The district sends a check to the parent reflecting the per student cost for local education. The parent then chooses a school that best reflects that parent’s ideal choice for educating their kid. Maybe no DEI, maybe no CRT, and maybe a high reliance on core pedagogical topics like reading, writing, science, history, the arts, athletics, without all the modern nonsense. The school that offers the most popular combination of topics, wins the voucher lotto.
Public schools think they have an iron clad monopoly on education money. And thus fight any voucher encroachment into their endless piggy bank. But the school monopoly and teachers unions have created huge pension debt, massive waste and abuse of the public trust and public funds and bad educational outcomes. When there is no choice for parents, all choice goes to government bureaucrats whose first duty apparently is to ensure higher admin salaries and pension protection.
In these monopoly schools there is no over-site and no parental input. They are big, dumb and inept. And with these government inured administrators, all highly trained in government schools, comes all the DEI and CRT proselytizing that is driving so many of our youth into nihilistic despondency. So choice is the answer, and vouchers are the method.
Thank you Vera, for attending and reporting on the shameful events of last nights SBUSD meeting. Clearly, it takes courage, especially for children, to stand before unhinged and hostile adults on our School Board. But wait, aren’t they our elected officials and sworn by law to represent ALL our children? No, it is clear that the agenda of the SBUSD continues to bang the drum of radicalism in support and emphasis in ESL failure, LGBTQ favoritism and continued COVID hysteria.
It should be obvious to all taxpayers and parents of students that the ESL experience is an unmitigated failure. Assimilation, English immersion and proficiency are the only solutions in providing ESL students with the best chance of success, in the classroom and job market. The disastrous consequences of our schools can be laid squarely on the open border insanity, perpetuated by the liberal establishment. The reality is, large portions of SB are becoming “Little Jalisco,” with thousands of migrants performing labor intensive jobs and serving as a “Serf” class for the rich and privileged. Mexico as our neighbor to the south, needs to no longer be viewed as a friendly neighbor, but as a hostile adversary, exporting their poor, and causing havoc in our school district, not to mention exporting criminality and massive environmental pollution in the form of the Tijuana river, flowing into San Diego. Mexico continues to be a failed, narco terrorist state.
As for continued LGBTQ activism in our schools, enough is enough. Two genders and one policy of treating ALL students fairly and equally. NO special flags, holidays or preferential treatment based on sexual preference, gender or race should be tolerated. Just today, “Newsfakers” is featuring an article, cheerleading the male Trans athlete who is unfairly competing against girls in the state track and field championship, held in Fresno this weekend. The response of the Trump administration is rightly, to keep males out of girls sports! When will the SBUSD stop violating the civil rights of our children by promoting discrimination and harassment of heterosexual children? The remedy shy of voting out the existing school board? Court injunctions and lawsuits against the SBUSD. The problem is it could bankrupt SBUSD, similar to where Carpinteria USD may find itself.
As for the continuation of COVID hysteria in our schools, follow the science, stop the fear mongering and take responsibility for disastrous outcomes related to the closure of our schools, perpetrated by a radical, lazy and selfish Teachers Union.
What do ALL these issues have in common? Follow the money folks, that should answer in part, motivation.
This country is a melting pot, where cultures are supposed to come together and celebrate bring here verse their homeland.
Great point raised that CA has been a part of America for 175 years.
And very interesting that they admitted, requested education for new arrivals in their home country’s language, and culture. That is not melting into the pot.
That’s like oil sitting on top of the water not mixing in.
So sad to see our youth being misdirected, misguided & pulled from the fabric of society. We can attribute this to the color revolution, which is still underway, but losing momentum.
It appears that they are using some of the same plays from old play books. In this case of our youth, it looks like Munchhausen by proxy. Same as create and used by Lin Biao during the Chinese Cultural Revolution of the 1960s.
Biao, a key figure in the Cultural Revolution and Mao Zedong’s designated successor, weaponized psychological warfare techniques after developing & honing those techniques vs US prisoners of war in North Korea in the 1950s. The concept of a "mind virus" (based on Munchausen by Proxy) was developed to manipulate vulnerable groups. During the 1960s Cultural Revolution, the whole of society was targeted with the goal to create a class of victims, including the youth with "homosexual inclination”. Affected individuals, along with Red Guard members were then sent to destabilize traditional Chinese culture by attacking the “Four Olds” — old ideas, culture, customs, and habits. It is estimated that Mao’s power was extended by about 10 years via the planned cultural revolution.
Fortunately for Our United States of America, the Red/White/Blue counter revolution promoted by Team Trump has taken hold and the public is awakening to the devious plans of the Globalist Cult.
When did tolerance become endorsement? The Santa Barbara Unified School District has gone insane. You are not helping children by retarding their language skills.
NB: Administrators typically work a 12 month year; teachers typically work a 9 month year when comparing compensation packages. Teachers may also teach additional summer sessions by choice - other pay.
Automatic Prop 98 revenues in California fund both K-12 and community colleges. Collective bargaining with education unions and the locally elected school boards determines how much of our education funding gets allocated.
SBUDS -approx 3000 employees, 21 campuses, approx 13,000 students
SBCC - approx 2000 employees, 1 main campus, 2 satellite campus, approx 13,000 full time equivalent students (part time, full time, adult ed)
The author is correct. Not only in facts but the description of use of "feelings" or "I think" as justification of failure.
Mike Caston - stated English immersion was and is the path to success. Fought the good fight and won. Within 2 years Hispanic, and other groups that had academic issues rose to the top. The numbers continued to succeed and the issue of "them thar ignorant kids" was proven to be wrong. How about those apples!!!
D. Flores - continued the same policies. Guess what? The academic achievements continued and the previous gains were built upon!
Both Caston and Flores went to other School Districts. Districts of under achieving Hispanics (one next to the San Diego Mexican Border & the other in field farms valley of central Calif.) Once again proved solid values of education and not confusing students was and is the proper way.
Division based upon political power appears to be the only way for the intentionally prejudiced minorities.
We'll lose our identity? Uh teaching of language in the home, and the often specialized schools of Chinese / Japanese communities states clearly that works.
Anyone wonder why so many Asian ethnic kids succeed? Simple attention to detail and often enrollment in math / chemical basics teaching in excess what the public schools offer. Programs the Caston's and the Flores' of the world have fixed.
The issues of sexual minority and holidays is truly prejudiced indoctrination.
You have a group that emphasizes such things that are obviously not anything close to the general population. Fine, but don't pretend your personal "axe" to grind should be demanded to make the rest of us feel guilty.
The author Vera Témoin is right. Too many vote because of name recognition, or to be politically correct without understanding the long range outcomes.
Home used to be the place to learn family values, and to support kids as they managed the ever-changing challenges of life.
Unfortunately, for many kids, home has become the challenge. For not and more kids, it’s become an unsafe place that teaches destructive values (addiction, anger, immaturity, and abuse) at a time when kids need an emotional, spiritual, and relational anchor.
Somewhere along the line — maybe out of desperation to help these kids — schools replaced the role of these broken homes. Teachers, who sincerely cared about these struggling students, took on the role they were ill-equipped to take.
Maybe they should stick to teaching academics. If there is a need, be a wise caring adult and simply listen to kids. If one needs psychological support, then refer them to counseling. If there are disciplinary problems, send them to the principal’s office.
When did it become a teacher’s job to push woke ideology? Just because a segment of culture seized on this crack in the door is no reason to promote their opinions or values.
My wife and I saw what was happening decades ago, when we chose to do K-12 for our 4 children as home schooling parents. At that time we were pioneers. Now, the home school movement is booming, thanks to COVID lockdowns and parents actually becoming aware of what was being taught ( and not taught) to their children in public, and many private schools. Our adult children now homeschool our many grandchildren. The rot around the edges of public education we saw years ago has now consumed the entire edifice of public education. The local resistance to the Good News Club is just another example of the phenomenon described here. I remain to be convinced that the rotting corpse of American public education can be revived. We need to rebuild education from the ground up, and it starts at the kitchen table.
Vera-Thank you for the summary of the slow-motion train wreck that is our school district run by progressive ideologs. Our twins somehow made it through K-12 and graduate college in two weeks. Our family all agree that if they were enrolling in kindergarten next fall it would be in private or home school--not SB Unified.
Vera Témoin - translated means Truth Witness - is a perfect name for the writer of this. Whoever you are, really, please run for office here. We need your Truth.
Excellent, EXCELLENT Article!! It can be applied to many things and situations in our society now. Thanks!
Shame on the LGTQ people for belittling that woman sharing her personal emotion so story calling her a liar.
It does seem like there is very little tolerance from that group.
Cultural Marxism on full throttle in the SBUSD. Their long march through the institutions started decades ago and it's now paying dividends as they now control the public education system. Their foot soldiers are intimidating their detractors and traditionalists with the primary goal of upending our nation as we know it. Look no further than the Culture Revolution in China. It's the same playbook...the Maoist playbook. This "warfare" is playing out all over the country and it will not stop until it is forced to stop.
🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯
And you are a "traditionalist"? In what way?
Yes a good synopsis of SBUSD policies and procedures. One point to realize is for every woke teacher, admin, or school counselor there 60 parents. And hundreds of grandparents, uncles, aunts and so those people are all voters. We cannot change these dyed in the wool woke government school workers, but changing parents by making them aware is a better prospect.
If parents knew their kids were being hunted by gender twisted teachers, coaches and staff, would parents just do nothing?
Or, would they react protectively and stand up for their kids, and demand a normal school environment.
Then comes the voting out of these outrageous school leaders, principals and board members. That is a way to create change. And of course voting for vouchers is also a good plan, because then parents would have a choice. Do they want their kids hunted and coerced, or do they want a decent education without all the woke drama nonsense. See more at our new education website. Coalition4liberty.com where we plan to help student and young people with financial education and literacy.
It is not clear how vouchers could possible ruin the finances of any school district. Sure, schools may find parents don’t choose the government school over a more serious academic institution. But that is not the parent’s fault. Government schools have nearly endless resources from property tax incomes, spend lavishly on administration while short changing teachers and students for instance.
Vouchers give parents a choice of schools. The district sends a check to the parent reflecting the per student cost for local education. The parent then chooses a school that best reflects that parent’s ideal choice for educating their kid. Maybe no DEI, maybe no CRT, and maybe a high reliance on core pedagogical topics like reading, writing, science, history, the arts, athletics, without all the modern nonsense. The school that offers the most popular combination of topics, wins the voucher lotto.
Public schools think they have an iron clad monopoly on education money. And thus fight any voucher encroachment into their endless piggy bank. But the school monopoly and teachers unions have created huge pension debt, massive waste and abuse of the public trust and public funds and bad educational outcomes. When there is no choice for parents, all choice goes to government bureaucrats whose first duty apparently is to ensure higher admin salaries and pension protection.
In these monopoly schools there is no over-site and no parental input. They are big, dumb and inept. And with these government inured administrators, all highly trained in government schools, comes all the DEI and CRT proselytizing that is driving so many of our youth into nihilistic despondency. So choice is the answer, and vouchers are the method.
Ya, billions in deficits. Thank you Democrat government for destroying my once pristine, humane California. More government is Not The Answer.
Thank you Vera, for attending and reporting on the shameful events of last nights SBUSD meeting. Clearly, it takes courage, especially for children, to stand before unhinged and hostile adults on our School Board. But wait, aren’t they our elected officials and sworn by law to represent ALL our children? No, it is clear that the agenda of the SBUSD continues to bang the drum of radicalism in support and emphasis in ESL failure, LGBTQ favoritism and continued COVID hysteria.
It should be obvious to all taxpayers and parents of students that the ESL experience is an unmitigated failure. Assimilation, English immersion and proficiency are the only solutions in providing ESL students with the best chance of success, in the classroom and job market. The disastrous consequences of our schools can be laid squarely on the open border insanity, perpetuated by the liberal establishment. The reality is, large portions of SB are becoming “Little Jalisco,” with thousands of migrants performing labor intensive jobs and serving as a “Serf” class for the rich and privileged. Mexico as our neighbor to the south, needs to no longer be viewed as a friendly neighbor, but as a hostile adversary, exporting their poor, and causing havoc in our school district, not to mention exporting criminality and massive environmental pollution in the form of the Tijuana river, flowing into San Diego. Mexico continues to be a failed, narco terrorist state.
As for continued LGBTQ activism in our schools, enough is enough. Two genders and one policy of treating ALL students fairly and equally. NO special flags, holidays or preferential treatment based on sexual preference, gender or race should be tolerated. Just today, “Newsfakers” is featuring an article, cheerleading the male Trans athlete who is unfairly competing against girls in the state track and field championship, held in Fresno this weekend. The response of the Trump administration is rightly, to keep males out of girls sports! When will the SBUSD stop violating the civil rights of our children by promoting discrimination and harassment of heterosexual children? The remedy shy of voting out the existing school board? Court injunctions and lawsuits against the SBUSD. The problem is it could bankrupt SBUSD, similar to where Carpinteria USD may find itself.
As for the continuation of COVID hysteria in our schools, follow the science, stop the fear mongering and take responsibility for disastrous outcomes related to the closure of our schools, perpetrated by a radical, lazy and selfish Teachers Union.
What do ALL these issues have in common? Follow the money folks, that should answer in part, motivation.
Vera outstanding perspective.
I found this very interesting.
This country is a melting pot, where cultures are supposed to come together and celebrate bring here verse their homeland.
Great point raised that CA has been a part of America for 175 years.
And very interesting that they admitted, requested education for new arrivals in their home country’s language, and culture. That is not melting into the pot.
That’s like oil sitting on top of the water not mixing in.
You parents of school age ones, Yank them the hell out of this sicko school district.
With a little hunting I know you can find Real parents who said long ago, "My kids are Otta
here".
There are Christian schools, private schools, neighborhood parents teaching, Hebrew schools,.
Go do it. Don't put up with this S--T They are YOUR children, stand up for truth.
So sad to see our youth being misdirected, misguided & pulled from the fabric of society. We can attribute this to the color revolution, which is still underway, but losing momentum.
It appears that they are using some of the same plays from old play books. In this case of our youth, it looks like Munchhausen by proxy. Same as create and used by Lin Biao during the Chinese Cultural Revolution of the 1960s.
Biao, a key figure in the Cultural Revolution and Mao Zedong’s designated successor, weaponized psychological warfare techniques after developing & honing those techniques vs US prisoners of war in North Korea in the 1950s. The concept of a "mind virus" (based on Munchausen by Proxy) was developed to manipulate vulnerable groups. During the 1960s Cultural Revolution, the whole of society was targeted with the goal to create a class of victims, including the youth with "homosexual inclination”. Affected individuals, along with Red Guard members were then sent to destabilize traditional Chinese culture by attacking the “Four Olds” — old ideas, culture, customs, and habits. It is estimated that Mao’s power was extended by about 10 years via the planned cultural revolution.
Fortunately for Our United States of America, the Red/White/Blue counter revolution promoted by Team Trump has taken hold and the public is awakening to the devious plans of the Globalist Cult.
When did tolerance become endorsement? The Santa Barbara Unified School District has gone insane. You are not helping children by retarding their language skills.
Worst district, poor teacher morale, poor wages, poor student performance.
SBUSD Transparent California - full compensation packages for all district personnel:
https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/2023/school-districts/santa-barbara/santa-barbara-unified/#google_vignette
NB: Administrators typically work a 12 month year; teachers typically work a 9 month year when comparing compensation packages. Teachers may also teach additional summer sessions by choice - other pay.
Unbelievable, Superintendent makes over 350K a year.
Automatic Prop 98 revenues in California fund both K-12 and community colleges. Collective bargaining with education unions and the locally elected school boards determines how much of our education funding gets allocated.
SBUDS -approx 3000 employees, 21 campuses, approx 13,000 students
SBCC - approx 2000 employees, 1 main campus, 2 satellite campus, approx 13,000 full time equivalent students (part time, full time, adult ed)
Transparent California for SBCC: https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/2023/santa-barbara-city-college/
The author is correct. Not only in facts but the description of use of "feelings" or "I think" as justification of failure.
Mike Caston - stated English immersion was and is the path to success. Fought the good fight and won. Within 2 years Hispanic, and other groups that had academic issues rose to the top. The numbers continued to succeed and the issue of "them thar ignorant kids" was proven to be wrong. How about those apples!!!
D. Flores - continued the same policies. Guess what? The academic achievements continued and the previous gains were built upon!
Both Caston and Flores went to other School Districts. Districts of under achieving Hispanics (one next to the San Diego Mexican Border & the other in field farms valley of central Calif.) Once again proved solid values of education and not confusing students was and is the proper way.
Division based upon political power appears to be the only way for the intentionally prejudiced minorities.
We'll lose our identity? Uh teaching of language in the home, and the often specialized schools of Chinese / Japanese communities states clearly that works.
Anyone wonder why so many Asian ethnic kids succeed? Simple attention to detail and often enrollment in math / chemical basics teaching in excess what the public schools offer. Programs the Caston's and the Flores' of the world have fixed.
The issues of sexual minority and holidays is truly prejudiced indoctrination.
You have a group that emphasizes such things that are obviously not anything close to the general population. Fine, but don't pretend your personal "axe" to grind should be demanded to make the rest of us feel guilty.
The author Vera Témoin is right. Too many vote because of name recognition, or to be politically correct without understanding the long range outcomes.
Good article and to the point.
Home used to be the place to learn family values, and to support kids as they managed the ever-changing challenges of life.
Unfortunately, for many kids, home has become the challenge. For not and more kids, it’s become an unsafe place that teaches destructive values (addiction, anger, immaturity, and abuse) at a time when kids need an emotional, spiritual, and relational anchor.
Somewhere along the line — maybe out of desperation to help these kids — schools replaced the role of these broken homes. Teachers, who sincerely cared about these struggling students, took on the role they were ill-equipped to take.
Maybe they should stick to teaching academics. If there is a need, be a wise caring adult and simply listen to kids. If one needs psychological support, then refer them to counseling. If there are disciplinary problems, send them to the principal’s office.
When did it become a teacher’s job to push woke ideology? Just because a segment of culture seized on this crack in the door is no reason to promote their opinions or values.
It’s simply not their role.
Thank you for the courage to speak the truth!
My wife and I saw what was happening decades ago, when we chose to do K-12 for our 4 children as home schooling parents. At that time we were pioneers. Now, the home school movement is booming, thanks to COVID lockdowns and parents actually becoming aware of what was being taught ( and not taught) to their children in public, and many private schools. Our adult children now homeschool our many grandchildren. The rot around the edges of public education we saw years ago has now consumed the entire edifice of public education. The local resistance to the Good News Club is just another example of the phenomenon described here. I remain to be convinced that the rotting corpse of American public education can be revived. We need to rebuild education from the ground up, and it starts at the kitchen table.
...a kitchen table around which daily prayer occurs!