A teacher in Burlington, Wisconsin, is facing backlash after teaching her fourth-grade students using a pro-Black Lives Matter curriculum. The curriculum alleges that “systemic racism happens because the people who make laws and rules set them up so that it works for them,” and that “most of the people in power who make the rules are white men.”
A school board meeting erupted in a debate last week over a Wisconsin Elementary School teacher’s curriculum involving racism, protests, and the Marxist Black Lives Matter organization, according to a report by Fox 6 Milwaukee.
The report added that parents addressed their concerns during the Burlington Area School District board meeting Monday.
“Is the teacher pushing her own agenda on the students?” said one community member at the meeting. “The answer is yes.”
“I ask that you consider her agenda,” said another community member. “It was deceitful and wrong.”
Darnisha Garbade, the president of the Burlington Coalition for Dismantling Racism, said that she stands with the teacher, who is also a coalition member.
“Why would parents get so angry about their children learning how to value the lives of Black and brown people?” said Garbade. “To me, that’s even more of a reason why the district needs to take action.”
The Black Lives Matter curriculum — obtained by Breitbart News from the online educational marketplace — provided students with questions such as “How can we stop systemic racism?” and “What is the Black Lives Matter movement trying to do?”
“You may have noticed on the news and the internet that there are a lot of people protesting in the streets of America,” reads the BLM curriculum. “Protesting means that people are standing up together to try to change something that is not right. The people want to end racism against black and brown people.”
“On May 25, 2020, [George Floyd] was killed by a police officer who forced his knee on George’s neck,” the lesson plan continues. “George could not breathe, and he died. People all around America and the world saw videos of this and became very angry and upset.”
“Even before George Floyd, many many innocent black and brown people have been killed or harmed for hundreds of years,” adds the BLM reading material. “When something unfair keeps happening over and over again to a group of people because of their race, religion, or ethnicity, it is called systemic racism.”
The reading material goes on to explain that Black Lives Matter was founded after the death of Trayvon Martin, and that the man who shot him was found not guilty, adding, “this was not fair.”
The BLM curriculum further insists that “systemic racism happens because the people who make laws and rules set them up so that it works for them.”
“Since most of the people in power who make the rules are white men, other people don’t get to benefit from these rules sometimes,” adds the lesson plan. “Most of the bosses in companies are white. So they feel more comfortable hiring people who look, talk, and act like they do. This makes it very difficult for different people to get the same jobs.”
The BLM lesson plan, however, fails to mention a racist law or rule that would make it legal for one to discriminate based on race or skin color.
The superintendent shared this message with families:
Dear BASD Families,
We would like to take a moment to address the unrest in Kenosha that has captured the nation’s attention. This week’s events have caused students to have questions. The district is committed to creating opportunities to discuss difficult topics. When students have these conversations, it is important to respect that people have varying perspectives.
We learned last night that a 4th grade classroom at Cooper Elementary School shared Black Lives Matter (BLM) resource materials as part of a conversation and Social Studies lesson. The use of this resource was an individual decision, not part of the approved curriculum for Cooper Elementary School or the BASD. When we explored why this material was used, we learned that the class discussion ranged from how police officers protect us to why protests sometimes turn violent.
Every day, the Burlington Area School District seeks to develop the capabilities of our students. While we are committed to creating more opportunities for conversation, we seek to do this from a neutral perspective. We have reminded staff to use supplemental resources that are age and developmentally appropriate without religious or political influence.
We all want for our community to be a safe place to live and learn. Please continue to have conversations with your children about what they’re learning in school. When they come home with questions and you want additional clarification, it is ok to contact your student’s teacher.
We hope that our neighbors in Kenosha will heal and rebuild quickly from all that has taken place. We’re grateful to live in a caring community that wants what is best for kids.On behalf of the Burlington Area School District,
Superintendent Steve Plank
Breitbart News will continue to report on BLM materials used in education.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, on Parler at @alana, and on Instagram.
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