GOP – Blue Cereal Education

And Your Name Is…?

Blue Cereal — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 11:38:45 +0000

The State of Indiana, perhaps in a desperate attempt to catch up with the serious hardcore crazies in competing red states such as Oklahoma, Texas, or Florida, recently passed HEA 1608, a piece of legislation whose actual wording is a bit of a mess but whose intent is quite clear – Stop Indiana Public School … Continue reading

In Loco Parentis

Blue Cereal — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 04:54:16 +0000

Let’s start by addressing the gaslighting elephant in the room:

I have no interest in parenting your children.

HB 1134 & Mandatory Nationalism

Blue Cereal — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 04:22:54 +0000

Indiana’s HB 1134 has passed the House. All its supporters had to do was not openly endorse Nazis in order to avoid the sort of unwelcome attention its companion bill in the state Senate received. The sections of this bill which dance around the edges of “stop teaching about racism” have been well-covered elsewhere. What … Continue reading

Very Fine People On Both Sides

Blue Cereal — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 05:49:46 +0000

Yes, the Nazis were bad. But adding an “unless you’re talking about the Nazis” provision to the bill doesn’t solve anything. Wrestling with the relative “good” and “bad” of various economic systems, political beliefs, lifestyles, attitudes, behaviors, and the like, is one of the primary functions of secondary education. Yes, we’d like them to be employable. Yes, we aspire to see them happy and personally fulfilled. But somewhere in the mix is this crazy hope that they’ll be informed, rational citizens, capable of weighing complex ideas and understanding multiple points of view.

Unlike, for example, the folks pushing this legislation.

Indiana SB 167 (Part Three)

Blue Cereal — Fri, 14 Jan 2022 02:02:48 +0000

I’ve been breaking down Indiana’s proposed Senate Bill 167 – the one that’s been in the news lately for all sorts of things, including the insistence of one of its authors that educators needed to stop criticizing Nazis for doing Nazi stuff and be more neutral about “-isms.” He had to dial that one back … Continue reading

Indiana Senate Bill 167 (Part Two)

Blue Cereal — Thu, 13 Jan 2022 01:31:32 +0000

In Part One, I expressed my chagrin over what seems to be the Indiana GOP’s effort to elevate the voices of those unwilling to participate in public education in any sort of helpful way while making it nigh impossible for educators to comply with the reporting and other bureaucratic requirements of this bill. Now it’s … Continue reading

Indiana Senate Bill 167 (Part One)

Blue Cereal — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 01:53:23 +0000

There’s nothing wrong with public input in and of itself - community members already have the right to get involved in their local schools, run for positions on the board, etc. This new legislation, however, seems designed to encourage even those unwilling to engage in meaningful ways to jump in with the same thoughtfulness and expertise they demonstrate on Facebook or the “Comments” section on YouTube channel to derail or demonize anything they’re pretty sure Tucker Carlson mentioned several weeks ago as part of a liberal conspiracy to make white people feel bad.

Or maybe I'm just being paranoid.