CRT is spelled AVID
Critical Race Theory buried in the content of education nonprofits.
We are well into the phase of the Critical Race Theory (CRT) circus where its proponents try to mask it with different, often innocuous names. This helps unscrupulous (or inept) school administrators slip questionable programs past parents and school boards, even if the school has a ban on CRT itself.
The focus of this article is a non-profit organization (very ironically) called Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID).
a nonprofit that changes lives by helping schools shift to a more equitable, student-centered approach. We train 85,000 educators annually to close the opportunity gap, so they can prepare all students for college, careers, and life.
I’ll let you interpret that word soup, because I have no idea what it means. The gist of it is that they soak up lots of tax payers’ money to help schools and teachers implement various social justice programs in the classroom.
While AVID may or may not use the literal term “CRT”, their content demonstrates CRT’s philosophy through and through. It is Critical Race Theory put into action (which is what school districts and/or states should actually be banning).
Here’s what you need to know if your district starts touting AVID or perhaps interviews job candidates with track records of proselytizing other districts with AVID’s materials.
If your board is halfway conservative, this should prompt them to squash any efforts to adopt AVID material. If your board is a lost cause, use this information to win more parents and community members over to your side.
Teachers are “activists”
Their words, not mine. Through AVID’s programs, teachers learn the alleged importance of their role as social justice warriors. Woke Jedi Masters to your racist and privileged little Padawan kids.
Here is item #18 from AVID’s 20 Things That I Can Do to Be a More Equitable Educator (emphasis added):
I will acknowledge my role as a social activist. My work changes lives,
conferring upon me both tremendous power and tremendous responsibility.
Even though I may not identify myself as a social activist, I know that the
depth of my impact on society is profound, if only by the sheer number of
lives that I touch. I must acknowledge and draw on that power and
responsibility as a frame for guiding my efforts toward equity and social
justice in my work.
Remember, the audience of that self-important tripe is a teacher whose job is to teach your kid strange things like math, science, art, English, etc.
Despite having nothing to do with actual education, social activism in the classroom is something the teachers unions fully support. AVID shows teachers how to make it happen.
Intersectionality x100
Like all good Marxists, AVID’s goal is to divide kids into victim and oppressor classes. The B-league equity enthusiasts draw the dividing lines on race alone: black = victim and white = oppressor.
But the professionals, like AVID, realize that the more societal and identity intersections you can create, the more grievance you can foster. It’s not enough for students to be singled out because they are black or white, they should also be singled out for their gender, sexual orientation and all possible combinations of these factors.
Item #19 from the same AVID training guide:
I will fight for equity for all underrepresented or disenfranchised students.
Equity is not a game of choice—if I am to advocate education equity, I do
not have the luxury of choosing who does or does not have access to it.
For example, I cannot effectively fight for racial equity while I fail to
confront gender inequity, and I can never be a real advocate for gender
equity if I choose to duck the responsibility for ensuring equity for lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning students. When I find myself
justifying my inattention to any group of disenfranchised students due to
the worldview or value system into which I was socialized, I know that it is
time to reevaluate that worldview or value system.
Let’s pause here for some interesting questions: as an example, this item implies that teachers should treat gay and gender “questioning” students differently than others. So,
Who gave teachers permission to inquire about or even discuss the sexual proclivities of your child?
What exactly is a teacher going to do to rectify the “inattention” given to that child?
To adherents of AVID’s school of thought, they are fighting a holy war. In their minds, no permission is needed.
The CRT-driven social justice cause is bigger than them, and certainly more important that the relationship between parent and child.
The Social Emotional Learning Scam
One of CRT’s Trojan horses is called Social Emotional Learning (SEL). SEL was ostensibly contrived to help students learn to be more socially and self-aware and develop interpersonal skills. I can’t speak to its efficacy in that regard, but it’s largely irrelevant.
Today’s variation of SEL is simply a wrapper around CRT.
Teachers and administrators will stand in front of your school board and say, “we have a real problem with [bullying, disobedience, fighting, etc.], please give us this SEL program to fix it.”
They will insist that SEL is nothing more than a tool to help with these problems. They are either 1.) lying or 2.) stupid.
Here are some of AVID’s views on SEL, written in an article by Dena Simmons (this is not on the AVID website, but it is recommended reading for “Anti-Racism in the classroom” in this AVID resource list).
Why discuss self- and social awareness without considering power and privilege, even if that means examining controversial topics like white supremacy?
In other words, there is no point in doing SEL unless you tie it to CRT’s philosophy of race.
Note: when people in this sphere mention “white supremacy”, they don’t mean casually mentioning that there is this guy named David Duke who is a white supremacist. They are talking about a systemic problem in which society has been architected by white people to always favor white people (you can just skim this article by the same author to get a feel for this concept). They believe white supremacy is foundational and that white people need to learn about it in order to combat it.
Moving on:
SEL has tremendous potential to create the conditions for youth agency and civic engagement and, ultimately, social change.
and:
Students might start a community garden or organize a farmer's market to address access to fresh food in food deserts, protest a community-identified injustice…
and:
A culminating project could include a campaign or a letter to a government official to advocate for a cause…
I’m sorry, what?
Since when are teachers empowered to encourage your kids to get involved to protests or politics?
Furthermore, what if one of the students decides that her “community-identified injustice” is a baby that was aborted because it had Down syndrome? Would that be an acceptable injustice, or are there only certain approved “injustices” that the class would be allowed to protest?
If this doesn’t make your blood boil… (then you probably wouldn’t have read this far).
Action Items
AVID must be stopped. It is divisive, inappropriate, and lends nothing to academic quality. This is a tough fight because there is a lot of federal money floating around earmarked for schools implementing programs like this. But it’s a fight that must be fought.
Go to your school board meetings.
Show this information to fellow parents.
Show it to any sane members of your school board.
If your board was presented with a legitimate problem within the district that SEL was prescribed for, research alternative solutions and present them.
I only have experience with my local school board and some of the surrounding districts. But it seems to me that sunshine is powerful medicine. School boards aren’t used to being scrutinized or questioned. It’s possible that your school board members are more lazy or disengaged than they are nefarious. If they are challenged on decisions related to CRT, SEL, AVID, etc., they may surprise you.
Well written; very informative....and scary.