Congratulations on making it through the school year. Wishing everyone some downtime to recharge so you are ready to go in the fall. We are sharing a few updates and worthwhile resources for you to peruse.
Summer Reading
If you are looking for a book the whole family can read together, here is the latest, hot off the press, from one of our very favorite high school teachers, Jeremy Adams — Lessons in Liberty: Thirty Rules for Living from Ten Extraordinary Americans. Jeremy recently joined Charles Love and Wilfred Reilly on Cut The Bull to talk about the book. Take a listen to the podcast episode here.
Deerfield: A Model for Independent Schools
There is important news coming out of Deerfield Academy, a school that is prioritizing education. With their newly announced "A Framework for Schools," Deerfield is leading the way to answering difficult questions such as "How do we create school climates that foster open, nonpartisan, courageous civic inquiry?" and "How do we promote among students curiosity and open-mindedness, build intellectual resilience, and foster in them the willingness to explore—and express—their own convictions and commitments?"
Perhaps this can serve as a model for all schools. At the very least, it should start conversations.
As described by Head of School John Austin, "The Framework is built on three pillars. The idea of disciplined nonpartisanship as an institutional and instructional ideal; the importance of intellectual diversity in the classroom, in the curriculum, and throughout school programming; and the centrality of expressive freedom to learning and inquiry."
Antisemitism Resources
For those looking for trusted sources to try to make sense of stories "in the news," we have some suggestions.
City Journal Article by Stanley Goldfarb
Making Sense Podcast with Sam Harris
This website is chock full of scholarly resources
Compiled by Marjorie Gann.
Gender Ideology Update
On April 8, 2024, the final Cass Review, a systematic review of social transition, was released. Their findings are important for three main reasons:
There is no high-quality evidence of medical benefits.
Full social transition is linked to persistence.
Even though some people think of social transition (use of pronouns, for example) as inclusion, it is an active psychological intervention being performed by unlicensed teachers who are not trained clinicians. They do not have permission to do this without parental consent. The use of pronouns is not “just being kind and inclusive.”
To summarize, the Cass Report discourages full social transition of children; it describes that youth care in England will "no longer be based on the "gender-affirming" model of care but instead will treat youth with gender distress similarly to how it treats youth with other developmental struggles."
Title IX
Last month, the Department of Education issued regulatory changes to Title IX, which will take effect on August 1st.
Originally enacted in 1972 to protect the rights of girls and women by prohibiting sex-based discrimination, Title IX was first written when "sex" was recognized as binary — male and female. It has now been rewritten to replace "sex" with "gender identity." Beyond the physical and psychological harm to a growing number of children, gender ideology now has been enshrined through recent changes to Title IX.
What This Means
Without notifying a student’s parents or obtaining their agreement, this new Title IX requirement will allow school officials to:
Provide counseling to one’s child about gender identity issues
Allow the child to choose his or her gender identity without regard to biological sex
Refer a child for medical attention
This will strip parents of their right to direct the education and healthcare of their children and to teach their children about issues of sex and gender identity without interference from school. Bob Eitel, President and Co-Founder of DFI commented that "President Biden’s new Title IX rule is a textbook example of how extremists in the administration have hijacked the law to force radical changes in American society through its schools, colleges, and universities."
The Defense of Freedom Institute has described that the Biden Education Department’s Title IX rule will "Threaten women’s sports, parental rights, due process, free speech, and academic freedom on campus.” In particular, it “undermines parental rights by requiring public elementary and secondary schools to affirm a child’s gender identity without the approval or knowledge of his or her parents. Without notifying a student’s parents or obtaining their agreement, this requirement will allow school officials to provide counseling to one’s child about gender identity issues, to allow the child to choose his or her gender identity without regard to biological sex, and to refer a child for medical attention."
We were proud to be part of the Coalition of 53 Parent Organizations that sent a Letter to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona expressing opposition to final Title IX rules.
"We write to you to condemn your Title IX changes and your attempt to dismantle key civil rights and due process protections for students. Your decision to pander to a small yet vocal group of extreme activists undermines fifty years of progress for women and girls as well as the rights of all students. We urge you to stand with the students you were appointed to serve and rescind your final Title IX rules."
The Speech Every High School & College Student Should Read
This was a powerful graduation speech on the benefits of capitalism and the problems of the "zero-sum game" oppressor/oppressed mentality.
by Robert Parham
