The NEA and AFT versus diversity

Diversity, diversity, diversity. It's not a bad word. Actually, I agree with that. Implementations of diversity programs, however, give me serious reasons for concerns.

Technically speaking, diversity programs can take on many forms. If you hire someone to help ensure people who are all unique can get along, I'm not likely to complain. If you hire someone to dictate what we must think about certain groups, that becomes seriously problematic.

The NEA and AFT appear to have embraced a shallow checklist definition of diversity. They emphasize the importance of exposing children to the perspectives of mindless liberal conformists who are gay, mindless liberal conformists who are transgender, mindless liberal conformists who are black, and mindless liberal conformists who are Muslim. Is that diverse enough?

We act as though maximizing diversity comes down to reaching a high score in diversity based on values pulled from a shallow list. I once read an article about a school that at 98% black was very diverse. If you truly want diversity, you need more than like-minded individuals who are scoring diversity points.

Diversity isn't just about looking different. It's about people genuinely being different. If we want to support diversity, that must include mental diversity. As much as I hate politics, this is actually a good example. We should all be exposed to the perspectives of Democrats, Republicans, centrists, third-party supporters, and people who outright reject partisan conformity. If you visit the websites for the NEA and AFT, you will see hostilities aimed at this important component of diversity.

The presidents of both organizations have been known to restrict replies to their online accounts to only those who they know share their perspectives. The NEA has been known to block accounts if they dare to share an alternative perspective. The NEA and AFT are actively fighting to suppress any perspectives that are different from their own.

During our school years, mental diversity is far more important than the NEA and AFT want you to know. As a believer in mental independence, I strongly believe that children should be developing their own beliefs, thoughts, and opinions. By suppressing mental diversity, schools can hinder a proper understanding of various issues. This can prevent children from making properly informed decisions.

Another issue is perhaps even more concerning. The schools promote a culture of fear. They also push the idea of being right or wrong. Students typically fear the consequences of being wrong. If schools are promoting one perspective as the right perspective, which is clearly the case if it's the only perspective they are willing to share, students are more likely to embrace that perspective as their own. To avoid being wrong, students restrict their thoughts to the lone perspective provided by their teachers. The schools are fueling a fear of being wrong, which fuels a fear of thought.

They NEA and AFT are essentially using the value of diversity as a way to attack much needed diversity. For example, it's not enough to be against racism. You must embrace explicit racism as a solution to implicit and systemic racism. Because they view their perspectives as the correct perspectives, they actively fight to suppress all others. The NEA and AFT are using a shallow definition of diversity as an excuse to wage an all-out war on meaningful diversity.