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Dad who yanked daughter from ‘woke’ NYC school says many are doing the same
Awake from your wokeness.
That’s what fed-up private school parents hope will happen to administrators when they send mobile billboards to troll six of the city’s poshest, politically correct prep schools Monday.
Each sign truck will be parked outside a school during dropoff and pickup with one of the following slogans emblazoned on the sides:
“DIVERSITY NOT INDOCTRINATION”
“TEACH HOW TO THINK, NOT WHAT TO THINK”
“WOKE SCHOOL? SPEAK OUT”
The $10,000 protest is being coordinated by a group of anonymous parents calling itself Prep School Accountability. It’s the latest of several organizations founded by private school parents in recent weeks as outrage has grown over so-called “anti-racist” ideology and what some see as an over-emphasis on sex education and gender issues among very young pupils.
Parents have spoken out anonymously about the issue at schools including Dalton, Brearley, Riverdale Country Day, Columbia Grammar & Prep, and Grace Church in recent weeks.
Another group called FAIR, the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism, was founded recently by a former Riverdale Country Day School father. Parents at Columbia Grammar & Prep created an Instagram account called “speakupcgps” to encourage parents to voice their concerns and organize.
“In recent years, a new orthodoxy has emerged at our schools, dividing our communities based on immutable characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation,” the Prep School Accountability website reads. “As a result, the core tenets of high-quality education — uniting all children and families through a love and appreciation for learning and community spirit — have gone by the wayside. Schools should unite us, not divide us.”
None of the parents will accompany the billboard trucks. The group asked that the names of the schools not be revealed prior to Monday.
One of the group leaders emphasized to The Post that Prep School Accountability is not against diversity.
“We care about diversity — and we are not all white,” he said. “What we want is a balanced view of it and a balanced curriculum. We have white, black, Indian, Asian, gay, straight parents who are not on board with a lot of this radical stuff. And it’s a mistake to make this a left-vs.-right issue. It’s across the board. Liberals used to value free speech and revere people like Martin Luther King. Not so much anymore.”
The father said there’s widespread dislike of the new school ideologies.
“One 11-year-old girl I know of came home [from school] crying and saying, ‘Why are white people so bad?’ I also know of a black kid who came home and was puzzled as why black people were better than everyone else,” he said. “It’s upsetting for us to try to talk our kids when they come home like that.”
Another father in the Prep School Accountability group said many parents who identify as liberal find themselves in the awkward position of being labeled right-wing or racist.
“In the past six weeks this movement has snowballed,” he told The Post. “We’re focused on New York City but people are finding out that it’s everywhere. The problem is that even though most private school parents consider themselves liberal Democrats, you only read about this stuff in conservative media. Until it crosses into all media, a lot of people will still be in the dark or they’ll think it’s all some exaggeration. It’s all over the place.”
The group has also just launched a Twitter account.
“Everyone is still deathly afraid of speaking publicly,” one private school parent told the Post. “They’re scared to even talk to their friends. What middle-aged white guy working in a bank would dare speak out? They’d be fired tomorrow.”
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