I'm curious why becomeaware hasn't answered the question about why she allowed her child to take this elective class. It seems like a legitimate question.

@patriotsal- Keep it up. Your comments and the comments of people like you are the exact reason President Obama won the election in November. You could ensure a win for democrats in 2016 with attitudes like that. Extremism is out of style.

and no, there are no communists under my bed.. there is one in the Oval Office, however..

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/02/...

Let's talk about all sides of an issue, and that clearly is what SHOULD be happening in the schools.

Reporting a news story on white hate is ignorance?

Hypocrite.

The level of ignorance in some of these comments is astounding and a perfect example of why these classes are needed.

This story didn't get much MSM coverage. He was convicted Jan 31, 2013 and sentenced to Life plus 65 years in prison.

Mass Shooter Confesses He Learned to Hate White People in College

"During his testimony Wednesday, Thandiwe suggested that his reason for even purchasing the gun he used in the shootings was to enforce beliefs he’d developed about white people during his later years as an anthropology major at the University of West Georgia."

“I was trying to prove a point that Europeans had colonized the world, and as a result of that, we see a lot of evil today,” he said. “In terms of slavery, it was something that needed to be answered for. I was trying to spread the message of making white people mend.”

"He said the night before the shooting, he attended a so-called “Peace Party” intended to address his concerns about helping the black community find equal footing, but two white people were there."

“I was upset,” Thandiwe said. “I was still upset Friday. I took the gun to work because I was still upset from Thursday night.”

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/02/...

Handbook...when looking at statistics and they don't go the way you want, its gotta be racism, right? It couldn't be that whatever the color of the skin of the students sent to the office that those students ARE acting out and should be sent to the office? Nah, gotta be racism.
Honest abe....I think we as Americans have more in common than we have differences. By focusing on our differences we emphasize that and not that we should come together and make this a better country. How does focusing on the mistakes made hundreds of years ago helpful other than to continue to divide us. I think we should move on. Lets focus on getting people back to work, encouraging students to succeed in school for their future success and become independent, getting our country out of debt, keeping our country safe from our enemies, raising healthy educated independent children, etc.

@honestabe- You tried- hope it didn't fall on blind eyes and deaf ears.

Diverse students, the research tells us, receive more office referrals and out of school suspensions than white students even though they represent less of the student population. Many teachers claim they don't look at race or skin color when they discipline students but I disagree. Teachers claim to be colorblind but I also disagree.

America was not founded on the English language. America was not intended to be a pluralistic (diverse) society. Example...slaves, forced assimilation of Native American children by forcing them into schools, not allowing women and Blacks to vote...it sounds like this lady doesn't like to be freed by hearing the truth about America....

I hope all of the non white students who apparently are subjected to so much racism on a daily basis (sarcasm) dont go to a job interview with the attitude that your owed something because of your "disadvantaged" status. If any potential employee did that their resume would find its way into the trash. Businesses do not want people playing the blame game for their status in life. This class is a nother liberal tactic that will hurt more people than it helps.

donnaw: I agree that we should all aspire to be one nation and one people but under whose terms and standards should this be determined. The simple truth of the matter is that while many of us want to be viewed as simply Americans, the sad reality is that many people of minority status have been oppressed for centuries and have not been given fair and equal opportunities. The Constitution provides the gold standard for us as Americans and indicates that we shall not discriminate because of race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. Ask your Afro-Americans friends if they think they have been treated fairly over the centuries? Do they think Afro-Americans are being afforded equal opportunities today? Ask the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin if they have been warming received? Ask your gay and lesbian friends if they have been treated fairly and with dignity as Americans over the years? Ask your Latino neighbors in Delavan if their interests have been well served? The U.S. Office of Civil Rights was been established to assure that all citizens are treated equally as Americans. How many complaints do you think they receive each year? I know.
“White privilege” is predicated on the fact that Anglo-European dominance and influence over the centuries in America has created a series of local, state, and federal practices and policies that are representative of that Anglo-European influence (only) since our founding fathers were Europeans. At issue is that such past developed practices and policies may not be representative of our rich diversity that we enjoy in American today. Again, I applaud the School District of Delavan-Darien for discussing such influences in its diversity class. I, too, am a strong believer that all sides need to be presented and I have utmost confidence that there has been balance in this class. This class is NOT anti-American, it is ALL American and such conversations need to take place. I think the city of Delavan needs to conduct similar conversations. Thomas Jefferson anticipated the very evolving society we are becoming. As our country becomes more and more diverse, it becomes all that much more important that we embrace our diversity as Americans and transform our policies and practices to fairly serve all Americans. I am absolutely convinced that we will be a stronger, richer Country if we proceed in this manner.

As for diversity in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, abuse toward minorities is widespread.

I will concede that most communists in our country are largely living under someone's bed.

But there are many more communists in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam today. Such communism is condemned by Vietnamese intellectuals and recovered communists from the old days. Communists are kept in office in the SRV by an electoral process that revokes ration cards when someone votes against communism.

This electoral process is a milder form of the process that would have taken place in Vietnam during the 1950s. The pro-communist elements in the U.S. back then and to this day still bemoan the fact that those elections didn't take place. But whats never mentioned is that the proposed elections were a contrivance of France, a country that no longer held any sway in Vietnam at the time. And that North Vietnam and South Vietnam were not signatories to any such elections. (South Vietnam was a sovereign nation, and recognized as such by over thirty other countries. Also, Ho Chi Minh, in the 1950s acquiesced to the sovereignty of South Vietnam.)

Pro-communists in this country to this day also like to cite Eisenhower's prediction as to the outcome of those elections, were they held. Ike based his opinion on the fact that the communists in Vietnam were a terrorist element that would in no way allow free elections.

alertcitiizen,,,,,"beliefs are being foisted" what a laugh! That's the problem! White shame ideology is being "foisted" on young minds. Whatever happened to the belief that we are ALL Americans first? We are supposed to be one people, one country, one language, etc. I think we focus too much on diversity, too much on our differences. There are many different races and ethnicities in our country. We can't single out each one for recognition. That's not what will unite us. So IMO this class should not be taught. The schools should enforce the rules that everyone should be treated with respected and treated equally, period.

Versus the "foisting" that's already going on.

Hopefully the parents, administrators, and school board of the Delavan-Darien School District act to insist that this class be kept "as is" in the curriculum. As the article states, the class has been taught for a decade. It also states "veiled and not-so-veiled" threats have been made against district employees. Sounds to me like a right wing propaganda group trying to
"infiltrate" the school system and foist their belief systems onto others.

it amazes me to see how many people keep talking about presenting different 'opinions' or 'views' in class. that was not the issue. it was the fact that opinions were presented as facts. also, celebrating diversity would include ALL people, and there is nothing celebretory about vilifying one group of people.

What's next? We can't talk about anything controversial in a public school setting? Ban all discussion of different cultures and religions? Maybe burn a few books too while we're at it? Get a grip, people.

@janesvillean- Funny!

It's pretty revealing that "patriotsal" see different ideas and thinks it must be communism. No, patriotsal, they're not actually in the schools. I can assure you of that. In reality, they're hiding under your bed.

It's not at all unexpected to read the comments of angry people who are so fearful of those that have a different color of skin, speaks a different language, worships a different god or doesn't believe in a god, or has a different sexual orientation. These angry people are so fearful because they've lost their lock on political power and see it continuing to decline even further. Celebrate diversity!

"wow, who would disagree, that our kids deserve to have both sides heard."

$10 says this lady wants creationism to have equal time in Biology as well.

I would like to get the teacher's perpective on this. I highly highly doubt that the teacher would not allow open dialogue on this subject as long as the dialogue wasn't argumentative and disrespectful to others.

wow, who would disagree, that our kids deserve to have both sides heard. Critical thinking can then be used based on many factors. It doesn't matter if you agree with this material or not(I personally don't),but to teach it in a way that only one side is expressed, does not lend itself to OPEN discussion. What you all seem to want is what it appears this teacher wanted, for kids to blindly follow. Thanks to Abe for being respectful and reminding folks we all have a right to our own opinions, especially on these types of controversial topics.

becomeaware, patriotsal, and wislady have their heads buried so far in the sand that their posts read like satire. The only thing keeping it from being hilarious is how many of them are out there.

Nice and respectful job honestabe.

First, I want to thank Lisa Olson for bringing "white privilege" and diversity into the public arena. I think we seem to avoid many public issues because of our political correctness. Again, I thank Lisa Olson for bringing her perspective into full view. I live in Delavan and I am not surprised by her opinions. Second, I want to indicate that I disagree with just about everything Lisa Olson states but I fully respect her first amendment rights.

Delavan is a microcosm of our larger society because of our cultural and socio-economic diversity. The Delavan community is changing rapidly and we can either embrace our changing demographics or hold dear to the only things that some of us know, that is, what we, as the community of Delavan "used to be". In some public meetings I have attended in Delavan, I have heard public comments about the "little voices" and the "Delavanites" of our community...implying that only certain groups or individuals care about and are entitled to lead the Delavan community forward. Maybe, just maybe, there is some local justification to some of the issues brought forward in the diversity class. It is my sincere hope that we all can learn to embrace our community's diversity as a gift clearly delineated in the School District's Strategic Plan. I would attest that we are all "Delavanites" if we reside within Delavan and it is my sense that we have major work to do in building a united community. Our quality of life in Delavan is directly impacted by some of these issues.

I applaud the School District of Delavan-Darien in providing a wide array of perspectives in the high school diversity class. While I would fully expect my son or daughter to learn about capitalism, communism, and socialism in government class, I would have that same expectation of discussing an array of topics such as "white privilege" in a diversity class.

Our country was viewed as a great experiment 237 years ago and our own community and country is experiencing growing pains because of our changing demographics today. I would suggest that bloggers read the book by Jon Meacham, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power. Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, envisioned an ever-evolving society where the laws of our country needed to change in response to our country's changes. Read the book, it will reveal Jefferson's futuristic direction.

I have a fundamental question: do we want Delavan to be a community of harmony and growth or to we want the community to be one of despair and flight? We have to wrestle with the questions that Lisa Olson presents, whether we agree with her or not. I challenge our own School District and Community to continue with the topic that Lisa Olson has so aptly placed in the forefront but don't forget to include the "little voices" in the conversation.

As jd1965 stated, it was an Elective course(not required). As a parent when I sign my children up for their classes I ask questions if I am unsure about their content. Take a little responsibility and become informed. Sounds like she is trying to stir up controversy and placing the blame on the school for not educating herself. She had a choice.

Again the "facts" are misrepresented. Todd Starnes of fox contacted me for an interview. I contacted the Janesville gazette as my first amenddment allows, to give my side of the story. If jd1965 is so accepting of this material, he shouldn't be bothered that the nation was made aware of it. Also, the material on white privilege went on for more than 2 days as claimed by the school district. There seems to be a disconnect between the facts and what is actually happening, the other material is just as upsetting, like a study done determining if babies are racist. No 15 min. of fame here, just a parent, who helps pay the saleries of these teachers, and wants class time to be fair and balanced!

@patriotsal- I grant you that I haven't seen the materials presented but I do know that discrimination in America is a "fact". Fortunately, it is getting better with educational endeavors.

America perpetuates flesh tone thinking which is a rut. It will always be that way, someone will always think they are getting the short end of the stick.

INDOCTRINATION (PROPAGANDA)
uses generalizations,one sided,card stacking,misleading use of statistics,lumpism,false delemma,appeals to authority,appeals to consensus,appeals to emotions and automatic responses,labeling
EDUCATION
uses qualifiers,circumspect and multifaceted, balanced,statistical references qualified with respect to size, duration,criteria.points out differences and distinctions, gives alternatives.
At the end of the day,whatever the schools are teaching, this model should be applied. At the very least it should have been transparent in its discription of the course. The fact that it went national, shows the publics interest in critical race theory being taught in our public schools, the responce is divided, just like the course.

Thanks, patriotsal.

Learning about the fact that something exists does not indoctrinate you into practicing it. Opening your mind to the fact that not everyone thinks the exact same way as you do is a healthy part of maturing into an adult. The world is bigger than the 15 square miles surrounding your home town - learning about how other people think helps you to be prepared to live in that bigger world.

fear, you always make me smile, because you are always so far off the mark..thanks...

perhaps the most damning condemnation of the 'victim' indoctrination I've seen so far...

http://www.wnd.com/2013/02/youre-white-y...

@ alert - based on my discussion with the parent - these 'opinions' were presented as facts - facts with which the instructor agreed. No opposing viewpoints were presented and no opposing discussion was permitted. In a true learning environment, a full spectrum of possibilities is presented, and open discussion is encouraged, with students being asked to back up statements with facts. An ethical teacher keeps his/her political views to himself so the student feels safe to freely pose opinions, consider those of others, and adjust their views as experience increases their knowledge and understanding. The parent in this case certainly did not feel this was happening.

Looking down the list of comments it is quite easy to recognize shallow minded "patriots" and radical right wing "Christians" that are afraid of everything and have reall nothing but communistic manifesto recitals, and some kind of blather about race baiting. You folks need to realize that ther are other people in the world that aren't white. Learning about them has nothing to do with comminism in ANY way. Sal you seriously get crazier and crazier with every attempt at an arguument.
Nothing you said applies to this argument, no one is trying to get control of the schools or discredit the constitution, get a freaking clue!!
Your silly red WHITE and blue narrative doesnt apply here, nor does anythiing you posted about. YYour life must be very hateful and miserable. America IS diversity, learning about it is a part of enlightening ourself beyond the trailer park.

Patriotsal- I have a little trouble understanding why a parent wouldn't want their high school age child being exposed to differing viewpoints and participating in a class that promotes diversity of opinions. How does one learn to hold onto their own beliefs without at least learning about the beliefs of others.

The goals of the communist party as expressed in the book 'the naked communist' were read into the congressional record in 1963. Here are some that are applicable to this story

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

There are 45 goals in total. Anyone wishing to educate themselves can simply type 'communist goals of 1963' into any search engine.

oh, and in light of jdt stating he/she is a Republican, and supports this course goal number 15 may be of interest
15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

I have seen some of the materials from the class - and I have MET and talked with the mother, who is NOT at all as jd965 tries to insinuate. I've seen the EXTENSIVE research she has done, as well as class assignments. I KNOW how nervous she was about this, and the level of courage it took for her to proceed with her complaint. As for being embarrassed? anyone who supports a curriculum that tells children our Constitution 'was written by rich white men for rich white men' needs to be embarrassed and ashamed of their treason!

What's new about race baiting?

Very well put jd1965. It is unfortunate when people show fear of knowledge. I sure hope Wisconsin does not go the way of Texas....
"Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority."

My daughters attended Phoenix School & DDHS. I took the option of taking them out of a class I objected to & they were given other assignments. This white privilege baloney is not appropriate. I agree with Mrs Olson. Elkhorn H.S. tried a class that parents objected to, they went to the school board meeting, that class is not being taught now.

jd - you expressed my thoughts exactly.

jd1965- Thank you for your well written thoughts. New ideas for some people are hard to grasp so they will argue with you. You and I know that institutional racism has always existed and it is within the last 25 years or so that we have begun to recognize it, define it, and do something about it. I began to recognize it in the early 70's when I was looking at a textbook that one of my kids was using. There was not a person of color in it. Hopefully some eyes will start to open when we get the dialogue on the table.

Remember - the idea of diversity is taught when you can't teach about the ten commandments.

Just wanted to post this beautifully written essay by Santo Carfora which details the concept of "white privelege". Though I wish there were a better term than that, the idea is the same. Its nothing to feel guilty about by any means, and you don't even have to agree with it, the point of a Diversity Class is to learn perspective from others point of view. God help us if we can't even discuss such common sense.
http://www.gazettextra.com/news/2013/jan...

1. I am a Republican, and this mother does not speak for me or my party. In fact she greatly embarrasses me.
2. This is an ELECTIVE course. No one forced your little darling boy to take the class and get so offended.
3. I have recently talked to 2 former students of this class, who felt it was the best class they had taken at DDHS. They were white by the way.
3. Does this mother know what irony is? She is the one spouting off about Marxist agendas, etc, yet she is trying to get materials banned. Hmmm.
4. You have to really wonder about someones true motivation. Is she trying to change things, or is she just relishing her self-created 15 minutes of fame? Lets see, she met with the teacher, principal, curriculum director, and superintendent, got the course to be reviewed, yet still she feels the need to go to the media, including Fox 6 news in Milwaukee, and of course, the Janesville Gazette. All for a snippet of a 90 day course that is being taken out of context and blown so far out of proportion it doesn't even resemble the reality of the situation.