In An Effort to 'Decolonize', Oxford University May Scrap Sheet Music

In An Effort to 'Decolonize', Oxford University May Scrap Sheet Music


One might wonder how sheet music can be racist but nevertheless it may be removed from the music curriculum at the University of Oxford in order to “decolonize” the program.

Sheet music has been branded as a “colonialist representational system” by professors in the music department while they are in the process of modifying their musical education offerings.

The Blaze reports:

The notation, which has not “shaken off its connection to its colonial past” would be a “slap in the face” for some students of color, professors stated in proposal for change documents obtained by the news outlet.

Elsewhere in the documents, members of the music faculty reportedly questioned the current curriculum’s “complicity in white supremacy.”

They specifically took issue with the classical collection taught at the school — which includes works by Mozart and Beethoven — alleging it focuses too much on “white European music from the slave period.”

Additionally, the faculty members proposed that certain classical musical skills such as playing the piano and conducting orchestral arrangements should no longer be mandatory, given that these “structurally center white European music,” causing “students of color great distress.”

The changes come in response to the Black Lives Matter movement as the professors who are proposing the changes complained that the school’s “almost all-white faculty” by default gives “privilege to white musics.”

 

A Bill Pushing Left Leaning Politics Into the Classroom in Illinois Has Officially Passed


In an article we previously wrote concerning the Illinois State Board of Education passing a bill called “Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards  has officially been upheld by the Illinois Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR).

Some of the new standards include teachers assessing “how their biases affect how they access tools to mitigate their own behavior (racism, sexism, homophobia, unearned privilege, Eurocentrism, etc.)”

Bettina L. Love is a prominent advocate of Critical Race Theory in education and she believes “White Teachers Need Anti-Racist Therapy.”

If teachers do not do so voluntarily the new standards would allow schools to force teachers into therapy for their whiteness , along with punishing them with a loss of license and certification if complaints are made about them not adopting “progressive” ideologies. Teaching about “systemic racism” will be required as well.

Fox Illinois reports:

Some Republican lawmakers voiced their opposition to the standards earlier this month, saying they add unnecessary politics to the classroom.

Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, said she asked ISBE to include more diverse perspectives on their task forces to avoid standards like this from being so controversial in the future, and said the board made some of the changes Republicans asked for.

Rezin said her office got an unusually high number of calls and emails about these standards.

These new teaching standards will take effect in October 2025.

Some lawmakers were not happy with the decision including Republican Candidate for Governor and Former Senator Paul Schimpf:

“I am extremely disappointed that JCAR approved the State Board of Education’s Culturally Responsive Teacher Standards. These standards politicize the teacher certification process and undermine the authority of local school boards, superintendents, and parents to control their children’s’ education. This is yet another example of top-down, administrative overreach by the Pritzker Administration and illustrates a clear example of why Illinois needs a new governor.”

 

 

Cancelled: Book from “Captain Underpants” Series Pulled Due to “Passive Racism”


A children’s book from the popular “Captain Underpants” series will be removed from library and book store shelves after Scholastic announced it was withdrawing it from publication because it “perpetuates passive racism”.

The book, titled “The Adventures of Ook and Gluk” by Dav Pilkey, “follows about a pair of friends who travel from 500,001 B.C. to 2222, where they meet a martial arts instructor who teaches them kung fu and they learn principles found in Chinese philosophy,” according to Breitbart.

In a statement on YouTube, Pilkey wrote that the book was “intended to showcase diversity, equality and non-violent conflict resolution.”

“But this week it was brought to my attention that this book also contains harmful racial stereotypes and passively racist imagery. I wanted to take this opportunity to publicly apologize for this. It was and is wrong and harmful to my Asian readers, friends and family, and to all Asian people,” the statement continued.

“I hope that you, my readers, will forgive me, and learn from my mistake that even unintentional and passive stereotypes and racism are harmful to everyone,” he wrote.

Scholastic released a statement last week, stating that it had the “full support” of Pikley in its decision to stop the distribution of the book.

“Together, we recognize that this book perpetuates passive racism,” the statement said.

‘We are deeply sorry for this serious mistake. Scholastic has removed the book from our websites, stopped fulfillment of any orders (domestically or abroad), contacted our retail partners to explain why this book is no longer available, and sought a return of all inventory.”

For the full report, click HERE.


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