Correction from my friend Ramey Sonny Hoskins:
Dennis Prager may have written this but he is not a high school principal. He is a conservative talk show host.
CALIFORNIA PRINCIPAL'S OPENING MESSAGE TO STUDENTS
Dennis Prager, a principal at a high school in Redding, California, on the
first day of classes in 2010:
To the students and faculty of our high school:
I am your new principal, and honored to be so. There is no greater calling
than to teach young people.
I would like to apprise you of some important changes coming to our
school. I am making these changes because I am convinced that most of the
ideas
that have dominated public education in America have worked against you,
against your teachers, and against our country.
First, this school will no longer honor race or ethnicity. I could not
care less if your racial makeup is black, brown, red, yellow, or white. I
could not care less if your origins are African, Latin American, Asian, or
European, or if your ancestors arrived here on the Mayflower or on slave
ships.
The only identity I care about, the only one this school will recognize,
is your individual identity -- your character, your scholarship, your
humanity. And the only national identity this school will care about is
American. This
is an American public school, and American public schools were created to
make better Americans.
If you wish to affirm an ethnic, racial, or religious identity through
school, you will have to go elsewhere. We will end all ethnicity-, race- and
non-American-nationality-based celebrations. They undermine the motto of
America , one of its three central values -- E Pluribus Unum -- "from
many, one." And this school will be guided byAmerica 's values.
That includes all after-school clubs. I will not authorize clubs that
divide students based on any identities. This includes race, language,
religion, sexual orientation, or whatever else may become in vogue in a
society
divided by political correctness.
Your clubs will be based on interests and passions -- not blood, ethnic,
racial or other physically defined ties. Those clubs just cultivate
narcissism -- an unhealthy preoccupation with the self -- while the
purpose of
education is to get you to think beyond yourself. So we will have clubs
that transport you to the wonders and glories of art, music, astronomy,
languages you do not already speak, carpentry, and more. If the only
extracurricular activities you can imagine being interested in are those
based on
ethnic or racial or sexual identity, that means that little outside of
yourself really interests you.
Second, I am not interested in whether English is your native language.
My only interest in terms of language is that you leave this school speaking
and writing English as fluently as possible. The English language has
united
America 's citizens for more than 200 years, and it will unite us at this
school. It is one of the indispensable reasons this country of immigrants
has always come to be one country. And if you leave this school without
excellent English-language skills, I will have been remiss in my duty to
ensure that you are prepared to compete successfully in the American job
market. We will learn other languages here -- it is deplorable that most
Americans only speak English. But if you want classes taught in your native
language rather than in English, this is not your school.
Third, because I regard learning as a sacred endeavor, everything in this
school will reflect learning's elevated status. This means, among other
things, that you and your teachers will dress accordingly. Many people in
our society dress more formally for a meal at a nice restaurant than they
do for church or school. These people have their priorities backwards.
Therefore, there will be a formal dress code at this school.
Fourth, no obscene language will be tolerated anywhere on this school's
property -- whether in class, in the hallways or at athletic events. If you
can't speak without using the "F-word," you can't speak. By obscene language
I mean the words banned by the Federal Communications Commission plus
epithets such as the "N-word," even when used by one black student to
address
another, or "bitch," even when addressed by a girl to a girlfriend. It is
my intent that by the time you leave this school, you will be among the few
of your age to distinguish instinctively between the elevated and the
degraded, the holy and the obscene.
Fifth, we will end all self-esteem programs. In this school self-esteem
will be attained in only one way -- the way people attained it until the
state of California decided otherwise a generation ago -- by earning it.
One
immediate consequence is that there will be one valedictorian, not eight.
Sixth, and last, I am reorienting the school toward academics and away
from politics and propaganda. No more time will be devoted to scaring you
about smoking and caffeine, or terrifying you about sexual harassment or
global warming. No more semesters will be devoted to condom-wearing and
teaching you
to regard sexual relations as only or primarily a health issue. There will
be no more attempts to convince you that you are a victim because you are
not white, or not male, or not heterosexual, or not Christian. We will
have failed if any one of you graduates from this school and does not
consider him or herself inordinately lucky -- to be alive and to be an
American.
Now, please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of
our country. As many of you do not know the words, your teachers will hand
them out to you.
CALIFORNIA PRINCIPAL'S OPENING MESSAGE TO STUDENTS
Dennis Prager, a principal at a high school in Redding, California, on the
first day of classes in 2010:
To the students and faculty of our high school:
I am your new principal, and honored to be so. There is no greater calling
than to teach young people.
I would like to apprise you of some important changes coming to our
school. I am making these changes because I am convinced that most of the
ideas
that have dominated public education in America have worked against you,
against your teachers, and against our country.
First, this school will no longer honor race or ethnicity. I could not
care less if your racial makeup is black, brown, red, yellow, or white. I
could not care less if your origins are African, Latin American, Asian, or
European, or if your ancestors arrived here on the Mayflower or on slave
ships.
The only identity I care about, the only one this school will recognize,
is your individual identity -- your character, your scholarship, your
humanity. And the only national identity this school will care about is
American. This
is an American public school, and American public schools were created to
make better Americans.
If you wish to affirm an ethnic, racial, or religious identity through
school, you will have to go elsewhere. We will end all ethnicity-, race- and
non-American-nationality-based celebrations. They undermine the motto of
America , one of its three central values -- E Pluribus Unum -- "from
many, one." And this school will be guided byAmerica 's values.
That includes all after-school clubs. I will not authorize clubs that
divide students based on any identities. This includes race, language,
religion, sexual orientation, or whatever else may become in vogue in a
society
divided by political correctness.
Your clubs will be based on interests and passions -- not blood, ethnic,
racial or other physically defined ties. Those clubs just cultivate
narcissism -- an unhealthy preoccupation with the self -- while the
purpose of
education is to get you to think beyond yourself. So we will have clubs
that transport you to the wonders and glories of art, music, astronomy,
languages you do not already speak, carpentry, and more. If the only
extracurricular activities you can imagine being interested in are those
based on
ethnic or racial or sexual identity, that means that little outside of
yourself really interests you.
Second, I am not interested in whether English is your native language.
My only interest in terms of language is that you leave this school speaking
and writing English as fluently as possible. The English language has
united
America 's citizens for more than 200 years, and it will unite us at this
school. It is one of the indispensable reasons this country of immigrants
has always come to be one country. And if you leave this school without
excellent English-language skills, I will have been remiss in my duty to
ensure that you are prepared to compete successfully in the American job
market. We will learn other languages here -- it is deplorable that most
Americans only speak English. But if you want classes taught in your native
language rather than in English, this is not your school.
Third, because I regard learning as a sacred endeavor, everything in this
school will reflect learning's elevated status. This means, among other
things, that you and your teachers will dress accordingly. Many people in
our society dress more formally for a meal at a nice restaurant than they
do for church or school. These people have their priorities backwards.
Therefore, there will be a formal dress code at this school.
Fourth, no obscene language will be tolerated anywhere on this school's
property -- whether in class, in the hallways or at athletic events. If you
can't speak without using the "F-word," you can't speak. By obscene language
I mean the words banned by the Federal Communications Commission plus
epithets such as the "N-word," even when used by one black student to
address
another, or "bitch," even when addressed by a girl to a girlfriend. It is
my intent that by the time you leave this school, you will be among the few
of your age to distinguish instinctively between the elevated and the
degraded, the holy and the obscene.
Fifth, we will end all self-esteem programs. In this school self-esteem
will be attained in only one way -- the way people attained it until the
state of California decided otherwise a generation ago -- by earning it.
One
immediate consequence is that there will be one valedictorian, not eight.
Sixth, and last, I am reorienting the school toward academics and away
from politics and propaganda. No more time will be devoted to scaring you
about smoking and caffeine, or terrifying you about sexual harassment or
global warming. No more semesters will be devoted to condom-wearing and
teaching you
to regard sexual relations as only or primarily a health issue. There will
be no more attempts to convince you that you are a victim because you are
not white, or not male, or not heterosexual, or not Christian. We will
have failed if any one of you graduates from this school and does not
consider him or herself inordinately lucky -- to be alive and to be an
American.
Now, please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of
our country. As many of you do not know the words, your teachers will hand
them out to you.
No comments:
Post a Comment