Ethnic studies in PVUSD: Divisive and disheartening

It is very disheartening to see the PVUSD board decision to contract with Community Responsive Education for ethnic studies training. One potential contractor was dismissed as “They emphasize civil discourse,” as though that is not appropriate for a classroom. And they are condemned for teaching “history with a slant toward discussion of multicultural education.”

As supporters of the Community Responsive Education program made clear, their goal of ethnic studies is “deconstructing systems of power,” which is basically saying blame white people and overthrow capitalism. Is that what PVUSD students need in the classroom?

I am sick at Trump’s attacks on DEI, universities and immigrants, but Community Responsive Education’s approach is the other side of the same coin of divisiveness.

And then the PVUSD board makes a motion to censure a past, elected board member for her previous votes on the board. Very reminiscent of Trump going after judges who disagree with his positions. With laid-off teachers demonstrating in the streets, doesn’t the PVUSD board have better ways to manage the district?

— Steve Miller, Santa Cruz

CRE ‘hit piece’ was from a ‘warped perspective’

A recent (April 15, Guest Commentary) Sentinel hit piece on Community Responsive Education by a coterie of community stalwarts (only one of the four lives within the Pajaro Valley Unified School District) arguably promotes an anti-Palestinian perspective. Here, I use anti-Palestinian as a counterpoint to the term antisemitic. Their argument decrying the alleged political motivations of CRE is, itself, politically biased.

Charges that CRE’s educational principles are “divisive” and “one-sided” are “true” only if viewed from the warped perspective that introducing genocide of the Palestinian peoples to students is antisemitism, thus conflating antisemitism with anti-Zionism, a well-practiced deflection from the ongoing ethnic cleansing in Gaza.

They then try to justify their position with the non-sequitur that there are more Jews in the U.S. than Palestinians, as if genocide is a popularity contest.

Finally, reverting to the ad hominem fallacy of attacking the messenger, they fail to understand that “a true Ethnic Studies … is anti-imperialist … anti-capitalist … (and) anti-Zionist” because they, themselves, are products of imperialism, capitalism and Zionism. “(E)xtreme content in K-12” schools” is fundamental to reversing racism.

— Jeff Rudisill, Aptos

Keep Trump away from Pope Francis’s funeral

Do NOT let Donald J. Trump represent the United States at Pope Francis’s funeral. He has destroyed everything the pope was for in his instructions to the world. Trump is the builder of Babel and will surely destroy our country and democracy, which is hanging by a thread. He does not believe in God, or he would have compassion for those that are different than him. He is killing our economy. He has created suspicion around the world and destroyed our relationships with allies. He has withdrawn support from Ukraine, he doesn’t care how many people die in Gaza, he does not honor his oath to the Constitution.

Do not let him represent the United States at the funeral.

— Debbie Hencke, Santa Cruz