Op-Ed by
Awake IL President, Shannon Adcock | shannon@awakeil.com
April 8, 2022
One year ago this week, my counterpart Raj and I lost our respective school board races. As a candidate, I referenced a Corey DeAngelis quote at a Dec. 2021 Reopen Schools rally:
"It's about the students, not the institution".
Too few recognized Corey's name at that time and many did not understand my transparent advocacy against what our state calls "Culturally Responsive Teaching". On election day, I awakened with peace in my heart knowing God had a plan. To place campaign signs at all the polling locations, I was on the road at 4am and ended up trailing the same van at every stop. The driver had signs of every democrat candidate and he placed them in a line at the curb--including signs of the 4 C.R.T.-supporting school board candidates who would be elected.
Even though school board races are termed "non-partisan", the teacher union-backed school board slate was fully supported by the democratic party and barely had to lift a finger--or place a candidate sign. (Don't get me started on the GOP-they were useless and most didn't touch the school board races.) Two days after not winning the election, I filed paperwork to the EIN that launched Awake IL. Yes, God had a plan and it involved an amazing network of morally-courageous people-most are parents-coming together to do what is right.
I'm grateful for the tireless work of these unwavering Mama and Papa Bears. Parents are the true political party in IL...and beyond.
The last two years awakened parents to the very sad reality: our public school system is corrupted. From failed pandemic policies and unlawful government overreach to divisive, perverted curricula, parents are engaged in a very real civil rights battle and schools are the front line.
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This corruption in schools doesn't end at Critical Race Theory or race-based curricula. Terms such as "grooming", "sex ed", "sexual identity", etc are making their way into the conversation on how and where worrisome content is being implemented in schools. Latasha Fields, a parental rights and education warrior in Chicago advocates to "get your babies out of the school system". She makes a very compelling argument.
IL government and educational organizations are complicit.
The IL Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development is promoted as a "go to" organization for educational leaders in Illinois. Yet, why was is an internet porn star and alleged pre-k educator listed as a "Featured Speaker" at the ILASCD Educator Conference for PreK and Kindergarten curriculum last month? His name is Tell Williams - CAUTION: Explicit content below.
The ILASD conference brochure that has since been removed from the website but we have a copy:
Do the ILASD sponsors consider this to be the best speaker available for a national conference on PreK and Kinder curricula? We have entered a realm of the absurd and the ILASD directors and partners need to take accountability. Sadly, corrupted education has become normalized thanks to Teacher Unions, the IL State Board of Education, and Legislators.
From the top down, there is a perverted notion that we should co-parent with government. We do not.
Parents must pay attention. Activist teachers know when you aren't. Divisive, race-based curricula and classroom activist efforts like those of Dr. Rachel Mahmood in Indian Prairie School District 204 were laid bare during the remote learning of 2020-2021. Notice her focus in this article is not on academics.
Image below shows her racist undertones when she leads with:
"Should all white people..."
She teaches 5th grade. This bias is permeating public education and doesn't belong in a publicly-funded classroom. Are white people the only ones who oppress? Isn't oppression equal-opportunity? This hyper-fixation on race and equity is harming children and distracts from the proper goal of public schools: Academics.
Everyone should be respectful of all races, creeds, and backgrounds-no question. However, the dissection of children is regressive and has relegated schools to something no longer focused on education but rather, indoctrination. Parents are paying more attention now than ever (let's hope!) to the materials, discussions, and assignments. Nationally, parents and advocacy groups are lobbying for improved legislation, new school board representation, alternative education, and overall education reform. Awake IL is grateful to groups such as Moms For Liberty and Parents Defending Education for being amazing leaders and partners in advocacy.
Awake IL Advocate Tip #1: Stop calling it "CRT"
The acronym "C.R.T." for Critical Race Theory often makes people nervous to debate. They typically don't have the background to really dissect the issue, however, everyone should learn about it and be well-read on the subject. Our Education advocacy resource page is a great place to start. Carol Swain's wisdom as a black political science professor is an exceptional viewpoint. Yet, advocacy on the ground level need not become chaotic. Remarks to a school board do not require that you provide a high-level academic dissertation on neo-marxist ideology. Besides, most school boards are pleased to cut off your mic after the 3-minute timer (and will likely never follow up with you).
I often say to people: "Stop calling it 'CRT'. The first rule of practicing CRT is to deny the practice of CRT." Rather, look directly at the unconstitutional/divisive/indoctrination efforts in schools, at work, and even in non-profit organizations. Be able to cite specific examples of how this effort is counter to advancing your community/school/organization.
Awake IL Advocate Tip #2: Speak up and Opt Out
Parents need to become very familiar with the "equity plan", "equity resolution", "diversity programming" of your school/district/organization. These are drafted by handsomely-paid Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) directors (they never work for free and it's often one of the highest paid administrative salaries). Request in-person meetings to respectfully ask questions and relay concerns. Offer to help lead a community forum on these DEI initiatives. Let them know you are paying attention and build a network of involved parents. Opt-out of the invasive surveys, especially the Panorama Ed (FOIA your school for the contract) and IL Youth Survey (asks about mental health/drug use), both of which harvest data on minors.
Awake IL Advocate Tip #3: Take Back The School Board
BUILD A BARRIER: Build school board slates NOW for the Spring 2023 election. Do you know how many seats are up in 2023? Do you know who on the board has represented your expectations on public education? Who hasn't? You should. This is the way forward.
Awake IL chapters have already started and are ready to empower communities to take back our schools. We are ready to help any and all parts of this state in the effort and will be providing informational webinars (free) to interested school board candidates. Continued community engagement on the topic of education is a must.
Consider: All of the above indoctrination effort is a religion that is anti-child and anti-academics. Students must worship it.
Keep religion out of government schools. Full stop. Leave everything outside of academics to the parents. I suggest that ALL #diversity, #equity, #inclusion jobs should be volunteer, unpaid roles. The #woke religion sermons are insanely overpriced and the high priests and priestesses (DEI) are insanely overpaid. Not to mention there are ZERO metrics for success. "So, what is their end-goal, exactly?" you may ask.
Answer: Socialism. Dissected, indoctrinated students are easier to control and government is God.
One of the greatest threats to progress is apathy. Parent involvement and advocacy cannot rise and fall in bombastic fashion. It must be sustainable. Awake Illinois has planted seeds to give communities a platform and organized effort to advocate. Regular people are working tirelessly to save our communities and it's not happening on social media. It's happening via community action and on June 28th and Nov. 8th - at the BALLOT.
Take the pledge and join a chapter to be part of a movement that is taking our state and nation by storm. We will never again fall asleep at the wheel. Not just for the sake of our children but also, for our grandchildren and the posterity of this great Republic to which we pledge allegiance.
We are Awake Illinois and we cannot be canceled. Onward!