A Texas elementary school is hosting a pride week for students, complete with planned programs from social-emotional learning to teaching students about social justice.
The planned events for pride week for Doss Elementary School in Austin, Texas, drew attention online after the popular Twitter account Libs of Tik Tok highlighted the agenda for the week that included “community circles” where students were instructed to keep conversations confidential, an arrangement that some interpreted as meant to keep parents in the dark about what was discussed.
A spokesperson for the Austin Independent School District told the Washington Examiner the circles were “confidential in the sense that makes students feel trusted and respected for their privacy when sharing in the conversations” and that it should not be misconstrued to mean “don’t tell your parents.”
https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1505721194368053250?s=20&t=TZHusxPJyKQp6zI0_JgaHg
“Circles are part of Social Emotional Learning and are used for a variety of speaking topics such as test anxiety, world events, internal conflict resolution, social justice,” the spokesperson said. “The conversation template allows for a process and gives everyone an optional opportunity to speak. Everyone, not just parents, has access to the materials ahead of time. Every parent has the right to opt out of these activities.”
Other activities in the pride week included a student pride parade, a video of which went viral Monday.
https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1505974253023203328?s=20&t=TZHusxPJyKQp6zI0_JgaHg
Social-emotional learning has been criticized by conservative activists as a Trojan horse for controversial ideas such as critical race theory, which says U.S. institutions and culture are systemically racist.
Proponents of social-emotional learning say the program is only meant to teach students how to be empathetic and understanding of people from different backgrounds.
