NYC teachers union hosting seminar on ‘harmful effects of whiteness’

[The Bobster]

NYC teachers union hosting seminar on ‘harmful effects of whiteness’

New York City’s teachers union is sponsoring a controversial workshop aimed at educating people to fight against the “harmful effects of whiteness.”

nypost.com

NYC teachers union hosting seminar on ‘harmful effects of whiteness’​

By
Rich Calder


March 25, 2023 11:04am
Updated

The controversial workshop is being peddled by the United Federation of Teachers. UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images



The New York City teachers union is sponsoring a virtual workshop on fighting back against the “harmful effects of whiteness in our lives.”
The United Federation of Teachers’ online seminar, dubbed “Holding the Weight on Whiteness,” is scheduled for Monday, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and will be hosted by Queens-based psychotherapy consultant and self-proclaimed “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Leader” Erica Sandoval.
UFT members who are licensed mental health professionals can earn two hours of credit toward their continuing education credentials, which can eventually result in a higher salary.
The workshop costs $25 to attend and will focus on “key cultural themes … related to the Latinx/e communities,” including “internalized racism, privilege, [and] white identity,” according to the union’s website and an Instagram post.
“Participants will leave the workshop with a better understanding of how to center ourselves as a form of resistance against the harmful effects of whiteness in our lives, the organizations we work for or direct, and the communities in which we serve,” the post says.

Psychotherapist Erica Sandoval is hosting the $25 session.
News of the event has some seething — including Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli, who said he was contacted by many fuming teachers and parents wondering why fighting so-called “toxic whiteness” has become a top priority for a lefty union representing a school system plagued by poor performance in the classroom.


“Why is it important for employees of the New York City Department of Education to serve as a form of resistance against the effects of whiteness in their lives, the Department of Education, and the diverse communities in which they serve, which may consist of white students and families?” wrote Borelli (R-Staten Island) in a letter Friday to Tina Puccio, director of the UFT’s Member Assistance Program.


“To be clear, I don’t actually care what your speakers tell your members in an optional and private seminar.

Sandoval is a self-proclaimed “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Leader.”LinkedIn Erica Priscilla Sandoval
“I care how members will implement the ‘resistance’ against these ‘harmful effects of whiteness’ when dealing with students and parents as part of their employment with the department.”


About 150,000 students — or 14.7% percent of the overall school population — are white, according to the DOE.


In recent years, the DOE itself has come under attack from critics for openly pushing an anti-white agenda that included distributing a book to students as young as 2 claiming the concept of race was created by white people who thought they were “better, smarter, [and] prettier” than others.

One critic called the workshop “racist.”
Maud Maron, a public school parent activist, said the workshop isn’t just “unnecessary,” it’s also “racist and bad for students whose education and well-being should be top of mind for everyone, including the teachers’ union.”


“There is nothing wrong with being white, and the sleight of hand of talking about whiteness is not even a fig’s leaf worth of cover,” she added.


“My kids have a white mom and Latino dad. This training says there is something wrong with mom and absurdly calls dad ‘Latinx’ — a word he would never use.”


When asked about the outrage, UFT spokeswoman Alison Gendar said the union “offers professional development on a range of issues” but didn’t offer additional comment.

 

[The Bobster]

NYC teachers union’s workshop on ‘harmful effects of whiteness’ canceled after influx of ‘hate’

The United Federation of Teachers — which represents more than 190,000 teachers, paraprofessional educators and child care workers in the five boroughs — had planned the virtual “…

nypost.com

NYC teachers union’s workshop on ‘harmful effects of whiteness’ canceled after influx of ‘hate’​

By
Rich Calder,
Carl Campanile and
Jesse O’Neill


March 27, 2023 7:10pm
Updated

​

A controversial seminar about white privilege that had been planned by the city teachers’ union for Monday was abruptly canceled — because its host was inundated with “hate messages and disparaging comments.”
The United Federation of Teachers — which represents more than 190,000 teachers, paraprofessional educators and child care workers in the five boroughs — had planned the virtual “Holding the Weight of Whiteness” seminar for 4 to 6 p.m. before it was postponed over blowback from politicians and online commenters.
Scheduled presenter Erica Sandoval, a Queens licensed clinical social worker, said in a statement that the event addressing the “harmful effects of whiteness in our lives” was canceled when she received “hate messages and disparaging comments being left in my email inbox and on my social media platforms.
“Because of this, UFT expressed concern and we collectively decided to postpone the discussion,” Sandoval said.
The union sent out an email to members Sunday night informing them that the $25 virtual workshop would not go on as scheduled, a source told The Post.

Literature promotes the ill-fated UFT workshop, which was canceled after some critics labeled it “racist.”
The optional course for licensed mental health professionals was focused on “cultural humility and inclusion” and sought to teach educators “how whiteness relates to privilege and identity, and how both become normalized and invisible,” according to literature promoting the event.


“Participants will leave the workshop with a better understanding of how to center ourselves as a form of resistance against the harmful effects of whiteness in our lives, the organizations we work for or direct, and the communities in which we serve,” according to a promo on Instagram.


Attendees would have earned two hours of credit for their continuing-education resume, which eventually results in higher pay.


Calls and emails to union officials about the nature of the cancellation were not immediately returned.


More than half of the teachers in the nation’s largest school system are white — and tasked with educating a mostly minority student body in which 72% of the students are economically disadvantaged, according to the city DOE.


Sandoval, an Ecuadorian native, told The Post that the event was “misinterpreted by certain members of the UFT and the public at large.”

Psychotherapist Erica Sandoval told The Post she intended to “create an open forum” to discuss issues and did not mean to offend anyone.
The “lifelong advocate of diversity, equity, and inclusion” added that she was “open to discussing this further in a public forum sponsored by The Post.


“I would like to clarify that my job was presenting the CE, and had no intention of offending and causing any discomfort to the audience,” Sandoval wrote. “I am a strong advocate for inclusion and love of all human beings and the focus is to unite, restore peace, and heal.”





Local Republican lawmakers such as City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli and Councilwoman Joann Ariola of Queens had slammed the class with Ariola, blasting the “appalling” decision to “label one racial group as inherently harmful.”


An Instagram post on the UFT’s Member Assistance Program page was taken down after The Post drew attention to the controversy.