In the May 5 edition of the Cape Gazette, Hylton Phillips-Page makes the mistake of suggesting that diversity, equity and inclusion are not issues that are critical and integral to the education of our youth. Instead, he suggests that DEI, as he puts it, is a “political cudgel that favors certain racial groups who they believe will help in elections.”
To me this is a very cynical view of educational curriculum. This view suggests that the expansion of curriculum to include social issues is not a valid part of the goals of the education of our youth. Instead, these issues are critical to the complete education of our youth.
It also suggests that our educators have debased themselves by including these very critical social realities in our curricula only to pander to politicos who are seeking additional votes.
His letter also begins with an insight into Delaware’s educational proficiency levels with data from the Caesar Rodney Institute. Having only heard of that institute, I did a search on my computer and found out the following about the organization at meetthepolluters.org/polluters/delaware-caesar-rodney-institute.
“The Caesar Rodney Institute is a far-right, anti-government group that endorses corporate welfare, polluter protections and deregulation. Throughout 2020, the institute spread dangerous disinformation about the coronavirus pandemic – that masks do not protect against the virus, that children are unaffected, and that the death rate is minuscule – while attacking the government’s role in public health interventions.
“Over the last few years, the Caesar Rodney Institute put the Transportation and Climate Initiative in its crosshairs, devoting the majority of its energy in 2020 to fighting against Delaware’s involvement in the program.
“The institute is a member of and funded by the State Policy Network, a network of right-wing organizations that the Koch network funds to promote junk science, climate denial and corporate welfare.
“It is also funded by dark money foundations including Donors Capital Fund and DonorsTrust, two pass-through funds that have been called the ‘dark-money ATM of the conservative movement,’ that mask donations from foundations controlled by Charles Koch.
“The group’s finances and structure are otherwise hazy. It claims no employees on tax records, but its website lists at least six employees, including David Stevenson who leads Caesar Rodney’s anti-TCI efforts. Stevenson is an outspoken denier of established climate science and served in President Trump’s U.S. Environmental Protection Agency transition team.” ...
“Despite its relatively small budget, the Caesar Rodney Institute has emerged as a cog in the State Policy Network’s coordinated attacks on clean transportation policy, even if they represent no one in the state but themselves.”
I give our educators and diversity, equity and inclusion more credit than Phillips-Page.
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