Only in today’s print edition of the Post. Pick up a copy now.
School board member Rowena Chiu gives the Daily Post an interview about Ethnic Studies
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Rowena and Alison Kamhi had a lot of backbone voting against Ethnic Studies. Now the teacher and administrator unions want to punish Rowena with this smear attack. I hope the board remembers this when the PA administrators union and the teachers come to the board hoping for a raise. The board ought to say no way, we’re cutting your pay and jobs. The unions have no right to buck the board on what it wants to do, and lecture duly-elected school board members, and the board should let them know that. Kudos to Rowena and Alison.
Ms. Chiu seems to have missed Intersectionality 101. Only those w certain skin colors or heritage can get out of being called an oppressor, or claim to have been oppressed. Further, no members of certain skin colors or heritage can be considered racist, while others are inherently racist. Try not to micc class next time! Ms. Reynolds seems to have gotten the memo.
Ms. Chiu seems to have missed Intersectionality 101. Only those w certain skin colors or heritage can get out of being called an oppressor, or claim to have been oppressed. Further, no members of certain skin colors or heritage can be considered racist, while others are inherently racist. Try not to miss class next time! Ms. Reynolds seems to have gotten the memo.
Please publish this in the online version. It gets much greater distribution. You amplified the voice of the people against Rowena and it’s important you do the same for the voters who stand with Rowena.
Actually the print edition has about 10 times more readers than the online version. But I will consider it.
Looking forward to tracking how PAUSD implements the ethnic studies class and how it will violate the Executive order on DEI, CRT and gender ideology. Only $5.4 million of fed funds at risk, PAUSD!
Thank you, Rowena.
Please stay strong.
Please continue to represent the army behind you who wants transparency into this new mandatory class.
There is a terrible smear campaign against you – and I hope you will continue to fight. We love you.
This is shameful and a transparent attempt to squash even a modicum of diverse opinion from someone who apparently is not the “right kind of minority”. Do not fall for the tactics of a bunch of bureaucrats seeking to push ideology over education in our schools and in doing so were soundly kicked off the board.
Ms Chiu is an ethnic studies scholar and raised basic issues with the complete lack of preparation or process from an administration seeking a rubber stamp for misguided policy.
She has several children in the school district and is now being threatened by people who purport to be experts in fostering dialog about “oppression”. Maybe they should start be looking in the mirror . Truly sad.
The community stands with PAUSD board member Rowena Chiu and we denounce the persistent dismissal of anti-Asian discrimination. Ms. Chiu’s efforts to spotlight Asian oppression—past and present—deserve recognition, not resistance.
Downplaying the Asian American experience ignores both history and reality. During COVID-19, Asian students endured harassment and physical attacks, often feeling unsafe in their own schools. Yet, these concerns were sidelined. Ms. Reynolds’ remarks trivializing this oppression exemplify a systemic bias that continues to permeate PAUSD.
Minimizing Asian discrimination reinforces a harmful status quo. We call on PAUSD to confront these injustices, amplify marginalized voices, and uphold its commitment to equity. We stand with Rowena Chiu in demanding accountability and meaningful change.
Groupthink is an ugly thing to observe.
Let’s focus on the real issue here. The hypocritical attack on Rowena was nothing more than a distraction. It has now been 10 days since the Director of Curriculum and Instruction made a statement that dismisses and minimizes the concerns of others, including students, who feel unsafe. Yet, we have received no clarification from the Superintendent affirming that this does not reflect PAUSD values.
Not even the usual denial—”what we heard was not what was meant.” Nothing.
Are these the guiding principles of PAUSD? Can we trust this district with our children?
Here’s a fact: The ethnic profile of students who died by suicide in PAUSD matches the ethnic composition of the district. Did PAUSD fail to provide these students with the proper support? Did the district enable or overlook bullying toward them because they fell into a category deemed incapable of feeling unsafe?
The exchange between Rowena Chiu and Danae Reynolds powerfully demonstrated the dangerously negligent attitude of the administration towards Ethnic Studies.
Chiu raises concern that some of her constituents feel “unsafe” based on the minimally published course content.
Reynolds, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction, scolds her for her use of the term “unsafe” relabeling it as “uncomfortable” and normalizing dismissal of safety fears.
This is a classic approach of Liberated Ethnic Studies and why racing to roll it out without letting parents see the curriculum is dangerous.
Calls for Chiu to resign are a distraction from her courageous defense of PAUSD students. Everyone condemns discrimination against minorities; however, discrimination is not a zero sum game between minorities like Reynolds implies.
The full text is here:
Chiu explained to the student board representative where the concerns around fear are coming from.
“The fear is based on an ideological framework around oppressor-oppressed that will make some students in this school district feel unsafe,” Chiu said. “Now, whilst I may not be a part of that affinity group, I have great empathy with any situation where some students feel unsafe. As a school district, we need to take time and consideration when communities come to say that issues around racism may result from the implementation of a course. Now, before the teachers put me under the bus again, I will say it’s quite possible that your course is not going to incite any of these incidents that we’ve seen in other school districts . . . However, it’s connected to the issue of transparency. If the community has not had, in their view, sufficiently transparent instructional materials . . . that fear is only going to grow.”
Later in the meeting, Reynolds made a statement related to Chiu’s comments.
“I worry about the word ‘safe’ as a person who has to worry about my husband driving and coming home if he gets pulled over,” Reynolds said. “So the word ‘safety’ is something we have to be aware of what that means. Now, being uncomfortable — absolutely. I feel uncomfortable sitting up here naming that I worry about my husband, but it’s the truth. We can feel uncomfortable. That’s part of growing and learning and being a part of being a human being but also being part of this community.”