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White House Easter Contest: Religious Designs Banned
- The White House Easter Egg Roll dates back to 1878. Earlier this year, Jill Biden launched a contest for "youth-designed Easter eggs," promising winning designs "will be displayed at the White House this Easter and Passover season."
- The contest rules state: "The Submission must not include any religious symbols" or "overtly religious themes."
- This controversy follows Biden declaring March 31, 2024 (Easter) as “Transgender Day of Visibility.”
- In 2021, Joe Biden became the first U.S. president to not use the word "God" in his National Day of Prayer Proclamation.
Sources
Biden, J. & The Adjutants General of the National Guard. (2024). Celebrating National Guard Families: Call for Youth Art.
Biden, J. (29 March 2024). A Proclamation on Transgender Day of Visibility, 2024. White House Briefing Room.
Evon, D. (7 May 2021). Was Biden 1st President To Omit ‘God’ in National Prayer Proclamation?. Snopes.
The White House. (28 March 2024). White House Announces Theme and Activities for the 2024 Easter Egg Roll.
Washington Hate Crimes Hotline
- On March 26, 2024, Washington state passed SB 5427, creating a "hate crimes and bias incidents" hotline. Civilian employees will refer callers to "local service providers" and share reports with police.
- "Bias incident" is defined as "a person's hostile expression of animus," which has raised free speech concerns.
- The original bill offered up to $2,000 per victim - a provision criticized as a "cash incentive" to report family and friends. The final bill removed it.
- The bill states personal identifying information is "confidential and exempt from public inspection."
Sources
Finne, L. (January 2024). SB 5427, to Provide Up to $2,000 for People to Report Their Neighbors for “Hate Crimes” and “Bias Incidents.” Washington Policy Center.
Washington Senate Bill 5427. (5 February 2024). Full Text (Passed Bill).
Washington Senate Bill 5427. (n.d.). History.
Washington Senate Bill 5427. (17 January 2023). Original Bill (Not Passed).
Quote: First Director, WHO
- In 1946, Brock Chisholm - the first Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) - argued in favor of "the suggestion that we should stop teaching children moralities and rights and wrongs and instead protect their original intellectual integrity...".
- The quote, "To achieve world government, it is necessary to remove from the minds of men, their individualism, loyalty to family tradition, national patriotism, and religious dogmas," is actually from Jean Carter, Frmr. Chairman of CARE (Citizens Advocating Responsible Education) who issued the comment in 1975 (published by “The News,” in an article titled, “Lions Hear Views on New Education Policy” on July 11, 1975).
- The confusion occurred because a 1977 newspaper article - which led with Carter’s quote, followed by a statement from Chisholm - was mistakenly cited by several books (crediting the quote to Chisholm). The mistake was likely never detected because, barring the reference to “individualism,” Chisholm argued the same points in a lecture titled, "The Reestablishment of Peacetime Society" (published by “Psychiatry: Journal of the Biology and the Pathology of Interpersonal Relations” in February 1946).
Sources
Carter, J. as cited in Malik, M.A. (11 July 1975). Lions Hear Views on New Education Policy. The News, p. 13.
Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. (n.d.). G. Brock Chisholm, MD.
Chisholm, G.B. (February 1946). “The Reestablishment of Peacetime Society” in The Psychiatry of Enduring Peace and Social Progress: The William Allison White Memorial Lectures By G.B. Chisholm. Psychiatry: Journal of the Biology and the Pathology of Interpersonal Relations, 9(1), pp. 3-11.
Christensen, E.J. (15 September 1977). A Corner on Education. The Utah Independent, p. 10.
Post Lockdowns: Student Scores
- As of 2022/23, math and reading scores for students aged 9 and 13 have declined across every percentile level compared to 2020.
- In 2022, average scores for students aged 9 declined 5 points in reading and 7 points in mathematics compared to 2020 - representing the largest average score decline in reading since 1990, and the first ever score decline in mathematics.
- When asked if they ever attended school from home or somewhere outside of school for any duration during the last school year (2020–21) because of the COVID-19 pandemic, 70% of 9-year-old students recalled learning remotely.
- The 2023 reading and mathematics scores for students aged 13, at all five selected percentile levels, declined compared to 2020.
- According to Peggy Carr, Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics: "The results show the profound toll on student learning during the pandemic, as the size and scope of the declines are the largest ever in mathematics."
Sources
National Assessment of Educational Progress. (2024). “Student Performance Across Subjects.” The Nation’s Report Card.
National Assessment of Educational Progress. (2024). “NAEP Long-Term Trend Assessment Results: Reading and Mathematics: Age 9.” The Nation’s Report Card.
National Assessment of Educational Progress. (2024). “NAEP Long-Term Trend Assessment Results: Reading and Mathematics: Age 13.” The Nation’s Report Card.
Reilly, K. (24 October 2022). “Not a Single State Has Improved Students’ Math or Reading Scores Since 2019.” Time.
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