The Pollyanna Principals: How one consultancy capitalized on New York prep schools’ mad fad for “anti-racism”
by Charles Fain Lehman
City Journal
March 15, 2021
Thanks for this, Bostonian. It's interesting to read about the consultants providing advice on the curriculum changes.
Within my personal network, anyone in EDI who holds out a shingle in the area usually has a PhD in behavioural science or psychology (particularly organizational psychology). Where there is an intersectional lens - such as in Indigenous reconciliation work - there is often also graduate level training in the culture of the community partner. But again, these are consultants to organizations of adults. It seems surprising the Dalton team didn't conduct more thorough due diligence. These are delicate topics, and the approach required to designing a sensitive and inclusive curriculum requires experts in EDI and pedagogy.
The parent letter linked in the article seems heartfelt. Hopefully the Dalton community is able to resolve its differences and engage in meaningful and civil dialogue. Certainly they don't lack the resources to do so. It's pretty difficult for organizations, though, once the conflict has risen to the level of anonymous publicity.
