The School Social Work Association of Arizona (SSWAAZ) held its annual conference earlier this month in Glendale for teachers and administration in K-12. The March 2 event focused on implementing Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in schools. According to Mom’s for Liberty (MFL), “SEL teaches children to adopt the skills through an “equity lens” aka the viewpoint of a critical race theorist. The purpose of SEL is to change the consciousness (attitudes, values, beliefs, morals, and worldview) of the children to view America as a society that gives privileges to some and oppresses others.”
MFL is a parental rights organization that empowers “parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.”
A spokesperson for the AZ Informer, who has been following the developments of SEL in schools, told The Arizona Sun Times that social workers are being hired specifically to push Critical Race Theory (CRT), intersectional theory, and other aspects of a radical Marxist agenda through SEL.
“They use the guise of preventing suicide as an excuse, rattling off a number of traumas, to skirt stuff through these social workers and groom children,” the spokesperson said, “Basically SEL is the vehicle to drive that Marxist junk. And mental health is the excuse.”
The conference, which was largely ignored by the media, prominently featured Lindsay Love as the keynote speaker. On the event’s homepage, Love’s bio states, “Lindsay is dedicated to dismantling systems of oppression that maintain power over oppressed groups. Disrupt!” It said she has “lead racialized trauma trainings.” [sic]
Love previously served on the school board for Chandler Unified School District for one term, which was rocked by multiple controversies involving race and sex education, covered by AZ Free News. According to the news site, Love “insisted that schools have been ‘built off of white supremacy’ and “likened conservative black radio host James T. Harris to a ‘house slave.’”
She recently spoke at a school board meeting of Washington Elementary School District No. 6 in Glendale in favor of terminating the district’s contract with Arizona Christian University due to its Christian views. She defended the controversial school board member responsible for initiating the termination, Tamillia Valenzuela, asserting that “so-called Christians have used their platform to target Miss Valenzuela for being neurodivergent.”
Love now runs her own private practice, TherapyLuv, PLLC, which is described as “centering marginalized people and experiences that are not centered in traditional healing narratives.” On it, she published three blog posts about being overweight, ranting about “fatphobic” attitudes and raving about a doctor she found who doesn’t weigh her.
One of the breakout sessions at the conference addressed Harmony SEL. The description said it “promotes inclusive relationships” for pre-K-6 grade students. The Harmony SEL website states that SEL skills are used to “advocate for fairness and justice.” A blog post recommends “Five Fun Earth Day Activities for Students.” One of the five includes reciting a poem that says “I am the Earth And the Earth is me.”
Another breakout session, Empowering Girls of Color in The Classroom, advocates teaching Black Feminist Theory in the classroom. It also recommends teaching Adultification Bias, which is defined by Georgetown Law School as “adults view Black girls as less innocent and more adult-like than their white peers.”
SSWAAZ has a lengthy list of resources for combating racism. They include The 1619 Project, an article promoting reparations, an article denouncing police officers, the book White Fragility, and several links to the topic of “white supremacy.”
However, on SSWAAZ’s statement page, it asserts, “Social Emotional Learning has nothing whatsoever to do with Critical Race Theory; a legal theory and framework that holds that race is a social construct created and maintained by legal institutions and social systems within society to oppress people of color.”
On SSWAAZ’s standards page, it asserts, “The Common Core State Standards are rigorous standards that prepare students for college and career opportunities.” Its CASEL School Guide Essentials state,”I recognize and reflect on ways in which my identity is shaped by other people and my race, culture, experiences, and environments.”
SSWAAZ advocates for and against laws at the Arizona Legislature. SSWAAZ opposes SB 1001, which prohibits school employees from using a pronoun that differs from a ‘student’s biological sex’ without written permission from the student’s parent or guardian. The organization also opposes HB 2458, which prohibits a public school, school district or state agency or an employee from providing or allowing any person to provide instruction that promotes or advocates for specified concepts relating to race or ethnicity.
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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “School Social Work Association of Arizona Event” by School Social Work Association of Arizona.
