Five Wokest Workshops Scheduled At Massachusetts Teachers Association Conference This Summer

The Massachusetts Teachers Association plans to promote woke themes at its 2025 Summer Conference.Wokeism is what the state’s largest teachers union thinks educators should be focused on during the summer — not improving literacy, math instruction, or classroom discipline, but exploring their inner activist and soaking in progressive orthodoxy. While Massachusetts students struggle with learning loss, declining MCAS scores, and poor attendance, the state's largest teachers union is busy pushing fringe ideologies under the banner of professional development. It’s a reminder that for many in public education, political indoctrination takes precedence over academic achievement.Here is a look at the five wokest workshops the conference plans to host from July 27 to July 30 at UMass Amherst:.1. Promoting MarxismThe Massachusetts Teachers Association plans to hold a Professional Development Workshop titled "Considering Marxism."During it, teachers will discuss the pros and cons of Marxism, and how they can apply it in the modern day.Here is a description of the workshop:Some claim that Marxism is a tool we can use to analyze our lives, our work, the broader world and the history that has created it. But, the basic ideas are almost 200 years old. Do they still apply? Have they ever been true? This workshop will introduce the major elements of Marxist philosophy. It is NOT intended for those who want to debate what Marx really meant. Rather, it will ask participants to share what they have heard, question the validity, and explore the advantages and disadvantages of this perspective. Is this a method of analysis and activism that can empower our organizing? How much you want to bet the answer is yes? 2. Transgenderism For ForeignersThe MTA has a workshop that it hopes will help promote transgenderism in multilingual classrooms, titled "Gender Diversity in Multilingual Classrooms."Here is a description of that workshop:Most educators, particularly educators of multilingual students, know the need to center culturally diverse materials in their instruction. However, queer culture and characters are not often included for a variety of reasons, even though queer individuals exist in all cultures. Students who are a part of that community need to see themselves as well. This workshop will discuss age-appropriate materials and information accessible across all language levels. It will provide educators with tools to address sensitive topics in a way that will encourage acceptance of all peers and adults. 3. Protecting Illegal Immigrants The MTA will host a pro-illegal immigrant workshop, geared towards how schools can limit their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement officers. It's called "Fighting for Immigrant Rights."Here is a description of the workshop:Learn how local educator unions and members across Massachusetts have responded to the immigration crisis in our communities through safe schools resolutions, partnerships with community organizations and Know Your Rights resource distribution in schools and on campus. 4. Segregation for SolidarityThe MTA is promoting racial affinity groups in its workshop titled "Affirming Our Identities and Building Community."Here is a description of the workshop:Join with others who represent similar cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds as you learn, build, and connect with each other to strengthen your support network and gain access to new resources. 5. Critical Race TheoryAdditionally, the MTA will host a workshop that applies critical race theory to American Indians titled "A Critical Exploration of Colonization & Intersectionality."Here is a description of the workshop:This workshop will entail a critical exploration of Kimberle Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality and expand on it to help participants understand the multiple forms of exclusion experienced by Native Americans. We will explore the concept of intersectionality, particularly the intersection of race and tribal nation sovereignty, and illustrate how traditional theories of marginalization overlook the multifaceted nature of discrimination faced by Indigenous Peoples. This will foster a more inclusive approach to social justice for educators. Drawing on Kimberlé Crenshaw’s insights, we’ll examine how the unique positioning of Native Americans -- who navigate both a racial and tribal experience -- results in distinct experiences of racism, including violence, dispossession, invisibility, and miseducation.

Five Wokest Workshops Scheduled At Massachusetts Teachers Association Conference This Summer

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