Re: Ye Olde School

1

That's a really low tuition. Maybe spoons have been the ruin of other schools?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 06-29-23 4:46 AM
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2

Sushi and water has to be healthier than your average cafeteria.


Posted by: mc | Link to this comment | 06-29-23 5:12 AM
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3

And let's be honest, stairs are just lawsuits waiting to happen.


Posted by: mc | Link to this comment | 06-29-23 5:13 AM
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4

I'd enjoy being fed sushi every day.


Posted by: heebie | Link to this comment | 06-29-23 5:15 AM
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5

And if your private school doesn't have a distinctive uniform what's even the point? If Nike and Adidas didn't want to sponsor that's their business.


Posted by: mc | Link to this comment | 06-29-23 5:16 AM
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6

And chairs? Pure kyriarchy. Literally imposing conformity.


Posted by: mc | Link to this comment | 06-29-23 5:20 AM
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7

Do they get chopsticks?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 06-29-23 5:21 AM
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8

Some of those complaints seem unfair. A lot of schools have uniforms, all the cups and bowls in most school cafeterias are the same colour (generally white), and forbidding outside food seems like a reasonable measure. No crosswords and no puzzle sheets is a slightly odd but defensible decision - perfectly possible to teach well without them. Foam cushions rather than chairs and tables sounds ergonomically unwise - how are you going to write anything? - but not super weird.

If someone had said "Kanye West has started his own private non-accredited Christian school which is now being sued for alleged abusive behaviour" then, be honest with yourself, would your prior be that the school would be as weird as this? I'd have expected it to be considerably weirder.


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 06-29-23 5:28 AM
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9

A third teacher has now joined the suit. https://www.forbes.com/sites/anafaguy/2023/06/01/third-fired-teacher-sues-kanye-wests-donda-academy-claiming-unsafe-conditions-report-says/


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 06-29-23 5:32 AM
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10

The worst part isn't even mentioned, maybe because it's not something from the school. But within a few minutes of my house, visibly Jewish people have been harassed on the street for that "we are the real Jews" stuff Ye has been pushing.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 06-29-23 5:35 AM
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11

And Rolling Stone has done a lot more digging (though it could do with a better sub-editor):
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/kanye-west-donda-academy-sued-firing-teachers-code-violations-1234710863/

Interesting to note that the two original plaintiffs are mother and daughter, and the mother "spent 25 years working in education, even serving as a dean of two colleges" before taking a job as a third-grade teacher. Seems like an unusual career path.


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 06-29-23 5:37 AM
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12

So inspired by was I by the wisdom of Ye that I dined this very evening on sushi and water, and am pleased to report myself well-nourished.


Posted by: mc | Link to this comment | 06-29-23 7:47 AM
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13

In Nebraska, you can get sushi with mayonnaise on top.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 06-29-23 7:49 AM
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14

13: But can you get pb&j sushi? https://order.fusian.com/menu/fusian-easton/products/47196716


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 06-29-23 7:51 AM
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15

Ugh.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 06-29-23 7:52 AM
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16

Japan knows mayo.


Posted by: Minivet | Link to this comment | 06-29-23 7:53 AM
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17

15: I'm taking that as a no.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 06-29-23 7:54 AM
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18

Sometimes I think of the story about the moral devastation that a South African theologian (maybe John de Gruchy?) suffered when, during a visit in the '60s, Karl Barth asked him what he believed the Big J would think of the South African government and society, and contrast that with the cottage industry of calling things "Christian" today, and then I get rather sad.


Posted by: Flippanter | Link to this comment | 06-29-23 12:35 PM
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18: Is this it?

As a young minister, [Nico Smith] organized an opportunity to visit Barth's house, for a personal interview. At the end of the interview, after all his questions to Barth, the old man asked whether he could also ask one question, and then he asked Nico Smith whether he was free to preach the gospel, even when it contradicts public opinion, ideology and policies. At first he did not understand the question, and assured Barth that it could never happen, because there was nothing wrong with public opinion and national policy. But Barth insisted, asking what would happen if one day, perhaps, he would find that the gospel was indeed critical of what everyone around him, including his friends and family, believe? He replied that he would of course be free to proclaim the gospel, in such a situation, but repeated that it was highly improbable - but he left with a feeling of unease, he says, a feeling that stayed with him on the bus, and during the rest of his trip and in a way for the rest of his life. The question never left him, and many years later, when he publicly resigned from the Broederbond and from the Faculty to become a township minister of the black Reformed Church in Africa, it was still Barth's question about freedom to proclaim the gospel that haunted him, he often recounts:

Three times Barth had asked him, 'Are you free?' As he turned the conversation over in his mind Nico found himself thinking of the conversation Jesus had had with Simon Peter on the beach, after his resurrection.

Posted by: Minivet | Link to this comment | 06-29-23 2:41 PM
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20

Updated Victorian boarding school novel set at weird LA private school run by insane celebrity now, please.


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 06-30-23 8:47 AM
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21

"Psmith at Donda"


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 06-30-23 8:48 AM
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22

Kanye and Co.


Posted by: Chris Y | Link to this comment | 07- 1-23 2:59 AM
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23

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Seacrest.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07- 1-23 4:24 AM
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24

Bravo!


Posted by: Ajay | Link to this comment | 07- 1-23 6:08 AM
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25

To be uncharacteristically serious, I was curious about the legality of an unaccredited school in California. Can anybody just start a school, without any governmental involvement to determine if the kids are learning anything?


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 07- 1-23 7:40 AM
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26

Ninja schools have been self-governing since the Gentleman's Agreement of 1907.


Posted by: | Link to this comment | 07- 1-23 7:56 AM
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25: I think California has a required licensure system for private postsecondary schools, but I don't know about secondary.


Posted by: Minivet | Link to this comment | 07- 1-23 8:05 AM
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28

25. As the man's man says, when you're famous, they let you do that.


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 07- 1-23 9:56 AM
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29

k-12 there are accrediting standards in CA. they require a minimum of 20% instruction in english & at the frenchy school that's what was provided, & not a centime more 🤣🤣🤣.


Posted by: dairy queen | Link to this comment | 07- 1-23 5:34 PM
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25: Yes, pretty much anybody can just start a private school in California, and the government does not get involved to determine whether the kids are learning anything. While California does have accrediting standards, accreditation is not mandatory. Schools like Ye's can (and apparently do) operate without accreditation or any meaningful governmental oversight.


Posted by: jms | Link to this comment | 07- 1-23 5:51 PM
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