Public school teaching tool reportedly says being a ‘military kid’ means you have ‘privilege’ — and reaction is pointed

The Blaze – by Dave Urbanski

Virginia’s Fairfax County Public Schools is in the news yet again, as the Daily Wire reported that a teaching tool indicates that being a “military kid” is among a long list of privileges. 

What are the details?

The outlet referred to an image of a blue grid titled “Identifying Your Privilege.”

Each box of the grid — except the center box titled “Free Space” — contains a privilege. The privileges are:

• Native English speaker
• Comfortable walking outside alone
• Heterosexual
• College is the expectation
• Have your own bedroom
• Both parents went to college
• White
• Christian
• Never been racially profiled
• Involved in extracurricular activities
• Never worried about food
• Parents are married
• Feel represented in media
• Cisgender
• Drive/get driven to school
• Born in country of residence
• Feel safe around police officers
• Able-bodied
• Never lost a loved one
• Employed
• No speech impediment
• Mentally healthy
• Military kid
• Male

The Daily Wire called out one of the listed privileges that it said was part of “privilege” bingo — being a “military kid.”

A Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Schools curriculum has students play “privilege” bingo, giving them privilege points if they are white, male, employed or “involved in extra curricular [sic] activities,” or “feel represented in the media.” pic.twitter.com/ztyQYdO8Ya

— austin frisch (@realaustinzone) January 19, 2022

The outlet said shocked parents indicated that being a child in a military family instead can mean regularly moving away from friends, not seeing a parent for months at a time, dealing with post-traumatic stress, and risking becoming an orphan.

The Daily Wire reported that complaining parents received a note from Assistant Superintendent Douglas A. Tyson that said:

The screen shot you reference comes from an approved FCPS English Curriculum lesson that is centered around students selecting a “choice” test and examining in detail the author’s perspective on a wide-range [sic] of issues. Students are asked, in the lesson, to read critically and think critically about the author’s perspective on several fronts including the author’s privilege that may or may not be present in the work. Students are then asked independently and self reflectively to juxtapose their thoughts regarding any perceived privilege they think they may have and how they would potentially rewrite portions of the text. Students are not asked or required to report out their self-reflections. This lesson is an adept vehicle to push student thinking to challenge the author’s thoughts/conclusions and to sharpen their ability to critically lead selected texts.

The outlet said a Fairfax County Public Schools spokeswoman did not immediately return the Daily Wire’s request for comment.

How did folks react?

Twitter users ripped the school district for its reported use of a teaching tool that singles out being a “military kid” as one of many privileges:

• “Amazing how liberals hate those who serve and protect America,” one commenter wrote. “Any teacher who tells a child that because his mom or dad is in the military that they have ‘privilege’ should be fired immediately.”
• “This is despicable,” another user declared.
• “Any privileges children of military members have has been earned,” another commenter said.
• “Privilege?” another user asked rhetorically. “More like sacrifice for their country. Something a liberal would never understand.”

Oh, and one commenter turned the reported idea of military kids’ privilege on its head: “I was very privileged to grow up around the men, women & families who sacrifice more in their lives than most Americans will ever know.”

The Blaze