I am a 30 year veteran of teaching middle school, I understand the importance of
#inclusion and #diversity to a child’s well-being and #education. I’ll start by pushing
back against 3 words that have been twisted in education. First, WOKE simply
means caring and recognizing injustice. CRT is an example of a lie told oft enough
becomes the truth. The Nazi architect of useful misinformation utilized this
strategy to turn Germans against Jews. Yes, Nazis. The shouted lie of CRT has the
sole purpose of diminishing Black History. And last, the ugliest of all dog whistles,
is calling teachers groomers. Let’s remember that more children are groomed and
assaulted by religious leaders and family members than teachers by a factor of
1000s.
The Hanover survey stated that respondents are concerned about #transparency in
school structure including our school board.
I don’t trust Mr. Peterson. And I had hoped for better from Superintendent Kane.
It appears that decisions are guided by huddling with organizations such as FAIR,
CPAN, and Moms for Liberty, groups that are opposed to public education. Mr.
Peterson, in particular, is clearly influenced by and steeped in harmful
misinformation from such groups. He has dismissed sound research regarding
child abuse and identity, turning instead to the inaccurate perceptions put forth
by small minds and smaller hearts. I ask you to become more WOKE. Get out of
your silo.
How do religious forces rate such an outsized influence in our district? Very few
Hanover survey respondents, indeed only 20%, consider religious belief as criteria
for school matters. 20%! Where are Mr. Peterson’s values regarding
representation? Shouldn’t ALL your constituents have a voice, not just those who
gave you obscene amounts of money and pressure you to follow their lead, no
matter how disrespectful to the families you represent?
My final concern... Wow, once again the DCSD has opened themselves to another
Civil Rights lawsuit. According to the Hanover website they assist the clients to
craft survey questions and responses. It appears some agency of the district
included responses asking about religious beliefs. School boards are a local
government entity and are expected to follow the law and separating matters of
church and state.Constitution.
Despite the loud, aggressive, uninformed voices trying to insist America is
a “Christian Nation,” recent surveys show 40% of Americans claim no
religious affiliation and almost 10% practice a faith other than Christianity.
Please stop inserting your Christian beliefs where it is both illegal and
unwelcome.
Katie Barrett, Castle Rock
*This is solely the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Douglas Co. Democratic Party.