Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Kristen. I agree with you 100%. I also must say that while I should not be surprised, I was disappointed to see that someone in our community would trot out the CRT straw man as a campaign/scare tactic.
I will join you in voting for Kim Rajdev for School Committee. John Mendelson On Fri, Mar 25, 2022, 4:38 PM Kristen Ferris <ferris.kris...@gmail.com> wrote: > Jay, > > > > I wanted to respond to your reference to CRT (Critical Race Theory) in the > flyer you recently mailed. > > > > First, I want to note that having spent my career working in and with > schools and districts, what you pose as a dichotomy, “instead of CRT, Jay > will focus on education” is absolutely not. Our teachers and school staff > have the opportunity, skills, and obligation to BOTH provide our students > with an excellent education AND do that in a way that considers and > includes ideas around race and racism. > > > > To avoid discussions of race and racism in school is first unrealistic. > Research shows that children develop awareness and attitudes about race, > including implicit biases by the time they are school age. > > > Further, to avoid these discussions is actually harmful, to ALL students. > To quote from a fantastic resource from the Aspen Institute (see link > below),* “Research shows that teaching students about the history and > current manifestations of racism has overwhelmingly positive effects > for all students…Teachers need support to improve their practice in this > area, but avoiding teaching about race and racism is detrimental to > students’ learning and healthy development.”* > > For those who are interested in learning more about this topic and the > research behind it, please see this resource here: > https://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/united-we-learn/ > > > > As a mother of 3 children attending school in LPS and as the current Chair > of the METCO Coordinating Committee, I am proud that our school > administration and current School Committee has chosen to invest in > supporting teachers in their practice of teaching in ways that recognize > race, diversity, empathy and belonging. > > > I also think it’s essential that my children belong to a community that > sees promoting the inclusion and belonging of each of its members as > critical, and that recognizes that this means naming and dismantling some > of the social and institutional constructs that have historically prevented > that. > > > > This is why I'm supporting Kim Rajdev for School Committee, because she > has expressed her explicit support for the district's anti-racism, > inclusion, diversity, and equity work, and sees the importance of it > along-side and in connection with the district's critical work to provide > relevant, rigorous, and engaging instruction. > > > Thank you, > > Kristen Ferris > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > >
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