Regarding recent events at Dublin City Schools.
Some of us wake up. Others roll over. - Mark Twight
In March 2020, as our district migrated to “virtual only” learning in response to the pandemic and, shortly thereafter, adopted antiracism* and social justice resolutions,
I received a first-hand look at certain controversial materials being introduced to the district’s teachers, staff and students.
Please click HERE and HERE to review these events in detail.
After learning about the above-referenced items, I became increasingly concerned about the district’s approaches to issues of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Social Emotional Learning (SEL), the politicization of the Covid 19 virus in our district, the stifling of viewpoint diversity in our schools, and the district’s failures in transparency, communication and accountability to the public on these and other matters.
It appears that the district has used the cover of DEI to push ideologically loaded trainings on teachers, staff and students using concepts such as white fragility, antiracism, white privilege, and gender theory while claiming that any disagreement with their program is evidence of ignorance, racism or transphobia. In addition, it appears that SEL has become a vehicle for social justice activism - pushing controversial ideas related to race, sexuality, gender and identity onto our students. In short, it appears that taxpayers’ dollars, time and resources are being spent on indoctrination and politics rather than on improving the core competencies of the students - students who are already struggling to bridge a two-year Covid gap.
When I brought these concerns to the district in the fall of 2021, I was initially met with silence, then claims that I simply “misunderstood” the instances in issue or that the instances in question were all isolated “mistakes.”
In an effort to avoid further misunderstandings, I asked for complete teacher training materials and other communications from the diversity director and via public document requests. I also asked for a meeting with the diversity director. My requests were either ignored or denied. On November 20, 2021, the diversity director resigned. No explanation was offered for the resignation. In early December 2021, superintendent Dr. Marschhausen and assistant superintendent Mrs. Schwanke granted interviews with a few concerned community members in which Dr. Marschhausen stated that "our district has gotten off the rails" in regard to its response to the George Floyd tragedy and must "refocus on academics.”
I agree. And so does the Ohio State Board of Education. In October 2021, the Ohio State BOE, noting a growing national divide and a troubling focus on the color of one’s skin rather than on the content of one’s character, rescinded its 2020 antiracist resolution.
This eliminated the state requirement for implicit bias training for teachers, explicitly condemned teachings that seek to divide and called for a refocus on academics.
I am not here to advocate the teaching of history from a certain viewpoint, to soften the horrors of slavery, to minimize historical racism and it’s impact on us today, or to ban discussions on theories regarding outcome disparities. In fact, I welcome a nuanced and evidence-based examination of history and of all (not just race-based) outcome disparities - an examination of factors like race, class, poverty, culture, economics, family structure, and immigration and how they affect a society’s structure and institutions. But the district’s apparent attempts to force its teachers, staff and students to view everything through a particular ideological lens offers none of this. (And is a blatant violation of the DCS board’s own policies.)
We all know anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide are up among young people. In light of this fact, it is completely backwards to advocate political philosophies that assume students are oppressors or oppressed due to the color of their skin, gender, or sexuality; that words can be so harmful that students must be shielded to prevent psychological harm; that students don’t have friends but rather “allies;” and that students must be hypersensitive to any perceived slight while learning that one ignorant comment of their own could derail their future. In addition, our teachers are not qualified to be teaching and monitoring mental health programs.
I believe that we all ultimately seek the same outcome – a just society in which nobody is discriminated against due to their race, sex, sexuality, gender identity, religious or cultural background, or physical ability. I acknowledge the importance of DEI and SEL initiatives in that regard and agree that all children should feel included and safe in our schools. However, I summarily reject the idea that the district must adopt progressive views on inequality and identity issues and incorporate a district wide mental health program in order to effectively achieve these goals.
With the resignation of the diversity director and the superintendent’s admission that our district has gotten off track and must refocus on academics - I am hopeful that the district is now moving toward a more inclusive and transparent path so that we as a community can begin to work together again.
But the only way such a path will be maintained is if YOU start paying attention and make the effort to hold DCS accountable.
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