Reactions to race in LI classrooms

Thank you for pointing out the perils that teachers face in dealing with race in the current climate ["How race is taught in LI classrooms," News, Jan. 18]. We have looked closely at race with future teachers in the Adolescent Literature course I teach.

After reading articles about censorship issues at Smithtown, Commack and other school districts, one undergraduate student wrote, "Was I surprised at the ridiculousness of the conflict? No, I don’t think so. Do I expect to face similar situations as I work towards becoming a teacher? Of course. Do I think myself capable of addressing such concerns in the near future? I am not sure."

This concern was echoed by many in the class, which focuses on social justice. The students read books by Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi, John Lewis, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Toni Morrison, Jacqueline Woodson, Sonia Morales and several others. They enthusiastically looked forward to introducing some of this literature to their future students.

But as one of the graduate students wrote, "This whole dynamic makes me think trying to be an effective English teacher these days is like putting a target on your back."

— Michael LoMonico, Stony Brook

The writer is an adjunct instructor in Stony Brook University’s English Education program.

As a graduate of Deer Park High School and as a New York City public school teacher of middle school history for 16 years, I’ve seen for myself the range of sentiments that the article describes.

While many colleagues are not teaching graduate-level critical race theory, they certainly do bring into the classroom what Columbia linguistics associate professor John McWhorter calls "critical race theory lite." As an alternative, I try to offer my students a pro-human approach that teaches compassionate opposition to racism rooted in dignity and our common humanity.

In honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., I played for my very racially diverse classes King’s "I Have a Dream" speech. In our open discussion afterward, one Black eighth-grade student’s reaction was, "I feel like Dr. King’s dream has come true." It was an observation that some of my 2022 colleagues would have found deeply disappointing because it is contrary to their preferred narrative that little, if any, progress toward racial equality has been made since 1962.

Teaching our history needs to recognize both the nightmares of our past and the hopeful realities before us today.

— Joseph D’Amico, Baldwin

The writer is the South Nassau Chapter leader of FAIR, the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism.

With all the controversy about critical race theory and our nation’s past failings, it is important to put some ideas in perspective about CRT. We were established as a nation that allowed slavery. Without that proviso, there would never have been a United States.

CRT seeks to demonize white America and contends that racism is built into our present system. I disagree. I have seen great, if belated, strides afforded minorities and particularly Black Americans. I witnessed the degrading behavior of many white Americans toward the progress sought by Blacks but also saw many whites put their own lives on the line to champion racial justice.

Opportunity is for all and must remain so but also based on individual effort to achieve.

— Nicholas Dallis, Smithtown

It was gratifying to read about teachers with integrity and some students speaking out about the importance of recognizing the effects of racism’s on American history and today’s society. Disappointing, though, was the responses of some parents.

The ability to critically evaluate data, accept facts and discuss issues rationally are fundamental goals of education. The thoughts expressed by one parent that segregation and police corruption are not history is ill-informed. Police violence is integral to the history of union-forming, civil rights and anti-war protests.

Segregation and racial hatred are a part of our history and who we are today. Those are facts. Teaching reality isn’t divisive — it is essential to a healthy society.

— Cynthia Lovecchio, Remsenburg

Fired principal was doing the right thing

I’m puzzled. Hateful, threatening and ugly notes were left in the desk of an eighth-grade student of color. In response, the principal told students his own story of childhood mistreatment because of his ethnicity. Some students complained to parents. Some parents complained. He was fired ["Ex-principal who defended student files suit," News, Jan. 19].

I was a teacher for 20 years. My children attended public and private schools. I was a school trustee. The jobs of teachers and school officers are to teach, to guide, to set explicitly moral and ethical standards and to live by them.

Included is the responsibility to protect students from bullying as much as from physical attack. How else are students to feel safe in our schools? How else are they to be prepared for the challenges of being citizens, of understanding the complexities of, among other things, our judicial system?

That a few parents took offense at this man’s effort to enrich students’ understanding of peer behavior is no surprise. Only mathematics is value free, and almost anything a school leader says will offend some students, especially teenagers.

That’s what education is, the exchange of stories, ideas, facts, our history, our perspectives. That’s why it is so important.

— Helen Hill Updike, Greenlawn

I was appalled that a principal was put on leave for standing up to racism. When did it become offensive to condemn racism? Should racism be ignored and, therefore, tacitly condoned? Should we not call out heinous and offensive acts? Should racism, antisemitism, anti-Muslim, anti-minority, misogynist history not be taught since some people don’t want to hear about it? Should we deny the Holocaust happened?

Is that the way to heal divisions and build a better, educated society? Shouldn’t we be having open and honest discussions about this country’s history? It seems there are many in our society who think dumbing down curriculum and ignoring past wrongs should be the new standard in schools.

Apparently, those who choose to deny history and current events believe the people who stand up for truth and justice are the ones to be condemned. It is frightening.

As a retired teacher, I just hope it doesn’t portend a new dark age where science, history and literature are no longer taught and the few control the information that many should know.

— Lynn Geisler, Huntington