Education

For a Better Future

Public Education is a necessity in our country. Children need access to quality education, and teachers need to be paid fairly for the work they do.
Quality education includes teaching modern theory with the most updated materials and textbooks. Technology in classrooms, universal design within school structure, and productive learning environments are all part of the equation to have successful, high-achieving students that are prepared for higher education.

“To me, the biggest issue that would have the largest effect long term is education. Our public school systems have got to have something give.
Schools are understaffed and the teachers we do have are experiencing extreme burnout.
Our children are not getting the accommodations they need in class because of this. As someone who was a student with learning accommodations, not having access to them can make learning impossible for some.
Our curriculum is not working as it exists now - children are not where they need to be in their reading, writing, or math skills. This is not because our teachers aren’t capable - it’s because we as a government did not give our school systems the resources they needed to make sure our K-12 students were continuing to learn during lockdowns.
To all the teachers out there, I hear you. To all the parents with young children, I hear you too. No one person has all the solutions to these issues, but that’s why we need to collectively work together in District 158 to ensure we are not leaving our children behind, no matter what zip code they live in”

Critical Race Theory in Schools

As controversial as this may sound, critical race theory is actually something most people can understand and agree on. It is my personal opinion that Critical Race Theory gets a bad reputation because it is misunderstood, and being explained by politicians instead of people like me; social scientists.

I get it; "critical race theory" does sound like it's a negative thing, but in reality, it just acknowledges something we already know.

Critical race theory is an academic concept that is more than 40 years old. The core idea is that race is a social construct and that racism is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies. So what does this mean?

"Race" is made up. The idea of race and the difference of races was created by humans. Just like we created the calendar, the concept of time, mathematics, etc. So, when we look at racism in America and our history of slavery, segregation, colonization, and relocation of natives, what does this tell us? That racism is not necessarily just an individual being racist. Critical Race theory dives into how larger institutions such as Higher Education or our Public Health Sector affect society from a racial standpoint. This information is often used to study the differences in race. For example, the more we understand about public health and how people of color are less likely to have access to treatment, the more we understand how to close the gap.

So, in conclusion, there is no need to worry about our youth learning these concepts in school. Critical Race theory is saved for college students and researchers to consume. For example, it is what I learned in my graduate courses as I received a Masters' in Social Science. Currently, critical race theory is not taught in public K-12 schools, however, the outcome of any child learning about critical race theory will just educate them on someone else's experiences, so they may understand, empathize and demand equality as an adult. That being said, I agree that it is something that should only be taught in higher education. As someone who received that education, I think high school students would not be prepared to learn it, and teachers in public schools would not necessarily be qualified to teach CRT. In public school, we need diversity curriculum - lessons on how to treat others around you and how to accept differences. Character building and Friendship focused. That is how we raise accepting, loving adults.