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It appears to me that the Child Protection League (CPL) and our local school board wannabe, Rae Piepho, are promoting intolerance. Our country is founded on the belief that all [men] people are created equal and have certain inalienable rights. That’s EVERYONE, gang!
The current teacher licensure policy they’re up in arms about is one that promotes acceptance and tolerance. Since I began teaching in 1971, I’ve taken numerous workshops promoting cultural awareness and diversity acceptance. Every educator needs to be accepting of everyone, whatever their culture, religion, or sexual orientation.
Ms. Piepho and the CPL oppose cultural competency training. Here’s the policy language they’re upset about:
“ ‘Cultural competency training’ means a training program that promotes self-reflection and discussion including but not limited to all of the following topics: racial, cultural, and socioeconomic groups; American Indian and Alaskan native students; religion; systemic racism; gender identity, including transgender students; sexual orientation; language diversity; and individuals with disabilities and mental health concerns. Training programs must be designed to deepen teachers’ understanding of their own frames of reference, the potential bias in these frames, and their impact on expectations for and relationships with students, students’ families, and the school communities.”
In other words, teachers need to understand their own biases as they strive to accept every student, parent, and community member. Looks like a darned good policy to me.
Ann Marie Mershon
Retired English teacher, Columbia Heights, Cook County, and Istanbul, Turkey.
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