Miseducation is a column that chronicles what it’s like to be a student in the modern United States.
BY MARY RETTA DECEMBER 2, 2021
Last summer, in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, many school districts intensified their focus on racial equity by examining their curriculum, hiring, disciplinary practices, and more. Some teachers decided to add new lessons on race and the history of racism in the United States. Some school districts chose the opposite approach, banning discussion of “divisive” lessons that emphasize systemic oppression or anti-racism. This conflict recently came to a head in Virginia, where Republican Glenn Youngkin’s victory in the governor’s race is credited by some, in part, to how much he focused on education, including opposition to teaching about systemic racism in public schools. In his campaign, Youngkin emphasized parents’ rights to opt their children out of reading Toni Morrison’s Beloved, a novel that depicts the brutality of slavery and contains depictions of sexual violence.
Youngkin was far from the only elected official to run on such a platform. Questions surrounding the teaching of race and racism were a factor in hundreds of school board elections. School boards are governing bodies for public elementary and secondary schools, made up of community members, and date back more than 200 years in the United States. Their members are tasked with helping to make decisions on issues such as curriculum and school regulations within their county. In the past few years, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and racial justice uprisings, school boards have reemerged as the site of pitched political battles, with parents becoming more vocal about hot-button issues such as mandated vaccinations, whether students should wear masks on campus, and how topics like race or sexuality should be taught in class.
Read the rest of the piece from Teen Vogue here.