What do you think should be taught in our high schools? Is diversity education a divisive education, as one of our Tacoma high school history teachers recently claimed in an opinion piece published in The News Tribune? Or do ethnic studies celebrate, rather than obliterate “E PluribusUnum” as a Tacoma professor responded in an Op-Ed piece published a week later?
Well, why don’t we ask the students?
Host Evelyn Lopez is joined by Samira Mote, Liz Wight, and Lucas Bush, students in Comparative Cultures at Tacoma’s Science and Math Institute (SAMI). The students were concerned about the anti-diversity opinion, and felt that its concepts were “othering” and out dated. Their class developed an Op-Ed in response, but the TNT declined to print it. So, we talk about their views on education and read through their response. (Read the students’ response–PDF)
What do you think? What should our schools be teaching if we want today’s juniors and seniors to have the skills to run our country? The students are the ones affected by the quality and philosophies of our local teachers. Shouldn’t we be asking them about it? And shouldn’t we be listening to them?
Special thanks to Comparative Cultures teacher Mary Dewine!