As a former educator who taught for more than 40 years in middle schools and high schools in three states in the Northeast, I have been closely following the controversy concerning the Facebook post of Windsor School Principal Tiffany Riley and the subsequent action of the Mount Ascutney School Board.
When I was teaching, I understood that I had the power to influence the viewpoints of my students and so I took pains to encourage them to educate themselves fully about all sides of subjects of controversy, and I avoided allowing my personal opinions on politically charged issues or controversies, such as U.S. involvement in the wars of the time, from Vietnam to Afghanistan, to be known to them.
In my opinion, this is still the ethical path to follow.
A recent Valley News story (“ ‘It’s about what she said’: As officials meet in private, the public debate about principal’s post rages on,” July 3) noted that this situation “is an example of how public officials struggle to sort out the demands of addressing racism, school leadership and free speech.”
First, freedom of speech is the most fundamental right in a democracy and must be protected within the guidelines set by the court system. An employee’s speech can be legally limited if it impedes the mission of the employer. The First Amendment to our Constitution allows us to think and speak freely in a democracy and is what most distinguishes our form of government from dictatorships.
Second, racism has existed in our country, from its founding and before, ever since enslaved humans first arrived here. The agricultural economy of the South, especially cotton and the industries around it, depended on enslaved people. These people had no rights. They were considered property similar to field animals and were treated as such — or worse. They were forcibly bred for useful characteristics, such as size and strength. Slave masters had the right to use them if they so chose to satisfy their sexual appetites. The lives of enslaved people didn’t matter since they did not have the rights of citizens. Remnants of this situation exist today, in voter suppression, biased treatment in law enforcement, the court system, public education, housing and elsewhere.
Third, school leadership is rarely mentioned in this debate. School employees, from bus drivers to principals, should avoid public statements of personal opinion that could compromise their function within the school because they are potential role models for students. As such, they should maintain an ethical boundary and avoid at all costs allowing divisive politics to become involved.
As leaders, principals should strive to encourage and develop critical thinking skills among their students, which is essential to our democracy.
They can set up courses and curricula that present all sides of issues to their students and then encourage the free expression of informed opinion. Rather than voicing their personal opinions, principals might better serve the educational function they are charged with leading by developing curricula in history, language arts, civics and other subject areas that include lessons about the history of slavery, Jim Crow, segregation and institutional racism in our country. This can help students to understand what produced the problem of race in America and foster debate on current issues based on facts and history, rather than on politics.
Finally, school administrators and school boards might better support racial justice, and actually make a difference, by listening to parents and students who have experienced incidents with racial overtones that were never addressed appropriately by the school district, and then take steps to root out racial bias and set up systems to protect their students.
Steven Librot, of Norwich, is a former teacher, special educator and therapist who served in Claremont, Windsor and Hartford schools. He is currently a licensed clinical mental health counselor in private practice.