The English department and School Climate

And Now the Children Follow
by NWTerriD
Excerpt:
I am a middle school teacher in an urban school district. My school is extremely diverse -- racially, academically, linguistically, socioeconomically, any other way you can think of. Like any similar school anywhere in the country, we have had occasional instances of racial conflict. In the years I have been at the school, these incidents have been rare, and the ones I've heard about have not involved intimations of white supremacy. They have more typically been between different groups of Asian and/or Latino immigrants.
And
I cannot stress enough how uncharacteristic this all is compared to prior years. As we've sat in staff meetings this week listening to administrators' reports about recent student interactions, I have looked around the room and seen shock written across my colleagues' faces. There is a general sense of "I thought we were beyond all that."
Read more at:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/12/4/810302/-And-Now-the-Children-Follow

There are numerous examples of parents objecting to books in school libraries and curriculum. There is a reason for that, both positive and negative. I am mindful a few months back of some school districts not wanting students to hear the speech of Pres. Obama.

It is my understanding there is a place in Texas wherein all school curriculum for all school districts in American is determined and written. In my opinion, therein lie a big part of the problem. I feel if there is a strong, sensitive and dedicated English Department and Chairman in a school, student conduct can be measured on graphs.

There are other books besides “Diary of Anna Frank” and “To kill a mockingbird” for students to read, discuss and be tested on in their English classes. The elimination of Civic Classes has place a big burden on the English Department and exposed it extremely vulnerable.
Fighting for the dignity of my Ancestors,
God bless Bill Gates, WPFW, C-SPAN and the spirits of the unborn for the help,
BB

P.S. I have noticed of late the camera operator on C-Span does not show April Ryan when she is asking a question as they do, say, Chuck Todd. I am assuming the camera operator and mixer are professionals who know what they are doing.