A recent series
of articles, in The Seattle Times, details
the suspension and eventual re-instation of a controversial course on race and
privilege at a small Seattle public school. The school district suspended the
class at The Center School following a student complaint that the “way the
class was taught created an intimidating environment” and made students feel
uncomfortable. The school district responded to the complaint with an
investigation that “corroborated the student’s concerns.”
A majority of
the students in the class, however, were shocked and angered by the school
district’s decision. They began holding lunch meetings to determine how to get
their class back and created an online petition urging the district to
reinstate it. They even organized attendance at a School Board meeting where
they defended the course. This response, according to student Zak Meyer, was
the result of the class’s emphasis on social activism, “…That was one of the
things that [we were taught], about how to advocate in the community.” Meyer
also stated that though the class could stir uncomfortable feelings, its frank
discussions on race “forced a level of self examination [he] had never before
explored.”
It “forced me to
take an inner look at myself and examine how I lived compared to others and how
I always thought race played a small role in my life,” he said.
District
officials insisted in their belief that issues concerning race and social
justice are very important and should be taught in their schools, arguing that
the dispute was not about social justice but about protecting students, “We
don’t want to put any child into a situation where he or she feels so
intimidated by the manner in which these issues are taught that the course is
no longer effective.”
Here, it is
important to note that The Center School is an “alternative public high school
with a focus…on community engagement,” and that the course is required only for
seniors. What does it say about our country when a school district suspends a
class, in a liberal high-school, because a senior student was made
uncomfortable by its frank discussions on race? Ultimately, the class was
re-instated, but that does not erase the fact that the school district found it
okay to suspend it in the first place. Is the issue of race so taboo in
American society that it cannot even be discussed in schools?
To me, the
initial suspension of the course is horrifying; however, I am pleased by the
response of the students to its suspension. Their organization in defense of
the course speaks to the growing social conscience of American youth and,
because it was a result of their experiences in the course, it also speaks to
the necessity of incorporating classes on race and social justice into the
curriculums of America’s schools.
