Education for ALL
Before kids can learn in school, they must feel sufficiently safe and welcome even to pay attention. Political issues can disrupt this sense of belonging, which is foundational to all learning. We see this now in CB, where concern over student speech and social media posts have created controversy inside and outside the classroom.
CB has endured Islamophobia, antisemitism, racism, attacks on trans people’s rights and humanity, and profound animosity toward the LGBTQ community. We have also witnessed the villainization and demoralization of teacher and librarians. We have confronted streams of disinformation. We have countered the attacks of politicians who mounted campaigns of lies and slander to sow doubt and division and exploit our confusion and pain for their power. Over the last three years of misguided leadership, which seized every opportunity to cast blame rather than find solutions, we kept speaking out.
Our children have witnessed it all. The turmoil has taken its toll on our students.
And yet: The kids, with the help of their teachers and families, are leading the way. The Jewish Student Union and Muslim Student Association have met for a cultural exchange and discussion, under the guidance of their faculty sponsors. We can all learn from their openness to bridge their differences. They have shown up for one another.
Showing up is hope. Showing up is democracy.
And those of us adults who have listened, attended board meetings, sought to bridge our differences, lifted up one another’s voices, honored the struggles of those who experience discrimination—we share the common, exalted goal: to make things better for our kids.
We underscore the obvious when we say CB must change to meet this moment. The change we need is threefold:
new educational opportunities that could help us all do better
sound policy and guidelines to make clear boundaries and expectations
accountability if and when mistakes are made
Education for all
These educational offerings for students, teachers, and our whole community must:
put kids at the center
confront and disable antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, and all forms of bigotry.
define what is hate speech, and illuminate how to recognize and counter it
help us to sit with disagreement without being disagreeable
enable us to recognize the biases exist in ourselves and in the educational system
As an example of the kind of approach we want to see, we spotlight a few public comments from Tuesday’s policy meeting:
“While we have numerous boundaries and differences in life including viewpoints, beliefs, and faiths, the one commonality that I believe we have permeating very strongly throughout this room is that we all want the best for our children so they can one day grow and thrive as healthy and productive individuals of society and one day hopefully make a difference and impact to make this world a better place. In these difficult times, my message for us all here is not to convince you to change your viewpoints or beliefs, but rather embrace them and consider how our children can learn from one another through respectful and meaningful dialogue in a way that does not compromise the well-being of our students and undermine the ability of the teachers, administration, or board to effectively run the school. I think sometimes we take for granted how resilient and intuitive our young adults are to navigate discussions that involve complexity. How can we find common ground with their best interests in mind and equip them with the support and guidance to navigate these passionate and often polarizing discussions with compassion and empathy?”
“I believe education is the way for us all to move forward. I hope you will consider training for teachers, more Jewish history education for students. The lack of those two things is why we are here facing these issues.”
“As you consider these policies, please help foster a school community that cares for each other by building more opportunities for communication for the many communities that call this place home so that we can build understanding and peace.”
We also learned that some of our Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian students and families face rising incidents of Islamophobia, just as we learned previously that some of our Jewish students face rising incidents of antisemitism. Some students report racial slurs and feeling afraid to be themselves.
We at AFIE continue to listen, empathize, and learn.
We make no pretensions to expertise in educating communities about handling controversy, much less the conflicts in the Middle East. We wish to state explicitly that we condemn both Islamophobia and antisemitism—and all such hatreds. There is no place in our schools for discrimination that could hurt a child’s education.
What we believe we heard from April meetings public comment is a common desire for better communication. We want to get along. We want that for our children and ourselves, for the world. We don’t need to agree on everything—indeed, we value and appreciate our many differences. But we believe in the importance of discussion and the ethic of respect for ALL in our community. To accomplish that vital goal, we would like to see:
a collective commitment to productive exchange, mutual respect, and care for one another
mutual condemnation for antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, and any other form of hatred or denigration of a discrete group of fellow human beings.
more education, training, and guidelines for teachers and students so they can learn and discuss difficult issues with tact and fairness.
Strong leadership by building principals and district administrators to handle questions as they arise: meeting with families, hearing them out, and guiding teachers toward best practices that accommodate ALL viewpoints.
Recommended Educational Offerings
Many, many terrific solutions exist. We all won’t agree on which ones to choose, and ultimately CB leadership and educators will make the call. But we can encourage CB to break free from status quo and pick a few new things to try.
CB currently offers two sessions of “compassionate listening” where small groups share concerns, practice deep listening, and begin to build understanding.
Our neighbors in the New Hope-Solebury school district have set a good example. Pictured above, an interactive program designed to help students explore how people develop barriers and model important tools for building community. Additionally, since Oct. 7, NHS has offered their community several informational programs on the history of Israel and antisemitism and also insights into the beliefs and practices of Islam and the issues that Muslims face today (echoed by a number of speakers during public comment last week).
Below are some additional resources that we believe merit exploration:
“Israel-Palestine: Avoiding Antisemitic and Islamophobic Hate Speech” teaches students how to “think before you post”. It includes all sorts of helpful tips about how to communicate thoughtfully.
Facing History: Centering Humanity While Following News of the Israel-Hamas War: Students reflect on their personal “universe of obligation,” the perspectives they see in the news, and how they can center others’ humanity when taking action.
Faith, Unity, Islamic Center offers informative programs on the history of Islam and issues facing Muslims today.
Anti-Defamation League: offers programs on recognizing and fighting antisemitism, as well as all acts of bigotry and discrimination.
Right Question Institute: Explicitly teaching students to pose questions using the Question Formulation Technique, and to practice the posing of questions, is one of the most underrated yet powerful tools we have for fostering critical thinking.
Social Responsibility Speaks: Educational programming to understand implicit bias and combat the problem in education. Click here to get a quick explanation of implicit bias.
Culturally-Relevant and Sustaining Education (CR-SE) Program Framework Guidelines outlined by PA Dept. of Ed. These guidelines for professional development programs include one competency to: “Create an equitable learning environment by challenging and debunking stereotypes and biases about the intelligence, academic ability, and behavior of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and other historically marginalized learners, educators, educational leaders, families, and caregivers.”
Sound Policy + Accountability
Punitive, heavy-handed policy will not solve our problems.
Broad, open communication amongst families, students, teachers, and administrators and a commitment to education can.
PSBA (Pennsylvania School Board Association) offers guidelines and educational best practices on policy. Building on their recommendations and our own current policy 816.1—which establishes standards for the operation of school district social media accounts and personal social media accounts—our school board can seek the input of all concerned parties—especially including current teachers who serve as club advisors—to make any necessary changes.
We have read the current policy 816.1 and we do not see a need for sweeping changes. We see the questions causing conflict having more to do with understanding, implementing, and enforcing the policy by administration, than with the policy itself.
However, there's been some confusion and/or lack of direction about school social media accounts and who is responsible. We believe establishing clear guidelines and responsibilities for school social media accounts will maintain a positive online presence and ensure appropriate representation of the school community.
We have some suggestions, listed at the end, but we ask above all that the school board seek the input from teachers who advise the clubs. Those are the people with the experience to know what can go wrong and how to prevent trouble before it starts. They are also the ones who know what’s reasonable to expect from teacher advisors, given that these responsibilities are in addition and on top of their classroom obligations.
Additionally, we suggest a Code of Conduct for club sponsors and officers, governing communication within the club and out to the community. We understand that it can be difficult for teachers to read all the board policies and highly unlikely that students will do so. Therefore, a thumbnail version to remind all constituents of the most important policies as they pertain to the activities and communications of clubs could remind everyone of the guardrails and safety measures that protect us all.
We see good education, for young people and those who have left their high school years behind, as the best foundation for our district’s best functioning. This education can focus on the need for ALL the groups in our community whose identities have been misunderstood or demonized.
Do not believe the divisive lie that when one group rises up, it pushes another group down. We are ALL Americans, equal before the law, endowed with the same inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. There is room in our schools, our community, and our nation for ALL Americans. Indeed, our diversity is our strength, our resilience, our dazzling cultural wealth. We all do better when we all do better.
That belief is the foundation of our educational system. We can ALL learn, grow, and bring our best to the betterment of all.
You can listen to the meeting here.
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Our educators and administrators will know best, but here’s our take on suggested social media guidelines:
Purpose of Social Media Presence: Clearly state the purpose of the school's social media accounts, such as promoting events, sharing achievements, and fostering community engagement.
Designation of Responsibility: Specify who is responsible for managing and posting on each social media account. In this case, designating the faculty club advisor as responsible for the student club's social media postings is a sensible choice.
Guidelines for Posting Content: Provide guidelines for what type of content is appropriate for posting on the school's social media accounts (policy 816.1 already stipulates what is not permitted.) Emphasize the importance of maintaining professionalism and positivity.
Approval Process: Outline the process for approving content before it is posted. This could include requiring all posts to be reviewed and approved by the faculty club advisor or another designated staff member.
Educational Component: Highlight the educational aspect of managing social media accounts, especially for students. Emphasize the importance of creating a positive digital footprint and provide resources or training opportunities to help students develop these skills.
Monitoring and Moderation: Explain how the school will monitor and moderate social media accounts to ensure compliance with the policy and address any inappropriate content or behavior.
Consequences for Violations: Clearly state the consequences for violating the social media policy, such as removal of posting privileges or disciplinary action.
Revision and Updates: Specify that the social media policy will be periodically reviewed and updated as needed to reflect changes in technology or best practices.