A School District of Pickens County (SDPC) concerned parent whose child attends 10th grade at Daniel High School in Pickens County has reached out on social media Facebook group to ask other parents if they are aware of an assignment given out by a 10th Grade English teacher to her students to read the book "Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi".
See the screenshot of the parent's post below:
This particular novel is indeed controversial. FITS news published an excellent article about the controversy surrounding this book. Please read this article here at this link:
Is this an appropriate book for taxpayers to buy for High School Students to read?
That question above is the controversy.
People who advocate for this book being used in our tax supported schools claim students need to be exposed to this book's ideology on the history of systemic racism in our nation.
People who want this book banned from use in our tax supported schools see that this book promotes hatred of white people.
Does this book promote white guilt? There is plenty of evidence contained within the pages of this book to indicate the answer is yes.
Does this book violate the SC Budget Proviso Law 1.105 that is in place now which states:
No monies shall be used by any school district or school to provide instruction in, to teach, instruct, or train any administrator, teacher, staff member, or employee to adopt or believe, or to approve for use, make use of, or carry out standards, curricula, lesson plans, textbooks, instructional materials, or instructional practices that serve to inculcate any of the following concepts:
(1) one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex;
(2) an individual, by virtue of his race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously;
(3) an individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of his race or sex;
(4) an individual's moral standing or worth is necessarily determined by his race or sex;
(5) an individual, by virtue of his race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex;
(6) an individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his race or sex;
(7) meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or sexist, or were created by members of a particular race to oppress members of another race; and
(8) fault, blame, or bias should be assigned to a race or sex, or to members of a race or sex because of their race or sex.
The parent has met with the teacher and Vice Principal of Daniel High School to explain her concerns about the inappropriateness of this book to no avail.
According to the parent the Vice Principal claims the book Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi has been in use in the School District of Pickens County for the past 3 years and there have been no other parents who have complained.
What? This is the first parent to complain?
Is this because the parents didn't know it was being used? Is this because parents don't read what their children have been assigned? Or is it because our teachers are given too much freedom in selecting their curriculum? Or is it because Pickens County citizens are to apathetic and fearful to stand up for fear of retribution? Or a combination of all of the above?
Bottom line, the SDPC has a policy in place that teachers are supposed to follow on controversial issues. Here is that policy that was adopted in March of 2017:
Teaching About Controversial/Sensitive Issues in the School District of Pickens County Policy Manual, also adopted 27 MAR 2017.
Purpose: To establish the board's vision for teaching about controversial/sensitive issues in district schools.
Education for effective citizenship is a major goal of the district. To achieve this purpose, students should have an opportunity to examine controversial issues within the context of their formal education experiences.
Emotional criticism and the promotion of a cause within the classroom are inappropriate and will not be tolerated. Teachers should guard against giving their personal opinions on sectarian or political questions or any other controversial issues. The teacher's attitude should be that of the true scholar.
Before introducing a controversial topic, a teacher will discuss it with the principal as to these conditions:
appropriateness to the course
appropriateness for the maturity of the students
approach to instruction
teaching materials to be used
The principal must approve all aspects of the instruction in line with the statements in this policy.
Did the Principal of Daniel High School approve the use of this controversial book?
We need to find out.
The shocker is the fact the SC teacher who won the SC Teacher of the Year award this past year was given to a teacher who PROMOTES the use of this book and actually wants to make sure more students study it. See this link:
PARENTS AND TAXPAYERS... if you allow this book to be read by young malleable, impressionable children, is it in the best interest of our community or will it worsen race relations and cause more divisiveness. Martin Luther King's dream is being attacked by this book because Ibram Kendi X and Jason Reynolds propose that people should be judged by the color of their skin. Is that what we want being taught in our schools. Our SC Legislators have already voted NO THIS SHOULD NOT BE TAUGHT...
Question is what are YOU going to do about our School District of Pickens County thumbing their nose at the law?
Next School Board Meeting is Monday, August 22nd at 6 PM...be there!
The meeting will take place at the SDPC Administrative Building located at 1348 Griffin Mill Rd, Easley, SC 29640. THERE IS POWER IN NUMBERS...please come ...students NEED US to be their shield of protection.
In am very shocked that the SDPC has this book on a students reading list. So sad that teachers don't see the harm of CRT in our classrooms! One should not judge people in on the color of their skin!
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