Editor鈥檚 Note: Last week, Rick Hess invited Julie Gunlock, the director of the Independent Women鈥檚 Forum鈥檚 center for progress and innovation, to guest blog on his Education Week opinion blog, . In the of her three guest opinion posts, Gunlock decried the 鈥淣o Family Separation, Black Lives Matter, Pro Civil Liberties, Climate Change is Real鈥� Zoom background of her son鈥檚 school administrator, characterizing it as an incursion of politics into the public schoolhouse. This post, in particular, provoked strong reader reactions both in the comments section and on social media. The debate on Twitter grew especially charged as Gunlock personally disparaged her critics. Education Week reached out to Christina Torres, a teacher and former Education Week blogger who received some of that derision, inviting her to respond.
Dear Julie,
When I tweeted a on a sunny morning last week, I didn鈥檛 think much about it. While I vehemently disagree with you, nothing you wrote was that original. Many teachers have had to defend why our classrooms engage in for years.
I do think your post did one thing well: It captured the powerful fear of anti-racist, anti-bias, or culturally responsive education that some people have.
I imagine you might tell me that you鈥檙e not afraid. Your actions show otherwise. Discussing feedback about our own ideas is the part of writing that requires the most bravery. Yet, when someone disagreed with you on Twitter, When I questioned you, you said (in ) that I was a 鈥渞acist and a bad teacher.鈥�
You may have wanted to scare me, but unlike you, I鈥檓 not afraid of talking about race. Like many other BIPOC鈥擝lack, Indigenous, and people of color鈥攆olks, I come from a family where we had to discuss it when I was a kid. I come from ancestors who were able to thrive in spite of other people鈥檚 fears and the systemic racism those fears wrought. I don鈥檛 scare easy.
I also live in a world where discussing race is no longer 鈥渁 necessary evil,鈥� as it may have felt when my parents wanted to prepare me for the world. Instead, it has resulted in difficult, beautiful, and rich conversations with some of the best people you鈥檒l ever meet: my 8th grade students. I have with me about politics, and we all survive! We talk about it and we all grow together.
I also live in a world where discussing race is no longer 'a necessary evil,' as it may have felt when my parents wanted to prepare me for the world."
That鈥檚 the thing: Teachers don鈥檛 just teach 鈥渃ontent.鈥� We never have. For generations, we have also taught our students to listen, share, and be empathetic. Teachers don鈥檛 just help students understand themselves and the world around them, we also model how to have constructive discussions with one another.
And because race plays a role in everything from to the to the we read, we can鈥檛 teach students about the world without including race. The idea that in doing so, we鈥檙e pushing what you called 鈥渟ocial-justice crap鈥� in your tweets just isn鈥檛 true.
I can understand your fears, unfounded as they are. You鈥檙e scared schools are trying to supplant families and teach morality. That鈥檚 a discussion you don鈥檛 need to have in a vacuum. It doesn鈥檛 seem like you had teachers to help you face tough topics head-on. It doesn鈥檛 seem like you have space in your life to engage in these essential conversations. I鈥檓 sad you live in a world run by your own fear and the only defenses you have to discomfort are and snarky tweets.
But I don鈥檛 want that empathy to overshadow the real crux of this discussion: your discomfort with a sign that read, 鈥淣o Family Separation. Black Lives Matter. Pro Civil Liberties. Climate Change is Real.鈥� You equated these sentiments to your own 鈥渦niversal truths,鈥� including that 鈥渙wning a gun is [your] constitutional right,鈥� that 鈥減ublic school unions need to be dismantled,鈥� that you 鈥渓ove tax cuts, dogs, red lipstick, and good French bread.鈥�
Here鈥檚 the problem with your false equivalence: Gun control, school choice, and unions are nuanced policy issues with arguments to be made both pro and con.
What exactly is the other side of the position that 鈥淏lack Lives Matter鈥�? That Black lives 鈥� don鈥檛 matter? The statements you oppose aren鈥檛 policy positions. The statements you oppose recognize the humanity of Black people, affirm that families shouldn鈥檛 be forcibly separated, validate that climate change is scientific fact, and remind us that our Constitutional civil liberties are important.
None of those statements should be politically partisan issues; they are merely factual, compassionate understandings of the world around us. (In fact, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel ruled that .)
Yet, you politicized these issues. Why? What right do any of us have to debate the worthiness of the Black community? It is racist against Black people to suggest that a display of 鈥淏lack Lives Matter鈥� is equivalent to a display of your thoughts on union policy or your feelings on bread. Neither you nor I can imagine the pain of having to watch people online debate whether our lives matter.
Here鈥檚 the kicker: You could be part of the solution. You could listen to Black voices and learn. Discussing my curriculum with families has led to awesome moments for all of us鈥攊n my classroom and their homes.
Also, despite your claim that I鈥檓 racist, I have many white friends! I even have a white husband! All joking aside, one of the many things I love about all my friends, regardless of race, is that we鈥檙e not afraid to have meaningful conversations with each other, including about race.
Whether I鈥檓 teaching or writing for places like Education Week, I think a lot about legacy. What will people see when they remember me as a teacher or look at my writing? Right now, when people search your name, they鈥檒l see the words of a woman who was too scared to answer tough questions and who then deleted her personal attacks without apology.
It doesn鈥檛 have to be that way, though. One of the beautiful things I鈥檝e learned as a teacher is that we never stop learning and evolving. There鈥檚 still a chance for you to be brave and join us in having some important discussions about race in our country.
When you鈥檙e ready to have those conversations, I鈥檒l be here, ready to listen.
With aloha,
Christina Torres
