School District Bans Talking About Ferguson

Google
Maps tells me that Edwardsville, Illinois, is just a 33-minute
drive from Ferguson, Missouri. It seems natural that Edwardsville
students might want to talk about the events drawing national
attention so close to their own homes—but they best not do it at
school. As of Wednesday, talking about the Michael Brown shooting
and surrounding events is prohibited in Edwardsville
classrooms. 

Superintendant Ed Hightower
told CBS St. Louis that normally he encourages open
discussion, but there are just too many “facts that are unknown” in
this case. So Edwardsville middle- and high-school teachers were
instructed this week not to broach the subject themselves
and “change the subject and refocus” if students brought it
up. 

On Thursday, a memo went out to parents explaining the
superintendent’s decision. Via the Edwardsville
School District 7 Parents Facebook page: 

Subject: Discussion of the Ferguson/Florissant Incident

On Friday, August 15, 2014, and Monday, August 18, 2014, Dennis
Cramsey, EHS Principal, and I were inundated with calls from
parents complaining that some EHS teachers were biased and
injecting their own opinion regarding the shooting of Michael
Brown, an 18 year-old African American student, by a Caucasian
police officer in the Ferguson/Florissant community. The general
consensus of parents who called was that if the administration did
not get a handle on this situation, there might be violence among
students occurring at EHS.

As Superintendent, I will take full responsibility for not
preparing administrators and staff members how to deal with this
volatile situation. As a result, on Monday afternoon, the decision
was made to cease discussion of the event because of the tension,
emotion, and anger surrounding the Ferguson/Florissant events.

It was not our intent to ignore the educational relevance of
these events. However, we felt it was important to take the time to
calm a potential situation at the high school and to prepare
administrators and teachers to approach this critical issue in an
objective, fact-based manner. Everyone has an opinion – the sharing
of which can be polarizing. Far too many facts remain unknown, and
without these facts, none of us is in the best position to moderate
between opposing views.

The memo continues by noting that the district is developing “a
framework” for teachers to follow when discussing the issue that
will ensure “a safe and orderly environment” is maintained. As soon
as this framework is completed—which the district expects to happen
sometime during the week of August 25—Edwardsville school district
will return to “its commitment toward diversity, positive race
relationships, due process, and social justice,” it assures
parents. 

Some parents on Facebook were supportive of the Superintendent’s
decision. “As a parent, I am already having these conversations
with my child at home where I feel they should be discussed,” wrote
Nick Pieri. “I am not sure I feel comfortable with teachers, or a
politician for that matter, speaking with my child about this topic
without knowing ahead of time what will be discussed.”

But others were dismayed by what they saw as an overreaction by
the school district. Some suggested that the superintendent could
have simply instructed teachers to cool it on the personal
opinions, rather than shut down conversation entirely. “While I
respect that individual teachers’ opinions should not be part of
the classroom discourse about any topic,” wrote Mandi Cygne, who
has three children in Edwardsville schools, “I feel that by
effectively censoring current events out of our schools, you are
doing a grave mis-service to our student population in District 7,
including my own children.” 

“As a District 7 parent, I expect the professionals who teach my
son to make good use of opportunities to engage students in
critical thinking, particularly when the subject matter is an
urgent and timely one,” wrote Steve Moiles. “I also expect that
District 7 administrators will not prohibit faculty from engaging
in meaningful discussions of significant current events when
students offer their own observations or ask questions.” 

I called the Edwardsville School District Friday morning for
confirmation and commentary; alas, only the superintendent himself
can say anything, I’m told, and he’s apparently in meetings “all
day.”