Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post has a blog called The Answer Sheet, which regularly provides the opportunity to see educational issues through the eyes of those whose views are NOT part of the “reform” consensus so strongly supported by the paper’s editorial board. I have been one of those voices, and one piece of mine that she cross-posted went very much viral, so I know she has reach.
Yesterday she posted something very important: it is titled Teaching through tears in Tulsa after a student’s dad is killed by police.
Here is how Valerie introduces the piece:
Some guest posts don’t need much of an introduction. This is from a teacher in Tulsa who wrote movingly about how she and her class have been trying to handle the death of Terence Crutcher, an unarmed black man who was shot by a police officer last week even though a video shows he had his hands up.
The teacher is Rebecca Lee, who works at KIPP Tulsa College Preparatory. She posted the following on Facebook, and she gave me permission to publish it
I am NOT going to quote from MS Lee’s post, because it needs to be read in its entirety.
While it is good that the police officer involved has been charged in the case, that is not enough.
Read what the young students in the school have to say.
Read what MS Lee wrote.
Now also think about the fact that Colin Kaepernick began his non-violent protests BEFORE either Tulsa or Charlotte happened.