Monday evening, what should have been a easy discussion about the kids at Spring Hill Elementary, Green Elementary and Sarah Moore Greene Elementary getting approval for a Summer Reading Camp that they have had for years got off the track.
Halls School Board Member Steve Triplett brought up the East TN Freedom Schools having a connection to Children’s Defense Fund. Triplett mentioned a blog post and a couple books. I guess blogs have a greater impact than i realized after an 18 + years with this blog, i should credit myself more.
Then Farragut area School Board Member Susan Horn mentioned The 1619 Project, which then prompted Dr. John Butler the board member for East Knoxville to deliver the most articulate, reasoned response to the modern day book ban/burn that is going on in the ultra partisan rhetoric culture war that our country has fallen into. Watch Horn and Butler, here.
As a former Knox County School Board Member, former Vice Chair of the Board and former East District Board of Director of the TN School Boards Association the gift of of life long learning is being able to consume age appropriate material of all views and make your own educated decision.
I do not expect, desire or want someone to agree with me or agree with this blog 100% of the time because over time, my thoughts and opinions have changed. The purpose and positions on this blog are to give you insight, history and thoughts you do not get from any other media, not to make you blindly follow some script.
So, if the School Board does not approve the East TN Freedom Schools then who will provide reading camps to three of East Knoxville elementary schools? Three elementary schools that are on Tennessee’s targeted list. i am sorry to say it, write it but the reality is the opposers of Children’s Defense Fund and opposers of certain books are not beating down the doors of East Knoxville schools to help the least of these or any of these for that matter.
East TN Freedom Schools have been doing the work, there is NO reason to stop them now.
