A teacher from the San Ramon Valley Unified School District caused a stir after saying white people have “no culture.” The problem? The teacher said it while teaching kids. This led to a debate about the role of schools in addressing sensitive topics. It also highlights the importance of parental involvement in curriculum development.
The problem became a public affair after a mother found out her daughter was learning about white privilege in a choir class. She did not like a teacher telling children that white people don’t actually have a “distinct” culture.
The mom said: “As a parent of a choir student, having outside instruction regarding white privilege with the choir students was incredibly hurtful and demeaning to many students in the class.” The school district has acknowledged the incident and is actively working towards addressing any bias practices.
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One solution they’re attempting is the creation of a new role for equity. The school is reportedly working with an equity teacher on a special assignment. It claims on its website that it hopes to “interrupt any inequitable practices in school culture and curriculum and eliminate barriers to personal and academic success.”
The incident has pushed parents to demand a comprehensive investigation into the incident. And a request for more parental involvement in the curriculum development process.
The aggrieved parent revealed how frustrated she was by not being able to choose what content her kids are taught. She said, “It is apparent that there are things that are being taught to our children where the district or the school does not provide a necessary opt-in or opt-out form for parents.”
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This particular incident involving her child revolves around a discussion not originally included in the curriculum. A district spokesperson stated that it was a guest teacher who made the mistake and that the discussion “was not an appropriate topic for this class and may have been offensive to some of our students.”
This incident is not an isolated case in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. It has faced controversy over sensitive issues in the past. In a previous incident, tempers flared during a public debate over a resolution regarding the display of a Pride flag in June. It raises questions of whether schools should teach about issues related to sexuality and gender.
Many suggest that such topics need to be handled at a parent’s discretion rather than the school’s. However, the school board passed the resolution unanimously despite the opposition voiced by parents.
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In response to the most recent incident, netizens seem to agree that what the students were learning was not okay. Many took to their respective social media pages to point out that there are many distinct white cultures.
One social media user wrote, “Maybe not as a whole, but there are literally dozens and dozens of different cultures within the white community. French, Irish, German, Polish, English, Danish…… All white, and all have their own distinct cultures.”
A second user echoed the sentiment, “We all came to this country with whatever culture we adopted from our home country. As an Italian, this is insulting to me what this teacher is preaching.”
One netizen who believes the incident stems from a racist point of view said, “Typical California racist.”
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