A Familiar Refrain: Yesterday’s Culture Wars
September 01, 2024
Appears in September 2024: School Administrator.
Prominent superintendents in the past century found themselves under surprise fire. What can we draw from the repetition of school history?
It’s never been easy to work as a school superintendent, but it usually is not as life-threatening as it was for superintendent Kenneth Underwood in September 1974. Back then, Underwood didn’t sleep in the same place two nights in a row. He had to move his family temporarily out of town. There were good reasons to be afraid.
In the culture-war clash that gripped his Kanawha County, W.Va., school district, conservative activists had set off dynamite at school district headquarters. Two people had been shot on school picket lines. Classrooms had been firebombed, and buses had been riddled with gunfire. School board members had been physically assaulted during a public meeting, and Underwood’s phone rang with incessant, plausible death threats.
Underwood, who over his career would work as a superintendent in four states, had approved a series of English language arts textbooks in Kanawha County, addressing multicultural themes for the first time that some parents called pornographic and un-American, as uncovered in the research for my 2015 book, The Other School Reformers. In November 1974, he and four members of the school board were charged in court with contributing to the delinquency of children, charges later dropped.
Underwood was not the only superintendent bruised and shaken by the brutal school wars during the 20th century. In 1950, Willard Goslin, superintendent in Pasadena, Calif., reeled from outlandish charges of treason and child-grooming after promoting a “progressive” agenda that included his support of racial understanding, child guidance and mental health support.
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Prepping for the Recurrent Culture-War Conflicts
Thirty years ago, many school districts had no policies and procedures in place in case of a school shooting. Today that would be unthinkable. So why are districts often caught unaware by another type of crisis? Wishing it won’t happen won’t keep schools and students safe.
As we’ve seen in recent years, public schools and school board meetings suddenly can become flash points for vicious, even violent culture-war conflicts. Though the specifics of each conflict differ, these battles have been a periodic feature of American public education. It is important to learn those patterns to prepare for similar outbreaks.
When district leaders are confronted with culture-war challenges to curriculum or pedagogy, they should respond by touting an existing “sunshine policy.” Four aspects of the policy are these.
Hear all the voices. Though the angriest voices tend to be the loudest, most community members support more measured policies. Keep in mind that after the first flash of controversy, most community members will recognize the value of existing procedures.
Focus on quality. When protest groups target specific teachers, textbooks or classroom methods, emphasize the ways those practices or personnel are the best for the students. In culture-war conflicts, even the angriest ones, all sides tend to agree that school quality is a vital shared interest.
Rebut and refocus. False charges, even wild ones about “grooming” and treason, are a predictable and dangerous part of school culture wars. Don’t ignore the charges, but don’t let them take over either. Repeat as often as necessary that the claims are simply false and refocus the conversations on the need for high-quality education.
Emphasize inclusive procedures. Protesters usually feel frozen out of school decisions, but in fact districts always have tried to include as many voices as possible. Remind the community how decisions about textbooks and pedagogy are made. Remind people how they can be heard without attacking the entire system.
— Adam Laats
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