Diversifying Educators, Banning Books, and Early Childhood Education

The U.S. has banned quite a few books in its past, including The Canterbury Tales (because we all know what a handyman means, right), Uncle Tom’s Cabin in the Confederate states, The Grapes of Wrath was banned for a short time in the U.S. and Operation Dark Heart because of the possible classified information that it contained. Retired Col. Anthony Shaffer wrote it during his time in Afghanistan in 2003. The DOD purchased all first-edition copies and destroyed them all. Unsurprisingly, a second edition was published, which was heavily redacted - 250 pages worth of redactions, to be exact. That makes me want to read it more…

Cheers to a good brew ☕

Diversifying the educational landscape

In today’s climate, it is challenging to want to encourage students to go into education. We see it. They see it. Everyone can see the challenges and the political turmoil that has engulfed U.S. education from pre-school into college.

One of the biggest encouragements we can give kids is to have someone in the profession who looks like them. Just as certain professions have been exclusively men, like coding, there is now an interest in girls becoming coders. It is also great to have programs like Girls Who Code, showing young girls they can be just as good as their male counterparts. And let’s not forget that the first computer code was written by a woman, Ada Lovelace.

Also, the coding needed to land the first man on the moon…yup. A woman, too.

If we want to inspire those who are underserved, we need to show kids that there are people just like them.

Two university professors, Brenda Brand and Lezly Taylor, are aiming to close the gap between the percentage of black teachers relative to the number of black students. They have created a partnership between Virginia Teach and an HBCU (Historically Black College or University), Shaw University. The aim is to encourage students who graduate from an HBCU to pursue a degree in teaching at Virginia Tech. In this pilot program, the goal is to identify students in the STEM field. Any teacher and administrator knows this can be a challenging position to fill. The current director of the School of Education stated:

The hope is that graduate students from this partnership will inspire the youth to become teachers.

For more information about this pilot program, you can read how a pilot program aims to draw more Black students to reaching career. 

Burn them all!

The attack on banning books is never-ending. In Oklahoma, the Department of Education provided a directive that two books be removed from Edmond Public Schools. The two books in question are “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini and “The Glass House” by Eve Chase. The former depicts incidences of child sexual abuse, and the latter depicts domestic violence abuse. The focus of these books is more significant than the passages pointed out in the book, and the message of both is more profound than how those who want to ban it are projecting. The Oklahoma State Superintendent stated:

The argument against this order to remove these books is that the district has had a policy in place since 1997; if a parent wants to request a book to be removed from the library, they can go through the process laid out in this policy. Removing any books in the library should be done at the local level, not at the state level.

Walters has attacked other books that have primarily focused on the perspective of the LGBTQ community. In having these books reviewed, Walters’ creation of a new library content rule conflicted with the process because he needed to bring it up with the Legislative Branch. Attorney General Gentner Drummond stated that Walters is going beyond the powers set by statute in his position, invalidating his decision to create the new rules that attempt to moderate books in the Edmond Public School District.

As educators, what are your thoughts on books being banned?

A push toward universal preschool

Governor J.B. Pritzker continues to push and expand his vision of providing universal preschool for three and four-year-olds. The goal is to have this completely in place by 2027. The program has already made an impact, according to the Governor. He cites how it has helped a young child who had speech delays:

Childcare can eat into a family’s income, and depending on where you live and your job, it can represent anywhere from 30% to 50% of a family’s household income.

Governor Pritzker’s $52.7 billion plan includes the following for Early Childhood Education:

• $13 million to start a Department of Early Childhood

• $75 million in additional Early Childhood Block Grant funding

• $200 million into the investment fund for Early Childhood Workforce Compensation Contracts

• $5 million for the home visitation program

• $36.5 million to support the Child Care Assistance Program

• $3.5 million to continue funding Dolly Parton Imagination Library, now in its 2nd year.

There is additional funding for K-12 education as well as higher education. You can dive more into Governor Pritzker’s budget proposal here: Illinois State Budget Fiscal Year 2025. 

Closing Bell