Shouldn’t High School Students Have a Say on a Topic That Will Affect us?

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To the Editor:

My name is Abby Moore and I am a senior at Guilford High School. As many of you may know, a group calling themselves, “Truth in Education,” (TIE), has been working to overtake many of the seats on the Guilford Public Schools Board of Education. And while adults throughout our town argue contentiously about what should be taught in our schools, Guilford High School students have been left out of the conversation. Shouldn’t we, as high school students and young adults, have a say in a topic that will affect us and other students more than any of the adults arguing? I, and most of my peers, don’t want to be lied to. We want to learn history that is not white-washed. We want to learn in an environment where our BIPOC and LGBTQ+  classmates feel heard and welcome. The people behind the “Truth in Education” campaign want to keep us in the dark about our country’s ugly past. Most students know that it is essential to learn painful history so that we never allow it to repeat. 

The TIE campaign has also claimed that learning about racism in school will make white students feel guilty about being white. Having been a white student in Guilford Public Schools since kindergarten, I have the utmost certainty that no teacher would create an environment where white students would be made to feel guilty about their race. These claims are intended to distract from the real issues of discrimination, microaggressions, and lack of representation faced by BIPOC and LGBTQ+ students in Guilford schools. In order to create an environment at GPS where we are welcoming and accepting to ALL students, we must elect the people who are committed to putting students and quality education before partisan conflict. 

Abby Moore
Guilford, CT