Letter From SCSU Faculty Blasts Southington BoE On Diversity Glossary Flap

SOUTHINGTON, CT — While a controversial worksheet addressing diversity issues is under assault by some in the Southington community, the unnamed teacher involved has the support of several faculty members at one state university.

Tuesday, a two-page letter signed by more than 60 faculty members and administrators at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven blasted the Southington Board of Education regarding the controversy.

They accused school board members of playing "partisan politics" as it probes whether a glossary distributed to Southington High School sophomores Sept. 1 went against board-approved curriculum.

'As parents, professors, and teachers of teachers, we write to let you know that we are dismayed by the fact that the board seems to be engaging in partisan politics, restricting the free speech and academic freedom of teachers who are struggling to teach in remarkably complex and difficult times," reads the letter, which was sent to Patch by SCSU Professor of Philosophy Heidi Howkins Lockwood, who is also the graduate coordinator for SCSU's women's and gender studies program.

"What, exactly, is wrong with a worksheet that provides simple straightforward characterizations of concepts such as 'marginalization' and 'white privilege' as a way to help students contextualize literature?"

Terms mentioned in the worksheet included "white privilege," "indigenous peoples," "transgender" people, "institutional racism," gender pronouns, the "Latinx" term and other terms dividing liberals, who contend its about diversity, and conservatives, who call it 'woke' culture.

Southington's school board is comprised of six Republicans and three Democrats.

The worksheet, which was a writing style sheet, addressed those terms' definitions and proper ways students can include those terms in their writing.

The worksheet's genesis is from the University of Arizona and it's called “Vocabulary for Conversations about Race, Gender, Equality and Inclusivity.”

The letter by SCSU faculty and administrators said issues like those raised in the glossary should be addressed, not avoided.

"To ban the concepts is equivalent to the practice of antiquated practices such as banning books like To Kill A Mockingbird in the 1960s," reads the letter to the school board.

"We trust that you are not interested in engaging in censorship. If we are to prepare our students for the future, we can and we must teach them to engage in critical thinking, to participate in tough conversations."

But what was distributed as a writing tool has parents, some school board members and some students up in arms.

They claim it's actually teaching "critical race theory," namely the controversial assertion white people, historically, have oppressed other populations in its history.

Critics of CRT contend this philosophy demonizes white people.

The letter from SCSU faculty comes as a conservative parent group is planning a show of force Thursday in protest of the glossary.

The organization "Families for Freedom" will host a rally at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22, at the Southington Municipal Center, 200 N. Main St., Southington.

That event will precede a regular Southington Board of Education meeting slated for 7 p.m. that same night and location.

It's not known if any decisions will be made on the matter, but school officials are investigating whether the glossary was a breach of curriculum.

Earlier this month, the school board's chairman, Colleen Clark, a Republican, said the teacher could face discipline if its determined the diversity worksheet went against board-approved curriculum.

Lockwood said education students at SCSU notified faculty of the Southington controversy and emailed them a link to Patch stories on the subject.

She said emotionally divisive controversies like this are contributing to a national teacher shortage.

"Our student educators are increasingly hesitant about going into K-12 education, particularly secondary education, given the perception that everything they say may be carefully monitored and policed by politically motivated watchdog groups," Lockwood wrote to Patch.

Read the full SCSU letter here:

Letter to the Southington C... by Ellyn Santiago

>

From Sept. 19: 'Parent Group Plans Southington Protest Over HS Diversity Worksheet'