Racism: It Happened in . . .

I sadly read a story of racism in a local community in the Globe today. I read a similar story about prejudice towards an LGBT couple in another local community recently. I've heard students in my own community relay similar stories. We have a presidential candidate who continually crosses the line of dignity when speaking about people. With this in mind, we will do our students well to bring up the issues of racism and respect early on in the school year.

I won't decry one candidate or the other, but I will foster a discussion about human dignity and respect for one another. I'll make sure that we make the time to get to know one another and to discuss what happens when name calling, prejudice, and racism occur. We'll talk about ways that we can prevent that kind of tenor and behavior in our own school community. I'll also foster this conversation in my home with my own family. I'm sure the families that are dealing with the fall-out of the local racist issues wish they had talked about it more with their children before this happened. Education is integral with regard to this matter.