I am writing in response to the full page ad taken out by “Wawick Parents for Common Sense” in your March 5-11, 2021 Warwick Advertiser.
Just to be brutally clear, let there be no mistake: It is my opinion that there was no sense to be found in that full page ad on page 2.
While I am disappointed the paper agreed to print this sense-less advertisement, I am not surprised. I understand that free speech is one of the tenets of our democracy and will choose to respond to the content of the ad.
However, I will ask this: Does the paper verify name, address, day and evening phone numbers for advertisements in the same way these letters to the editor are vetted?
A simple Google search will reveal that Maurice Luftig, the only name associated with this ad, appears to not exist - at least not here in Orange County.
The unknown author(s?) of this ad breaks their own stated rule of Warwick “Be a kind neighbor” ... there is nothing kind about this advertisement which seeks to perpetuate racism in our school’s curriculum.
The author(s?) definition of BLM “a fully defined set of divisive, anti-Western civilization, anti-nuclear family, race-obsessed tenants” are his opinions of a social justice movement - not fact.
I marched in the protest rallies last year as an ally to the Black community because I believe Black Lives Matter.
Anyone trying to discredit the movement is missing the point of it, and is placing themselves in opposition to it without taking the time to truly understand it.
The following is a direct quote from http://www.nysed.gov/curriculum-instruction/culturally-responsive-sustaining-education-framework:
“The CR-S framework helps educators create student-centered learning environments that: affirm racial, linguistic and cultural identities; prepare students for rigor and independent learning, develop students’ abilities to connect across lines of difference; elevate historically marginalized voices; and empower students as agents of social change.”
In the author(s?) concluding paragraph, they state: “Our children should be taught to think critically.”
Does the quote from the CR-S framework not support critical thinking?
The author(s?) also asks the reader to answer the hypothetical question in regards to BLM supporters: “Why - you may have asked - are they not going into the inner-cities to help with real issues, like gang activity and illiteracy?”
I would like to answer: Because we don’t live in the inner-cities, we live here.
Like it or not, we live here, we pay taxes here, our children go to school here and it’s and we have real issues here.
The “common-sense parents” advertisement is all the proof I need to know that the CR-S framework is needed in our community.
Our students deserve a curriculum that is inclusive - how can we ready them for the world at large if we teach them narrowly?
A concerned parent,
Melody Carter
Warwick