Rivals differ on the lessons
Candidates discuss views about race and sex ed issues
When it comes to issues of discussing race, sexual education and books in schools, Lockport Township High School District 205 Board candidates differ on how race and sexual education should be approached, and while they generally agree books should not be banned they shared varying views on what’s appropriate.
Sandra Chimon Rogers, who grew up in an immigrant family, said race should be discussed in school “in the right places, in the right courses.” For example, an English or history class is a good place to talk about the socioeconomic challenges some races face.
With feedback from parents, teachers and board members, Chimon Rogers said it is possible for diversity, equity and inclusion to be taught in some classes.
“Throwing everything in, into every single course, doesn’t work,” Chimon Rogers said. “But it is important that students do understand we’re not the only people here. Their kind is not the only kind that exists. It’s not just men, it’s not just women. There’s others. Other options, other individuals that do exist.”
Nicholas Paris, who works in logistics management and graduated from Lockport Township High School in 2013, said when he was a student, there weren’t concerns with how race was taught in the classroom. The district is becoming more diverse, Paris said, and the administration has done a good job adjusting.
“Things might come up of that nature, and we just have to address them as they are, but I feel like our school did a good job teaching everyone the right way to deal with life in that manner,” Paris said.
Chimon Rogers and Paris are among eight candidates running for three seats on the District 205 Board.
We The Parents Illinois backs Chimon Rogers, Martin Boersma and Michael Clausen for the District 205 Board. The organization’s website states it stands for fiscal responsibly, restoring high academic standards, providing safe learning environments and protecting the classroom from woke and political ideology.
The other candidates are incumbents Michael Lewandowski and
Veronica Tylka-Shaw, and Sheri Boniecki-Cooling and Lance Thies. Thies declined to be interviewed because the interview included questions about race, sex education and book banning.
Race discussions
As a board member, TylkaShaw said her job is not to make curriculum decisions but to work with the superintendent to make sure the curriculum “is heading in a forward direction.”
Children don’t see race and play with whoever wants to play with them, Clausen said. Academia is forcing students to see race, he said, and that is inappropriate.
Clausen, who has a child who graduated from the district and one who will attend next year, said education has to return to teaching math, science, English, history and physical education. When teaching history, Clausen said students should learn about slavery or Native American history without racial guilt.
“It’s a moment in time that happened, and we have to study why that happened so it doesn’t repeat itself. It shouldn’t be removed or not talked about,” Clausen said. “But making up these make-believe ideas that we all don’t like each other because of where we came from, that’s not true.”
Boersma said he doesn’t know much about critical race theory, an academic concept that race is a social construct and that racism is embedded in laws and policies, but he believes history should be taught without “holding a grudge.”
“If it’s creating division in the schools, there shouldn’t be division. We need to be united,” Boersma said.
Boniecki-Cooling said critical race theory is not taught in elementary school or high school. Inclusivity is important, she said, and prepares students for life after high school.
Lewandowski, who has been on the board since 1999, said lessons on diversity, equity and inclusion “is unnecessary and a waste of an educator’s time.”
“It’s not part of education. It’s part of social grooming,” Lewandowski said.
Sex education
Paris said sex education should focus on how students should stay safe and “not getting into certain specifics one way or the other.”
Lewandowski said he does not accept state standards for sex education “because they are perverted.”
“It’s way over the top. It’s pornographic,” Lewandowski said.
Tylka-Shaw, who has two sons who will one day attend District 205, said she’d work with the superintendent to address any concerns parents may have about the way sex education is taught.
“Making sure that they’re fully aware of just exactly what’s going on in the legislature right now so that they can make informed decisions on who they should be contacting when it comes to their student’s rights and what they would like,” Tylka-Shaw said. “A lot of what we have to put forward in school districts comes from the legislature.”
Boersma said he’d like to know if sex education is “pushing what students should be.” If that’s the case, he said the district would be overstepping its bounds, he said.
The district can teach students that some individuals are gay or transgender, Boersma said.
“As far as guiding students, that’s what they’re going to have to figure out on their own,” Boersma said.
Boniecki-Cooling, who moved to Lockport so her children can attend the district, said there are laws on how sex education has to be taught in Illinois, so if parents have concerns about sex education they should direct them to the legislature.
“There’s no inappropriate sex education happening here. It’s just not,” Boniecki-Cooling said.
Clausen said who students are sexually attracted to isn’t anyone’s business and shouldn’t be taught at school. Sex education should focus on the biology of procreation removed of political ideology, he said.
“That’s inappropriate. You could use the alphabet category on any one of those letters, it’s none of my business. It’s literally none of my business what someone is doing with their sexual life. It is in our face nonstop, it’s in the kids’ faces at the high school level, and it shouldn’t be,” Clausen said.
As high schoolers, students have the means to search online for anything they want to know, Chimon Rogers said. For sex education, Chimon Rogers said she does not have a problem with what is being taught as long as there is parental consent.
As sex education curriculum is developed, Chimon Rogers said teachers could meet with parents to keep parents informed and to avoid surprises.
“There are some people that are very religious and it’s against their culture, it’s against their beliefs. I respect everybody with everybody’s background,” Chimon Rogers said. “Everything has to be taught at the right age.”
Book availability
Clausen said he supports rating books based on what is age appropriate for certain students, similar to how video games and movies are rated.
“I don’t know what that is or how that works, but at least at the local level we have to protect the children and have age appropriate sections for certain content,” Clausen said. “That doesn’t mean removing the book, it just means protecting the child.”
Paris said if parents brought forth an issue about a book, he said he’d be open to having some type of parental consent for students under 18 to check out that book.
“If parents feel like there’s some books that shouldn’t be on the shelves, we can still have them available, but maybe put them in a parental signature check off area, where your parent can sign off on you having that information,” Paris said.
Boersma said books should be in age appropriate sections, and said he has issues with books that contain “lies about history” or “inappropriate pictures.”
TylkaShaw said parents have not requested books be removed. Shaw said the district is transparent about books by listing library books on the online catalog.
Lewandowski said the district has had a few requests to reconsider classic books “that have words in there that are no longer politically correct.”
Superintendent Robert McBride said in an email that administrators and department chairs have received questions about books or texts taught in English, social studies and health. But in the last four years, no one has requested to remove a book from the curriculum, McBride said.
Chimon Rogers said as the academic dean at National University of Health Sciences she believes any all books should be available to students, but be age appropriate.
“I don’t think banning anything is going to help anybody because, even if nobody takes it out, what if there is that one person that needs that book and you’re keeping it away from them and they’re not going to be able to identify or be able to have conversations or have those thoughts freely and openly without being judged?” Chimon Rogers said.
Boniecki-Cooling also said books should be age appropriate. Boniecki-Cooling said the district is transparent about what books are available and there isn’t a secret agenda.
“No one is forcing anybody to do anything and to say otherwise is a scare tactic,” Boniecki-Cooling said.
We The People
When the organization says it is protecting the classroom from woke and political ideology, member Jay Roti said it means social issues that are brought into the school, such as talking about sexual preferences or sexual identity.
“There really isn’t a place for that in the educational system,” Roti said. “We’ve got to get to focusing on the core subjects,” Roti said.
Roti said the organization isn’t a Republican, Democratic or Libertarian organization, though he said its mission aligns more with conservative views.
“I get it that people believe that it’s a conservative base, but it’s just common sense,” Roti said.
On the group’s website, a part of Clausen’s platform states he will protect “our children from politics and political ideologies.” Clausen said that means addressing how students are taught about race, sexual education and access to age appropriate books.
While some might argue lessons on race, sex education and access to certain books create empathetic students, Clausen questioned to what would the students be empathetic toward and said those lessons boil down to opinion. Students in high school are minor children, Clausen said, and “we need to be careful how we present that to minor children.”
Clausen said if the legislature passes laws about curriculum, there isn’t much the board can do. But, if the law offers an opportunity for board action on implementation, Clausen said he will vote no “if it doesn’t fit the category of academics and protecting our taxes.”