CLASSIFIEDS Awakening

From 6 become more tolerant because you can look back and see all the times you were granted the gift of

Board member’s conduct violated ethics rules

Dear Editor, If you attended the Goochland County School Board meeting on Valentine’s evening, you would have witnessed some rude and disrespectful behavior by some Goochland residents. It is sad that some want to impose their bigotry on others and in so doing, erode equality and equity in our school system. This has been incited and spread by a school board member, Angela Allen. Her actions are in conflict with the board’s code of ethics. Her followers disregard her inappropriate actions, encourage divisiveness and attack equality. Their target is the LBGTQ+ student community (as small as it is) and their use of school restrooms. Fear and ignorance were on full display. Such behavior is political and has nothing to do with education. It is not driven by a desire to continue to improve our fine schools in Goochland but

Youngkin

From 6 reviews of any courses deemed detrimental to students.

He also defended his efforts to disallow the teaching of Critical Race Theory tolerance. And you learn to value and give respect because you’ve been around long enough to have seen that no common ground can be reached without it.

Being judged to have been an idiot, even if that rather to create chaos and foster a climate of exaggeration. Unfortunately, even a small but vocal minority can incite fear and division.

I was a child when Virginia experienced a very dark period – massive resistance -when political forces utilized fear and bigotry to stifle equity and equality in our public schools. Some schools in Virginia were shuttered for two years. It happened in Goochland, too. All students – black and white included –were denied an education. It had nothing to do with education but was an attempt to politically perpetuate inequality. What happened on Valentine’s evening reminds me of a return to that darkness – but with a different targeted group.

During massive resistance my family lived in Europe — so we did not directly experience it. My father was assisting in creating NATO. We were very proud of his involvement in that endeavor. This European experience changed our whole family. Our eyes and hearts were opened to accepting others.

When we returned to the States my parents made a special effort to update me about the cultural and social changes in Virginia judgement comes from your future self, isn’t easy. In the case of a handful of students currently enrolled at Stanford, let’s just hope the message is received sooner rather than later. and throughout the U.S. On a family outing to Natural Bridge, Virginia, ironically what I remember most were the separate bathrooms. There were two sets of bathrooms and two sets of drinking fountains. One had a sign for “Whites” and other set said “Colored.” I was a young boy coming from Europe and I was stunned; I had never seen anything like it. I had to ask for an explanation. I have never forgotten this experience. Americans seem to have a very strange relationship with bathrooms. Europeans are much more tolerant of differences than Americans on most things, including bathroom usage.

This brings us to our LGBTQ+ students and of all things, the use of school bathrooms. And a school board member who dishonors the board’s own code of ethics and attempts to create intolerance in our school system. Let’s commit to a more welcoming, inclusive future for all of our students and not repeat mistakes from the past. Let our fine public schools serve as a bright light for our children and promise to do our part so that light shines for all of our children, equally.

George R. Peterson Goochland

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in Virginia classrooms.

When the complicated question of LGBTQ issues was raised by an audience member, Youngkin again repeated a familiar response that parents should have an active voice in how their kids are educated, and how each and every one of those parents should be heard. He noted the need for more gender neutral bathrooms in schools, his full support of a ban that prohibits gender neutral choice sports opportunities and did not offer any wiggle room regarding his policies.

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