redraiderhighlights SPORTS

Photos provided by Jimmy Doles

Jimmy taking close up pictures of the varsity boys basketball team.

dad.

Film has always been important to Jimmy’s family. His dad, Jeff Doles, is the teacher of the TV Production Class at Barrington High School.

“When I have days off, I’ll go to his high school and I work with the students [there] to get better at what I do,” Jimmy said.

Jimmy’s dad, Jeff Doles, started videography and photography because of his mom. His mom’s use of art to express her creativity inspired him to get into film and take classes at his high school.

“I took a photography class back in the ‘90s when I was a student at Palatine High School with a great teacher named Craig Anderson,” Jeff Doles said.

Jeff used his photography and videography skills from over the years to teach Jimmy but also Jimmy’s sister, Bella Doles. Bella has taken footage of the football team since her freshman year. She has since graduated S. Laput from high school after her junior year.

“I worked with the football coaches so I would send all my footage [taken from the game] to them. So, if they wanted to, they could look it over and rundown plays,” Bella said.

Bella used to be in HHS TV Production as well. She was in the class for her entire high school career and she was on the board for her last two years of the program.

“It’s nice because my brother took over my position. I was the original Sports Content Creator so now my brother does that. It kind of just goes down the family name,” Bella said.

Bella’s main focus in high school was not the account, but she was still involved in sports media. Jimmy ultimately started the account with his own creativity coming to life.

More recently, Jimmy has started to post more individual pictures of players with edited backgrounds of the final score or teasers for upcoming games.

He is currently going to girls and boys basketball games, but, previously, he has been known for his football highlight reels. The account’s recent main focus has been football and basketball videos, but Jimmy is hoping to expand.

In fact, his most recent shoot was for the girls and boys basketball teams. He did individual and group photos for the varsity basketball teams in a more creative background than just the average basketball court with fluorescent lights.

Jimmy plans to do lacrosse and baseball as the spring approaches. He is not sure where he wants the account to go in the future, he just knows that he wants to keep on filming and posting.

“I am impressed by the time and effort Jimmy dedicates to the @redraiderhighlights account,” Jeff Doles said. “I think he loves using photos and videos to showcase all of the incredible athletes’ accomplishments and he really enjoys being a part of the athletic community [here] at HHS.”

On the first Thursday of each month, the District 158 Board of Education holds their monthly With regard to topics of race (“White Fragility” training and Critical Race Theory), we question: Are the topics being focused on regular board meetings. really having any impact on If you choose to attend, student learning, and do you can hear the board students find these same engage in numerous dis- concerns harmful to their cussions on finances, en- education? rollment status, social and At an elementary level, stuemotional learning, etc. dents obviously do not have

Before that, however, the ability to choose the the first part of the board topics they are taught, how meeting is always dedicat- they process the information ed to public comments; they hear, or to advocate for people from the commu- their own education. We unnity come to the meetings derstand why the parents of to express their concerns a child might have concerns to the board. about their learning.

This year, hours of that But at a high school with young public comment time has been adults, students are comfortable taken up by the District 158 Par- talking about the issues of race, ent Union, a group of parents who and want to be informed. typically can be seen wearing black “I do not feel uncomfortable t-shirts with white lettering on the talking about race or white priviback reading “We the Parents.” lege,” senior Calvin Reckamp said.

The Parent Union spends hours “Hearing every side to each issue is at the monthly board meetings, de- extremely important.” vote time to building their website In July of 2021, a book training District158ParentUnion.org, and on “White Fragility” was completed meeting every third Wednesday of by district administrators. The book the month at the American Legion presents the idea of defensiveness in Huntley Square to discuss issues on the part of white people when they have noticed within the com- they are confronted by information munity. about racial inequality and injus-

Their website states the follow- tice. ing: “Parents around the nation are And though controversial, the concerned about biases in edu- book merely provided a startcation, teaching of controversial ing point for discussions on race methodologies related to race and among administrators. ethics, and not just teaching, but “Equity conversations or convercelebrating and encouraging, alter- sations about race [are] extremely nate lifestyles.” delicate, and you’re not always

On their website, they list many good at it,’’ said Scott Rowe, superof their concerns, including (1) intendent of District 158. “White Fragility” D158 adminis- “What [the training] did was tration training in July 2021; (2) provide us opportunities to just talk Critical Race Theory concepts be- about some of our vulnerabilities, ing taught in our schools; and (3) some of our instances where we District 158’s COVID-19 response, may have landed in a negative light quarantine, and SHIELD testing. with a person of color and not know

In addition, the Parent Union we did it.” has expressed concern about the “It made me start thinking about district’s approach to gender inclu- how I present myself, present ideas, sivity. and just conduct myself. It opened

As a student publication, we my mind.” admire the Parent Union’s use of Parents of the union complained freedom of speech, their dedica- that the training was biased and tion, and the concern they have political, as well as costly. regarding their students’ educa- “Our group is very diverse. We tion. We know you want the best don’t want that kind of division. We for your kids, and we appreciate believe, very firmly, that you should your efforts; however, we have not treat people differently or talk some thoughts and suggestions to people differently because of the that we think will achieve more for color of their skin,” said Jill Cataldo, the students of the district. spokesperson for the D158 Parent Union and writer for the website.

Some of the statements from parents, whether said verbally at a board meeting or posted on the site, have offended students, Concerns over Parent Union priorities Are they devoting their time to the wrong issues? however. Some students of color wonder why such a large group of parents in a predominantly white community believe that teaching the administration about ways to further educate about race is controversial. Many students believe that the training was necessary and could greatly benefit white administrators. “I think that it does not matter what their opinion is, because [the majority are] white; they don’t know what it’s like to be Black in America, which means they should not have a say in how it’s being taught in [our] schools,” said junior Alex Johnson, a student of color. “I think that being taught Black issues in school can only help, and I don’t see why anyone would see a problem.” White students also expressed concern over these public parent statements. “The union’s concerns over white fragility and the Critical Race Theory emphasize the denial that these parents are in. They feel targeted by the Critical Race Theory because they don’t want to be viewed as the oppressor,” senior Olivia Al Shayeb said. “In reality, the CRT solely wishes to address the issues with the system being built on foundations that promote racism. The parents see it as an attack on them personally for being racist, which is not the point.”

In addition, the Parent Union seems to be confused about the definition of Critical Race Theory.

According to the Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Critical Race Theory “is an academic and legal framework that denotes that systematic racism is a part of an American society. [It] recognizes that racism is more than the result of individual bias and prejudice. It is embedded in laws, policies, and institutions that uphold and reproduce racial inequalities.”

Dana Wiley, member of the D158 Parent Union, interprets the definition differently.

“Critical Race Theory is the teaching that you know there are certain races that are better or worse than others,” Wiley said. “I’d like to understand better what the district wants to get out of those teachings.”

Students feel that these concerns are politically motivated. According to Cataldo, the Union consists of a diverse political group and does not focus on politics.

“We want neutrality. We have people in our group of both political persuasions, we have people that are very neutral politically, we don’t [like] politics aside from explaining what different parties believe in different things,” Cataldo said. “There’s some other things curriculum wise [that] turn heads. My freshman brought his geography book home. He flipped over [a page, and was like,] ‘Mom, look at this.’ It was a huge spread. And it’s all [about] Black Lives Matter and how wonderful that is, and again, it’s very political.”

One could argue that there is no way to avoid politics when teaching history. In a class like AP Human Geography, not only is the curriculum curated by College Board, but students would be disadvantaged to ignore the Black Lives Matter movement in a unit focused on the effects of ethnic relations. It is no different than watching a documentary on the ethnic conflicts and civil war in former Yugoslavia.

Members of the Parent Union have also expressed concern about the use of gender pronouns in school.

“We understand there’s a variety of genders out now that we didn’t have viscerally taught to us when we were younger,” Cataldo said. “I know a lot of us don’t think that really needs to be in school at all.”

We disagree. Students at the high school encourage their teachers to address pronoun usage and ask their students what they would prefer to be called. It is widely agreed that addressing the use of pronouns has created a more comfortable environment for students, especially those who are in the process of transitioning, have transitioned, or are suffering from gender dysphoria. This initiative is only helping the students who want to confirm their gender identity to others through pronoun usage, and in no way should negatively impact the learning or environment of a cis-gendered male or female.

As far as the district’s COVID-19 response, the Parent Union has not understood one simple thing: the district is simply following guidelines from the local health department and the Governor’s mask mandate.

“We’ve consistently heard from them about not wanting [the children] masked, we’ve heard [them disagree about] quarantining students that are not positive and the impact that’s having on them,” Rowe said.

“The school board meeting is a public meeting. Public comment is required by law to be a part of every one of those meetings, and it’s their avenue to share their concerns with their elected officials,” Rowe said. “Some of [the concerns] are completely out of our control. I think that’s contributed to a lot of frustrations - they feel like we can make [some of these changes]. We just can’t if the local health department is passing down information from the Illinois State Department of Health. It’s a requirement if the governor issues the mandate.”

The student body is fortunate to have a group of dedicated parents who are constantly advocating for them. We respect the time that they have spent discussing issues they have noticed within the community.

But we believe, however, that a more positive environment can be created by the Parent Union if their priorities were shifted.

Here are some issues that we think are more worth their time and energy: • Lack of respect in student body • Free lunch portions • Physical altercations • Lack of staff and other shortages • Wi-Fi security • Mental health stigma

These issues are far more pressing for high school students than fears about race and gender, or COVID-19 policies that are out of the board and superintendent’s control.

Focusing on these issues could indeed make District 158 a better place.

S Gebka

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photo courtesy of Sydney Laput design by Jake Habel interviewed by Lindsay Hunter

American Diversity Current Issues Sociology

What is your favorite documentary?

“I am.” It has this beauty of intelligent discussion and thought about the world around us, our place in it, and our general purpose. What holds the most importance to you?

In my teaching career, the most important thing to me is what my students take away from my classes. Don’t get me wrong, I love when students say they like my class because they love me, but I designed American Diversity for kids to take away valuable lessons that can help them in life. I want kids to see the value in what I am teaching them in my classes. Who is your biggest inspiration?

My dad. He passed away 10 years ago, and we became very close as I got older. He was an amazing story teller. He was so committed to his kids and his family. My sister and I never doubted that he loved us. To this day my dad’s friends reach out to me to tell me they think about him every day. What a legacy.