Letter To The Editor: school names

Author’s note: On Monday, May 13, 2024, this letter was sent to the editors of the Washington Post. On Thursday, May 16, I was notified by an editor that the letter was under consideration for publication. I had to answer a few questions, and then review an edited copy of the letter. On Friday, May 17, I received a final draft of the letter to review and approve. That final draft was published in the Saturday, May 18 edition of the Washington Post. The final edited version appears after the original letter I sent.

As a retired Virginia public schools’ educator, I was disappointed to read that the school board for Shenandoah County Public Schools has voted to reinstate Confederates’ names to two of its schools.

This is another example of how the fear of losing touch with the past pushed this school board to reverse a logical decision made by a previous Shenandoah County school board in 2020.

But of course, fear can prevent a school board from thinking logically. Only one member of the school board, Kyle Gutshall, thought logically and voted against reinstating the Confederates’ names.

I wonder how many of the conservative influencers in the county who orchestrated this change actually have students in the school system?

The school board stated the cost to install new signage will be covered by private donations. Will these same private donors step forward when the school system has a budget crisis with a dead HVAC system in a school?

School systems in Virginia are struggling to find and retain skilled teachers. After this decision, why would any prospective teacher consider applying to Shenandoah County Public Schools?

I’m sure the teachers in the Shenandoah system are deeply appreciative of the extra level of pressure that has been placed upon them with this regressive decision.

Since this school board is so intent to preserve the past, perhaps they would benefit from a group reading of Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth Of Other Suns. Yet, I’m uncertain the harsh truths documented in this book could even jolt their insensitive stubbornness.

I appreciate this quote from American writer, E. B. White: ‘The only sense that is common in the long run, is the sense of change and we all instinctively avoid it.”

Public school systems that instinctively avoid needed changes will continue to find difficult challenges in the future.

One of the most difficult of those challenges will be dealing with the morale of every student, parent, and teacher who put their trust in the school board to make a reasonable decision for the good of all, not just those who fear losing the past.

The edited letter as it appeared in the Washington Post on May 18, 2024.

As a retired Virginia public schools educator, I was disappointed to read that the school board for Shenandoah County has voted to reinstate Confederate names to two of its schools. The decision itself is foolish, reversing a logical decision made by a previous school board. And it made me wonder how many of the conservative influencers in the county who orchestrated this change actually have students in the school system?

The school board stated the cost to install new signage bearing the schools’ reinstated names will be covered by private donations. Will these same private donors step forward when the school system has a budget crisis, or a dead HVAC system in a school leaves students learning in freezing or sweltering conditions?

School systems in Virginia are struggling to find and retain skilled teachers. After this decision, why would any prospective teacher consider applying to Shenandoah County Public Schools if this is what the school board prioritizes? And how must teachers in the Shenandoah system feel about the extra level of pressure that has been placed upon them with this regressive decision?

E. B. White once wrote: ‘The only sense that is common in the long run, is the sense of change and we all instinctively avoid it.” Public school systems that instinctively avoid needed changes will continue to find difficult challenges in the future.

Among the challenges the Shenandoah County School Board has created for itself is how to earn back the trust of every student, parent and teacher who looks to the school board to make reasonable decisions for the good of all, not just those who fear losing one version of the past.

William Avery Pike, Jr., Richmond