An Opportunity Lost in the Manner White Privilege Lesson was Pulled from Somers High School

I don't live under a rock. So I definitely caught wind of the white privilege lesson that was being taught at the high school in Somers, and despite having no kids of my own, I still reserve the right to weigh in on. After all, the controversy affects me too. Even so, the people have spoken up, the school board listened to the issue at hand and a change has been made. But in victory, the students in question have lost an important opportunity.

Probably short on the facts, I still have the most important one at my disposal. The lesson was pulled. That said, I must admit I am a lot less concerned with the subject matter. I also believe that whatever differences in opinion we have, the chasms between us aren't as wide as the competing political forces would have us believe.

Nonetheless, the kids who raised concerns did exactly what they were supposed to do. They stopped and brought their distress home.

That's a testament to good parenting, but they aren't so far off from leaving the nest. In other words, I believe a better course of action would have let them flap their wings like adults, and left the issue in their hands to solve.

Now, that doesn't mean patting them on their heads and sending them off to meekly raise their hands in class. Taking on an authority figure - whether you're an adult or a child - is not an easy task. So really stepping in as parents would have meant empowering your children to face the teacher with their dissent.

An informed dive into the material and you could have helped them build a coherent case to counter the teacher's initiative. Their confidence elevated, the words of protest would come so much easier when it counted.

Of course, the order is still pretty tall and doesn’t necessarily mean they would have the courage to summon their will and their voice. However, there is something called strength in numbers. It's a lot easier if a group of students had their thoughts organized and made a stand together. On the other hand, there might not be a lone hero who could speak on the movement's behalf. So there is always the written word to fall back on

A series of signatures could have started a meaningful conversation, and a good teacher would enthusiastically welcome the chance to engage with his or her kids as adults. Of course, if that's not the case, now you have a matter for the school board, and again, the students could have led the charge and altered the course of the curriculum.

I know, who has got time for all this? So parents still could have raised their concern at the school board but not removed the kids from the decision making process. A good old fashioned debate could have been put in motion, and students could have lined up according to their positions.

After all, this ain't math. There is no right answer, and there's no one answer to the societal questions we pursue in order to navigate this life. Each side could learn from the other, and I can’t help wondering if that was the original intent of the teacher anyway. Either way, the teens could have been a correcting model for all the bad behavior we see from adults on cable news, talk radio and social media.

But we live and we learn because this is not the last time we are going to be here in disagreement. I just hope the next opportunity is not squandered away.

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