Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Education
 
Board
State Board of Education
 
chapter
Regulations Governing Local School Boards and School Divisions [8 VAC 20 ‑ 720]
Action Amendments Regarding Use of Controversial or Sensitive Instructional Materials
Stage NOIRA
Comment Period Ended on 1/15/2014
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1/12/14  6:02 pm
Commenter: Lois Erickson, retired teacher

Please reject this proposal
 

This proposal must be rejected! Teachers are once again put on the chopping block, having to concern themselves with further constricted guidelines instead of spending their time working on quality teaching.  If everything potentially controversial to anyone in society were to be scrutinized, singled out, and eliminated, we would have the world of Fahrenheit 451, where books became so uninteresting that people stopped reading before the books were outright banned.   Moreover, this proposed mandate would hugely increase teachers' workload. We need to give teachers the freedom to encourage their students to explore and learn.  If laws contInue to become more restrictive, the best teachers will opt to turn elsewhere for a career, where they can excel and not be hindered by vague rules that keep them from doing their best to teach our children.

CommentID: 30070