An open letter to Iowa public schools

To the staff, administrators, and students of Iowa public schools,

Words have been elusive this week. I thought about writing about those who seek to harm you and the policies they are weaponizing to do so. Listening to Lauryn Hill I thought about titling this “The Miseducation of Iowa Youth” and describing all the lessons that they would have disappear from your curriculum.

But I was temporarily paralyzed by everything happening in the world around you. Many of these things are happening not just around you, but to you. I thought instead about the joy and pain that reverberate in your hallways and classrooms and realized that sometimes love is the strongest power. So instead, I decided to write a love letter to you.

I saw a post yesterday about a man who gives money away to strangers at a restaurant. He was inspired by his dying mother’s note to him to “Love Everybody.” And this is what you do. Everyone is welcome in your halls. There are no entrance exams, exclusion criteria, or exorbitant fees to gain access. Many times when someone does leave for “greener pastures” they come back, sometimes because they realize the intangible benefits you provide and other times they are “invited” to do. These invitations come from the institutions who can’t or won’t put in the work for those with bonus needs.

You have shown tremendous courage in standing up for those who continue to be othered. You have found ways to protect those who are being attacked, outed, and banned. You have found ways to teach the truth, to honor the vast contributions and complex history of all of our children. You have done this despite gaps in traditional textbooks and current rules that seek to protect those who have doled their dirty pain out on others and enable their paranoia to impede progress.

You may be asking what you have done to deserve the animosity, and you may still be struggling to find footing with rugs constantly being pulled from beneath you. Know that you are not responsible for their ignorance and you don’t deserve being set up to fail. And that you won’t fail, no matter what is thrown at you.

You are not perfect — no one is. But you recognize you have room to grow and are committed to do so. And administrators are trying to remove outdated systemic barriers that have prevented you from having staff that reflect the different backgrounds and experiences that compose your student body. This will promote not only the growth of the students, but of your peers who need this diversity for their own personal and professional development. And to overcome their biases that have harmed some students.

Money is tight. In some instances, it has become unnecessarily and unfairly so. You have depended on creative methods to balance budgets, and in many, many instances have had to make tough decisions. We hope the community can help fill some gaps while we await elections to choose more appropriate public servants who will use data to drive decisions instead of letting national fringe political groups take the wheel.

The fear of mass violence became a painful and dreadful reality this year. The drills that take away from lesson time did mitigate some loss of lives, but they were not enough to completely avoid tragedy. We feel your frustration over lack of prevention measures and surprise about proposed policies that may exacerbate the situation. Keep hope until common sense kicks back in. We will keep pushing for policy and action in addition to thoughts and prayers.

You are the only institutions truly preparing our future to function in local and global societies. Your students are exposed to cultures, languages, and ideas that prepare them to challenge perceived limitations and expand frontiers of technology and understanding. They will solve the problems our generations have caused or contributed to. They will do so primarily because their exposure to different perspectives allows them to see things differently. Although private institutions do not have increased curriculum censorship as you do, you are finding innovative ways to help children find the truth.

As a friend said recently, “teachers in public schools are built different.” The paychecks do not reflect the labor and love that goes into showing up in resource constrained environments and in some places where they don’t have benefit from family involvement and support. Families in some districts have more social needs and barriers than others, and current funding does not fully account for these disparities. Teachers depend on donations and dig deep into their own pockets. Many stay late to support students and families, or to staff school functions. They show up to cheer on sports teams and attend extracurricular events.

Some of the people I admire the most, and friends I hold closest to my heart emerged from your doors in rented graduation caps and gowns. And we have hope that those who continue to emerge from your institutions will put us back on a path of public-school excellence and legislator support that mirrors that of the public.

Stay strong. We see you.

Chris Espersen is a Gazette editorial fellow. chris.espersen@thegazette.com