Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1081161
L E T U S K N O W W H A T Y O U T H I N K . We accept signed email and letters; we excerpt user posts from CTA social media platforms and californiaeducator.org. Content subject to editing for clarity and space. Photos must have identifications and permissions. Opinions expressed by writers are not necessarily those of CTA. Editor@cta.org; #WeAreCTA Put an A in STEM I read your article on the all-girls STEM school in LA with interest ("Set Up to Excel," December/January). I think it's a great idea to make sure that girls have an equal chance to succeed in both school and life, and that they are given the tools to do just that. However, I feel that any school that does not include visual and performing arts in its curriculum (STEAM) as an integral part of a child's education is underserving its students. Those schools should not be considered "excellent" because they do not give students a complete education. California educators and especially administrators should seek and obtain the funding to put visual and performing arts curriculum in every school in California. FRED TEMPAS Arcata Elementary Teachers Association (retired) Our unconscious bias I was dismayed to see CTA labeling inherent bias in our curricu- lum as "white supremacy culture" ("Fight the Power," December/ January). This would be akin to labeling a Muslim bias in a cur- riculum as "terrorist culture," which I'm sure CTA would never do. White supremacy is a philosophy that consciously espouses the idea that white people are inherently superior and should be dominant. Inherent bias on the other hand is mostly uncon- scious, does not stem from a belief in white superiority, and is usually perpetuated unintentionally by well-meaning people who have no racist motivations. I completely agree with the goal of exploring, exposing and minimizing inherent bias; however, we cannot win the fight against racism with more racism. Instead, let's promote unity. Let's make sure our curriculum is created, reviewed, and approved by educators from widely diverse backgrounds. Let's actively seek to find and tell the stories of underrepresented groups of people. And let's create a professional atmosphere where educators are safe to explore their own unconscious biases without fear of being indirectly labeled a "white supremacist." VALERIE ARMSTRONG Santa Ana Educators Association Editor's note: CTA's mission, in part, is to secure a more just, equitable and democratic society. CTA's human rights trainings address challenges to that goal such as unconscious and inherent bias, and institutional racism. (As CTA policy adopted by CTA State Council, white supremacy is defined as an institutionally perpetuated system of overt and covert exploitation and oppression of people of color by white people for the purpose of maintaining and defending a system of wealth, power and privilege.) C O R R E C T I O N In our December/Janu- ary issue we ran a photo related to the Rodda Act, the 1975 CTA-spon- sored legislation that gave educators collective bargaining rights ("Union 101," page 72). A reader noted that Assembly Speaker Leo McCarthy, second from left, was not identified in the photo. Also, Sen. Al Rodda represented Sacramento (not Santa Bar- bara, as our story indicated) in the state Senate for over 20 years. 3 F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 019 U P F R O N T #OurVoiceOurUnion #WeAreCTA For our full social media directory, see cta.org/social. facebook.com/wearecta @WeAreCTA youtube.com/californiateachers @WeAreCTA WeAreCTA