Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1463867
U P F R O N T 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 cta.org/educator. Content subject to editing for clarity and space. Photos must have permissions. Opinions expressed by writers are not necessarily those of CTA. Editor@cta.org; #WeAreCTA Making the Grade In the article "Remaking the Grade" (February/March), the assumption that minority students cannot exhibit acceptable behavior or meet deadlines is so condescending. I have been teaching high school for over 60 years. Holding minority students to the same standards as white students is a sign of respect. When needed, one can focus extra atten- tion on minority students to help them improve study skills, behav- ior, and meeting deadlines. When I taught at City Univer- sity of New York's SEEK Program (Search for Education, Enlighten- ment, and Knowledge), students were from minority communities. We taught them what they needed to improve class grades, pass state Regents Exams, and do well on college entrance exams. They were not admitted to college because of the color of their skin, only to fail in college because they were not prepared. Teaching students content to be exhibited when assigned, proper behavior, and the ability to meet deadlines prepares them for life after high school. I respect my minority students too much to assume that they cannot succeed by the standards we have been using for decades. JERRY FREEDMAN Los Angeles County Education Association (retired) A Way to Keep Teachers at School If sometime in the future, teachers were unable to commute to their place of employment due to some fuel shortage or other disaster, teachers would only be able to get to their local schools. I propose a Teacher Emergency Allocation Management System, or TEAMS. TEAMS would be a simple database with teachers' home address and the subject they teach. If all commuting became nearly impos- sible, some teachers could be allocated to teach in their hometown based on necessity. VANCE LANG Monterey County Office of Education Teachers Association F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 2 2 V O L U M E 2 6 I S S U E 4 Teachers on surviving the surge, shortages and more PAGE 18 EDUCATORS CONSIDER MORE EQUITABLE WAYS TO ASSESS STUDENT LEARNING PAGE 30 In Clovis, educators organize for a real voice PAGE 24 Remaking the Grade The value of educators with disabilities PAGE 16 Making Black Lives Maer at School PAGE 42 A Call to Divest CalSTRS wants teachers to fear that divestment will hurt their pensions. Yet numerous studies by major investment experts show that funds are likely to be "stronger" when they exclude fossil fuels. BlackRock, the largest asset manager, concluded that portfolios that divested from fossil fuels "experienced no negative financial impacts." In fact, they found evidence of "modest improvement in fund return." That's why asset managers overseeing a combined $40 trillion are now committed to offloading holdings in oil and gas. Entities that have divested from fossil fuels include: the State Pension Fund of New York, Harvard University, the UC system, and the Church of England. The immense wealth and power of fossil fuel companies is jeopardizing our chance at a livable planet. Teachers shouldn't have to bet their money against their own futures; that's why local unions representing 150,000 teachers have passed resolu- tions calling for fossil fuel divestment. The fossil fuel industry has had 50 years to prevent climate destruction. Attempts from share- holders to "engage" these companies and make them more sustainable have consistently fallen short. Instead, the fossil fuel industry continues to seek profit at our expense. The climate crisis is killing people now. Black and brown communities have disproportionately higher rates of exposure to toxic pollutants from factories, urban fracking sites, drilling sites, etc. As a result, BIPOC disproportionately suffer from respiratory and cardiovascular health issues including asthma and cancer. The climate crisis threatens all of our lives, and yet fossil fuel companies continue to emit carbon. Now is the time to divest from climate destruction and racism, and stand with what is right. YOUTH VS. APOCALYPSE Editor's note: Youth vs. Apocalypse ( YVA) is a group of young climate justice activ- ists. An expanded version of this letter is at cta.org/yvaletter. For more on this issue, see page 50. 3 A P R I L / M AY 2 0 2 2