I would like to clear up some confusion over the updated health curriculum at Fredon School that has not been finalized or presented to the public yet.
The Department of Education has put out more information on the three main standards of note if you would like to see information from them directly.
When a school writes a curriculum, they are able to meet these standards however they feel is appropriate. For example, the first standard of note says to “discuss the range of ways people express their gender and how gender-role stereotypes may limit behavior.” The teacher can then create a lesson to meet this standard by teaching students that girls can be engineers and boys can wear pink. The process of a state’s standard making its way to a classroom is that simple - and the topic is that innocent.
It can also be that short of a lesson. Schools can meet these standards in a timeframe that they are comfortable with, and from what I understood from the last BOE meeting, Fredon School will be meeting these standards within the month of February only.
For years, parents have had to sign a permission slip to participate in this very short portion of the curriculum or opt-out and receive an alternate assignment. That is not new to this curriculum. Parents may also request alternate assignments for many other topics they are not comfortable with such as evolution or historical topics too.
I am confident that the controversial math problems, flash cards, and lessons that have been highlighted in the news will not be part of the curriculum that the Board of Education will be proposing nor will they be part of future lesson plans that are reviewed by administrators ahead of time.
I trust our Board of Education. I support Fredon and Kittatinny schools. I know our teachers seek to inspire our children to do their best.
I urge all of our local leaders to talk - and listen - to the Board of Education about the ideas they have for implementing the curriculum so they can bring calm to Fredon instead of what I see as fanning the flames of panic, anger, political hatred, and confusion over something that has not been finished yet, is not the emergency that some are making it out to be, and is taking up entirely too much of our town’s time.
I appreciate that the members of the Township Committee believe our children are precious which is why I hope a few of them begin to:
Talk to the Board of Education directly - and listen - to get the facts before causing online fights.
Spend more time putting up speed bumps in Running Hills.
Pass ordinances to stop nightly rentals with constant strangers living among us.
Deny permits for fireworks on school nights that keep students up late and make it so our volunteers have to leave their families to manage the risks.
Please focus on Fredon.
Please urge people to treat each other as neighbors.
Please talk - and listen - to other boards, committees, and organizations on the phone or in person before you post.
To my neighbors in Fredon, please stay positive and walk away from any unproductive online political debates and write civil and informed letters to leaders who will listen if you feel motivated instead.
One by one, I know we can turn the tone around to benefit us all.
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