Last night’s School Board candidate forum provided a wealth of information to the community concerning the position, views, and concerns of both the community and the candidates.

The budget, curriculum, and institutionalized racism were addressed. The issue of safety in schools was touched upon however time constraints made it impossible to address that issue in depth.

Candidate Liz Hallmark made a very important comment about institutionalized racism that may not have resonated throughout the attendees or candidate participants. Miss Hallmark stated that racism negatively affects White children as well.

It is common for people to think that the racism, classism, sexism, and whatever other type of “ism” exists is experienced by certain groups of people and only those groups are affected by it.

The “isms” of our world come from the hate in our world and hate is not confined by color, money, sex, or religion. Hate is all encompassing and negatively affects everyone espousing to it and exposed to it.

Many candidates agreed that professional development and hiring a more diverse teaching staff will work to eliminate the racism that is inherent in education but it will not.

The hatred of “isms’ is so pervasive in our lives that most of us don’t realize how engrained our disdain for others is within us.

The only way to irradiate hate is to teach love. A child centered education teaches our children to love and respect themselves and to have love and respect for others.

The realization that we are all gifted and talented in some way and that our gifts and talents can work together to make this world a better place in which to live will cause mankind to evolve to a higher plane of existence bringing us closer to the utopian world philosophers, scholars, and political leaders of the past foretold.

While several of the candidates agreed that it is necessary to change the system of education, there are still those who believe it can be fixed.

Our children deserve a “New and Improved” system of education that is founded with love.

Join the Movement to Save Our Children!