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Q&A: Rep. Brady Criticizes 'Culturally Responsive' Teaching Standards

Dan Brady
Dan Brady
/
Courtesy
State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, says the Illinois State Board of Education's proposed new teaching standards will have "ill intended consequence."

Republican lawmakers have been speaking out against new standards for teacher education being proposed by the Illinois State Board of Education.

State Rep. Dan Brady said he's against the new requirements. He said the new "culturally responsive" teaching standards would take learning time away from core subjects.

WGLT spoke with Brady about his concerns with the proposal.

What makes you say these rules "prioritize social activism over basic skills?"

The mission of public education in the state of Illinois should be simply that: public education that's directed toward all the areas that we seem to be deficient in. Only 37% of Illinois third graders last year demonstrated proficiency in English. 41% could only demonstrate level proficiency in math. Those are the core values of what I believe public education and the State Board of Education should be doing. I also believe that in this teacher shortage that we are experiencing, adding another layer to what the requirements will be with mandates on how you can get a teacher's certificate, that there shouldn't be these types of things, because it's going to be a deterrent for people to get into education, at a very critical time when we need teachers.

How would you define social activism in the context of your statement?

I think that these proposed standards would require the teacher prep programs teach and train teacher candidates on highly sensitive and politically charged topics, including race, gender, identity, and the role of power, privilege, and student activism. I don't know that that's the responsibility of the teachers.

What would your response be to those who see it in a different light?

Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. To date, I've not received one call, or email, or conversation from constituents that are in favor of this particular proposed rule change by the State Board of Education. I've heard just the opposite: of individuals who believe that this type of requirement to become a teacher is there a requirement that will have just the opposite effect of maybe what it's intended to. I can understand the intent, but I don't think it's going to serve putting teachers another level of requirements, and putting them in situations to where they're going to, you know, be responsible for interjecting what their opinions may be or what somebody else's opinion may be. I think that that's left to the individual general public, not a teacher.

How do you respond to people who think Black history, institutional racism and multicultural approaches to history and so on, are necessary in our modern society?

There is a role, but I think curriculum is best left up to our local school boards and the local educators. I don't know how this helps a student with so many areas we're deficient in when it comes to math, English, science, and many of the other important things to help them get a job.

Would you say this crosses the line into being an unfunded mandate?

Well, I think it's a mandate, and it's a mandate on the preparation requirements to be a teacher in Illinois, at the very time this, I think, will be counterproductive, at the very time we're trying to recruit teachers, and trying to make it easier to be a teacher. I think these types of controversial stances on issues would be a deterrent for those who might have been thinking about education. And so, you know, that, I think, will have a reverse, an adverse effect of what the intent is. I'm sure this is all well intended, but it has ill intended consequence.

You mentioned the word controversial there. What makes this all controversial?

I think our education system is probably in a situation now, the most politically charged and divisive debates on [unintelligible] that we're having across the country, not just Illinois. I think pushing a teacher in the role and they have to be certified or have another layer of certification in these particular areas where they may have contrary opinions to what a student may be in the classroom is a catch 22 for them, and I think sticking to the core values of many of the deficiencies I've outlined for you in education should be what we do.

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Christine Hatfield, a graduate student in University of Illinois Springfield's Public Affairs Reporting program, is WGLT and WCBU's PAR intern for the first half of 2021.