The four authors sent the following letter on Oct. 2 to Saratoga Springs Schools Superintendent Michael Piccirillo and requested that it also be published in Saratoga TODAY:
Dear Superintendent Piccirillo,
We want to express our appreciation for the high school's recent ninth grade assembly featuring award-wining author Kekla Magoon. Teachers, students and parents alike were thrilled to have an author of this caliber visiting our school. We also want to express again our thanks for your firm support of the high school teacher last year who came under attack for asking students to debate a controversial political cartoon.
We feel this fiction writer was inspiring for our children. She told them that writing helps her understand the world around her.
Yes, the topics that Ms. Magoon addresses in her writing are indeed difficult: racial tension, police brutality, etc. She challenges her readers to think critically about difficult situations that are occurring in the world of our young people today. This might be unsettling, but writers tackle difficult subjects to engage their readers.
According to a recent study out of Tufts University, engaging students in debates about current events, and also teaching them about civics, is essential to re-building young people's waning faith in democracy. Given that preparing students to be informed participants in, and dedicated stewards of our democracy is among the public schools' most essential roles, we hope our Saratoga Springs schools will continue to hold assemblies and classes that feature diverse perspectives; encourage productive discussion and debate about current events; draw connections between history, literature and current affairs; and ultimately inspire our students to become passionate and informed participants in our country's sacred democracy.
Julie Lewis
Judy Beck
Dede Hill
Laura Rappaport
Saratoga Springs
