My rebuttal to Laurie Cardoza-Moore's views on school library bill | Opinion

Re: "Tennessee school library legislation is a win for parents, despite what critics say," by Laurie Cardoza Moore, May 11.

Laurie Cardoza Moore argues schools promote books that are pornographic, racist, antisemitic and anti-American, but doesn't mention a single title to support that assertion.

She also asserts that Kent Oliver and the Nashville Public Library promote such content— an accusation without any evidence because there is none to provide.

It's clear she is not a teacher or librarian, and it doesn't seem like she's visited any classrooms or libraries recently, given her understanding of education and history.

Moore claims that America is not a democracy, it's a republic. My 10th grade students could explain to her that America is a democratic republic, as the Oxford English Dictionary makes clear in their definitions.

A republic is "a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives," while a democracy is "a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives."

Both are true about America's government. Both clearly give power to the people. Perhaps Moore is confused because her Republican colleagues seem intent on stripping power from as many people as they can through a variety of voter suppression tactics.

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More: Readers challenge The Tennessean's decision to publish Laurie Cardoza Moore's view | Letters

Schools provide students with more than just a basic education

Where Moore truly shows her ignorance is when she argues that parents send their kids to school to learn to read, write, add and subtract. This is true, but it reveals a complete lack of understanding of what schools do today.

I hope she believes schools should teach children how to code and use technology; to have an understanding of economic systems, so they can decide when companies and governments are misusing their financial clout. Not to mention a working knowledge of American politics, so students can become active citizens.

Perhaps Moore doesn't really want that last one, though.

Schools also provide for so many students' mental, physical, social and emotional needs. The pandemic laid bare how many children rely on our school systems for basic needs: a meal to help them avoid going hungry, counseling to help them manage their emotional stressors and healthy relationships with adults to help them grow into adults who are ready to become members of a variety of communities.

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It is her ignorance of history and civics that stands out the most. If she understood history, she would work to help keep America from repeating the worst parts of our past. We would stop the slide toward fascism through trying to control what people read and think.

We would remember the communist witch hunts that left so many innocent people attacked by a few who were given a bully pulpit. We would look clearly at the ways in which minorities have been vilified and marginalized: Jim Crow laws, the genocide of indigenous people or the treatment of LGBTQ+ people during the AIDS crisis.

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We can and should learn about these times, so we can be better moving forward. Schools help students learn a little about a lot, so they can succeed in the world. They do much more than teach children how to read, write, add and subtract.

We trust the professionals— teachers and librarians— to know a lot about one thing, and they teach that to our children. These professionals devote their lives to educating children about a particular subject, but also have dedicated their lives to loving those children.

We trust those in charge of schools to hire qualified faculty and staff. We should trust those people to do their jobs instead of listening to people like Laurie Cardoza Moore.

Kevin Brown is a high school English teacher in Nashville, Tenneessee.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: My rebuttal to Laurie Cordoza-Moore's views on school library bill