New Irmo News

Economic Impact (Page 388)

By Sarah Ostergaard

CRT, SEL, DEI, oh my.

Is CRT in our schools? Yes, if you define the acronym CRT to mean Culturally Responsive Teaching.

There seems a misunderstanding that CRT is SEL, and vice versa, that DEI excludes people, and none of it belongs in OUR (not an acronym) schools. Let’s set ourselves straight with facts. What are CRT, SEL, and DEI?

The acronym CRT has at least two meanings: Culturally Responsive Teaching and Critical Race Theory. Critical Race Theory is a theoretical framework involving the history of laws, systems, and organizations within the United States. This CRT might be discussed in graduate courses, for example, such as the nuances of the rights protected by the 1st Amendment vs. the 14th Amendment, the history of voting rights, or the quantitative effects of public policies. It is not a k-12 curriculum. The CRT discussed in this article is Culturally Responsive Teaching, an approach that seeks to help all children in the classroom feel valued and included.

CRT – Culturally Responsive Teaching – is not about racial or gender or any specific identity. Instead, the culturally responsive approach is equitable in that every child feels welcome to contribute to class discussions, every child sees him/herself represented in examples, stories, and visuals, and every child feels included and valued. We all do better when we feel included and valued, even adults. Picture this: your family moves to a new area, or for whatever reason decides to look for a new place of worship. Attending as a guest, how would you feel to be warmly greeted, asked your name, given encouragement to join the group (“please take a seat, I’m glad you’re here”), with music you recognize playing in the background, compared with no greeting, no invitation to join, no warmth, no inclusion? In which scenario would you find yourself more open to really understand the message from the speaker there, and look forward to returning? One of the basic equity practices of culturally responsive teaching is to greet students and correctly pronounce their names and help them feel welcome each and every day. When we feel included and valued, then we feel safe, then we learn and retain information more effectively.

It is easy to confuse SEL with a CRT approach – a Culturally Responsive Teaching approach, that is. The acronym SEL stands for Social, Emotional Learning. The idea is that children are still learning to recognize and control their many emotions so while spending so many hours of the day inside a school building, opportunities arise to help them learn and practice self-management, social awareness, relationship-building, self-awareness, and decision-making skills. Something very much like SEL has been around classrooms for decades, but only relatively recently in education history has had its own name as SEL. Timing-wise, this coincides with the burgeoning of big business driving the education market, with companies selling textbooks, tests, test prep materials, etc. But in its basic form, SEL is a means to help a child learn to manage his/her emotions in a productive way.

SEL and culturally responsive teaching (CRT) are not anathemas to family values; they incorporate the cultures, languages, and histories of the local community into the classroom community. Perhaps one area where CRT (race theory) is confused with CRT (cultural responsiveness) / SEL is that educators help children make sense of the world. Educators do this every day by teaching the course’s standards, and also when current events are confusing. Students in the required U.S. Government course turned to their teacher to help them know what happened at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and whether they were safe (mine did). Students in the required Economics course ask real-world questions about inflation, why it happens, and what they can do about it (mine did).

Finally, DEI means Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. It incorporates all the above and more, and often is the name given to organizations working to advance policies, procedures, and efforts to include all Americans in our nation’s future success.

Please remember: Teachers, administrators, and staff members want the very best for our community and believe education is the way to improve our children’s lot in life. But yet again, educating children is not easy and community support and understanding are critical to this important mission. It concerns me to see more and more demands heaped upon public schools and their staff while it seems like vocal community members argue. Especially during this election season, let’s look past rhetoric and seek to understand before being understood (S. Covey, 2006).

Economic Impact

On: September 8, 2022

In: Columns, Education

By Sarah Ostergaard CRT, SEL, DEI, oh my. Is CRT in our schools? Yes, if you define the acronym CRT to mean Culturally Responsive Teaching. There seems a misunderstanding that CRT is SEL, and vice versa, that DEI excludes people, and none of it belongs in OUR (not an acronym)Continue Reading

Board Happenings

On: September 7, 2022

In: Education

The D-5 School Board has worked hard to ensure safety and security are a priority as our studnents have returned to school. There are three professionals that are employed on our security team and they are all fully trained to carry a weapon. There has been first reading on aContinue Reading

Lorick Office Products celebrates 85th Anniversary this month

On: September 7, 2022

In: Business

Midlands-area office supply company founded Labor Day 1937 By W. Thomas Smith Jr. LORICK OFFICE PRODUCTS will celebrate 85 years of serving the office-supply needs of Columbia businesses and customers nationwide, at the company’s 910 Washington Street showroom, Wednesday, September 14 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. State House leadersContinue Reading

Lake Murray Symphony Orchestra presents Koncert for Kids September 18th

On: September 7, 2022

In: Events

An Introduction to symphonic music and instruments for kids of all ages. Looking for something to do with the kids that’s fun, free, and will also inspire their love of music? This is it! Join the LMSO for an exciting concert designed especially for young audiences including short excerpts fromContinue Reading

Richland County Recreation Commission Announces Power in Pink Event

On: September 7, 2022

In: Events

The Richland County Recreation Commission (RCRC) announces their Power in Pink Event, a Breast Cancer Awareness Celebration, held Sept. 9, from 10 AM – 2 PM. The event is located at Garners Ferry Adult Activity Center, 8620 Garners Ferry Rd. This free event will have line dancing, music, raffles, lunch,Continue Reading

District Five elementary school installs its first soilless garden

On: September 7, 2022

In: Education

Leaphart Elementary School STEAM Magnet has installed a new hydroponics tower from Lettuce Grow on campus. Hydroponic gardening is water-based, growing plants and herbs without soil. The tower will serve as an instructional tool to engage students while learning about food production, nutrition education, and STEM explorations. “During the previous school year,Continue Reading

The SC Philharmonic begins the Second Season of The Chamber Crawl

On: September 7, 2022

In: Events

SERIES BY RETURNING TO HAZELWOOD BREWING IN LEXINGTON, SC Woodwind trio will perform concert in neighborhood biergarten on Sept. 16, 2022 The South Carolina Philharmonic presents the first concert of the 22/23 Chamber Crawl Series on Friday, September 16, 2022, in the biergarten at Hazelwood Brewing (711 E Main St,Continue Reading

New 4 way stop on N. Royal Tower begins Sept. 12

On: September 7, 2022

In: Community News

The Irmo Town Council unanimously requested that the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) place a 4-way stop at the intersection of North Royal Tower Drive and Chadford Road due to safety concerns and speeding complaints. The new stop signs will be in place beginning Monday, Sept. 12. Stopping trafficContinue Reading

Dutch Fork wins versus Spartanburg

On: September 1, 2022

In: Sports

Dutch Fork High School beat Spartanburg High 27-25 August 26. Photos by Eddie Taylor, GoFlashWin.comContinue Reading

Leveraging technology to do more

On: September 1, 2022

In: Business

By Matt BelyusValet Technologies Thank you for checking out the Valet Tech corner. We will be writing tech articles without all the tech jargon so you can better understand technologies and how they can benefit you. This article will be a continuation of last week article for businesses having aContinue Reading

Rob Shaw Gallery to feature Rebecca Horne

On: September 1, 2022

In: Events

This Friday, September 2, from 6 to 9 pm, Rob Shaw Framing and Gallery, 324 State Street in West Columbia, will host a reception launching a month-long exhibit and sale of works by artist Rebecca Horne. An international-award-winning, self-taught abstract artist based in West Columbia, Horne is inspired by theContinue Reading

Economic Impact (Page 388)

Economic Impact

Board Happenings

Lorick Office Products celebrates 85th Anniversary this month

Lake Murray Symphony Orchestra presents Koncert for Kids September 18th

Richland County Recreation Commission Announces Power in Pink Event

District Five elementary school installs its first soilless garden

The SC Philharmonic begins the Second Season of The Chamber Crawl

New 4 way stop on N. Royal Tower begins Sept. 12

Dutch Fork wins versus Spartanburg

Leveraging technology to do more

Rob Shaw Gallery to feature Rebecca Horne

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Ag + Art Tour finds fertile ground

The Civil War changed funeral customs

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