By Lucas Hill, contributor
Decatur, GA — On Monday, July 17, 2023, Agnes Scott College hosted a sit-down with Dr. Miguel Cardona, the U.S. Secretary of Education.
Atlanta Journal Constitution columnist Maureen Downey took the stage to speak with Dr. Cardona. Cardona, who was appointed the 12th U.S. Secretary of Education in 2021, has worked throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to continue to enrich schools despite the struggles of online learning. Knowing that it is impossible to return to the way things once were, Cardona is focused now on the evolution of education moving into the post-pandemic future.
Downey began the questions by mentioning the accusation that teachers and schools are “hurting” kids by promoting diversity in the classroom.
“Lots of people have taken our selflessness for submission,” Dr. Cardona said. “…It’s frustrating, but as a Latino who grew up in public schools, at least they’re saying it out loud now.”
Cardona said that educators are a source of support for students, not for “liberal indoctrination” as many conservative lawmakers have alleged. Though they make 27% less income than most other jobs, teachers often make lasting impacts on students’ school careers through advice and general life coaching.
When asked about mental health in schools, Cardona referenced some harrowing statistics, citing that 1 in 3 high school girls contemplates suicide and that 1 in 5 LGBTQ+ students will make an actual suicide attempt. Referring to schools as the “psychological ERs of society,” Cardona explained that to him, the preservation of mental health is just as crucial in a school environment as reading and math classes and lunch.
“We fought COVID,” said Cardona. “Now it’s time to fight complacency.”
The answer to current problems in education? Cardona the best thing to do is to uplift and support the individual student voice.
“I have more confidence in my kids than I do some adults in positions like mine,” Cardona said. “…We need to empower students to create the future now.”
Following the sit-down, Dr. Cardona listened to and spoke with members of the public during the audience Q&A session. Many of the participants were Agnes Scott students and educators themselves, providing a varied mix of poignant questioning.
Asked what the community of Georgia can do to support schools as summer winds to a close, Dr. Cardona responded that data collection is one of the easiest courses of action.
“If [the data] doesn’t explain a lack of diversity [in schools], communicate the importance that all students have access [to education]…Help kids before the big discussion issues. Meet their basic needs,” he said.
Cardona also promised to soon focus more on the large percentage of American teachers that are forced to retire impoverished due to low income made while working.
Preceding the main event, Atlanta Journal Education Reporter Martha Dalton spoke with a panel of leaders in Georgia education, consisting of Walter M. Kimbrough of Morehouse College, Matthew Boedy, president of the Georgia American Association of University Professors and Tracey Nance, a former Georgia Teacher of the Year. The conversation mainly concerned U.S. Supreme Court’s recent and controversial decisions to continue to block federal student loan relief plans and to effectively end the practice of race-based university admissions across the country.
“We’ve become very particular about the types of diversity we want to have,” said Kimbrough regarding the latter decision, after predicting a large increase in HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) admissions.
Nance commented on the desire of some to make diversity a thing of the past, saying, “Knowing all backgrounds makes us better. I fear what [alienation] is going to do.”
On the subject of student debt, Boedy made the point that debt has skyrocketed in the last few decades, saying, “The degree you got in the seventies and eighties costs less than the degree you get now.”
Kimbrough brought up debt’s disproportionate effects on students of color and said many lawmakers exclude these students from educational reform.
“What’s good for Black and Brown students is good for our future,” said Nance.
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