A school board in Loudoun County, Virginia, has been called woke after it announced its decision to rename ten of its schools that have been named after problematic people, places or ideas somehow linked to slavery.
While some people were already outraged by this, they became even more outraged when it was announced that the renaming of these schools would cost the taxpayer $25 million.
Schools Are Becoming Too Woke
Many people are now of the belief that schools are becoming too woke. Some parents even believe that “woke education” is causing their children to become illiterate and unable to achieve the grades they should be.
This supposedly started with the Woke Kindergarten program, which integrates politics into teaching. This has a left-wing political agenda that is anti-police, anti-capitalism and anti-Israel, which has reportedly been impacting students’ learning.
Wokeness Is Causing a Generational Divide
With wokeness seemingly spreading across the nation, it is causing generational divides. While younger people are often all for it, older people would prefer things to stay as they always have been and have a distaste for all things woke.
This is even affecting people’s political stance. While in previous years, young people would start out liberal and become conservative, young people are now becoming increasingly liberal and older people are becoming increasingly conservative.
Renaming Schools Will Cost $25 Million
Renaming schools may seem like a simple task; however, as the changes will need to be made to websites, the school logo and other areas, it will come at the costly price of $25 million and is set to be covered by the taxpayer.
This money could be spent on what some would call more important things. These include paying teachers’ wages, buying school supplies and funding in-classroom instruction.
The Naming Process Has Been Ongoing for 4 Years
This isn’t a recent issue, as the issue with school names first came up four years ago. In that time, no names have been changed, and it is unknown whether any new names have been suggested.
Meetings within the school board are ongoing and expected to continue for at least a few months. The only name change was to the mascot at Loudoun County High School, which was changed from Raiders to Captains.
History Matters Has Been Looking Into School Names
The group History Matters was appointed in 2020 to investigate and research various school names to determine whether any schools had been named after problematic people and events throughout history.
In the years since, the group has identified a list of ten different schools in the Loudoun school district that have these links and has recommended to have their names changed.
Schools Affiliated With the Confederate Cause
One of the areas the group looked into was schools that were named after people who were involved with the Confederate cause during the American Civil War.
These are Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School, Mercer Middle School and Emerick Elementary School. Some of these were also named after people who held positions of power during Jim Crow. Ball’s Bluff Elementary School is also on the list, as it was named after a battle won by the Confederate army.
Schools Affiliated With Slavery
The other group that schools were sorted into was schools that were named after people who were affiliated with slavery. One school that is potentially included in that group is John Champe High School, which is named after a soldier in the Revolutionary War and is being investigated to see if he was involved in slavery.
The schools that are definitely named after those involved with slavery are Belmont Ridge Middle School, Belmont Station Elementary School, Seldens Landing Elementary School, Sully Elementary School and Hutchison Farm Elementary School.
The Overall Individual Should Be Looked Into
Jeff Morse, the school board chairman, has said that he believes the entire individual’s history should be looked into and the other contributions they made, as opposed to just deciding to rename the school because they were involved in slavery or the Confederacy in some way.
He made reference to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, saying that he believes the entire careers of these two would be considered when considering a school named after them, as opposed to just the fact that they were slave owners.
The Public Will Be Involved With the Renaming Process
This entire process will not happen suddenly overnight. It will likely take months before the process is finalized. The current estimation is that it will take 6-9 months in total.
The public will also be involved in these decisions. At some point, there will be a public engagement campaign, likely held in town halls. This will be the time for any thoughts and opinions on the matter to be raised.
People Most Affected Should Have the Loudest Voice
Some people have suggested that the people most affected throughout history by the actions of these individuals and the places these schools are named after should have the loudest voices in these discussions.
They should also be able to suggest how to balance out what those people and places did. And they could also suggest new names for the schools of people and places that have had a positive and unproblematic impact on history.
An Educational Moment for All
Some believe that the renaming of these schools can be seen as an educational moment for all. It enables people to learn about people from the past and what they have done, regardless of whether they were good or bad.
However, others believe that renaming the schools will not help anyone and that these resources would be better spent on teaching materials for math and literacy — things that the children will actually need to help them succeed in life.
