In The Tribune’s recent article about Jordan District removing an article by a student opinion writer for the New York Times, Sen. Dan McCay calls for an investigation. His logic? This essay can’t fit into the state-approved curriculum because it is about being trans. I’d ask Sen. McCay to consider that he is, perhaps, not versed in all the academic standards.
The secondary English Language Arts (ELA) standards ask students across reading, writing, speaking and listening, to engage with texts in an evaluative way. For instance, Standard 9-10.R.10 asks sophomores to “analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structures an author uses in an exposition, argument or narrative, including whether the structure makes points or events clear, effective, convincing or engaging.”
A student at Harriman High may have, for instance, found the editorial writer to make unconvincing points, another may have found their writing persuasive. Juniors and seniors may have later employed similar writing standards about subjects of their own choice, writing “arguments to support claims in an analysis of complex topics or texts, using logical reasoning and relevant, sufficient evidence and provide a conclusion that follows from and supports the argument presented.”
The essay in the New York Times not only applied to an ELA standard, it applied to many of them. Let’s not be afraid of words or teaching students how to evaluate arguments.
Ashley Anderson, Salt Lake City