How Students Learn about Race and Racism is Dividing Our Country (Ep. 2)

Never before have Americans been so deeply divided about how history, current events, and controversial issues should be discussed in our public schools. At the center of these debates are questions about race and racism – what exactly students should learn about these concepts, how the concepts should be taught, and what the outcomes should be.

The views and political perspectives of our guests vary widely (by design), but the purpose of the conversation is not to debate or argue but rather to have a respectful exchange of ideas, for participants to speak from the heart and to share their own experiences and perspectives. Most importantly, it’s to listen and learn from one another.

Featured Guests:

Curtis Cough
Superintendent from Hagerman
Hagerman, New Mexico

Curtis Clough is the Superintendent of Hagerman (NM) Municipal Schools. His career as an educator has spanned 32 years in four different states, encompasses public and post-secondary education positions as well as serves as the State Director of Career and Technical Education for Alaska. He also serves on the Executive Board of the New Mexico Association of Career and Technical Education and is the current Chairperson for the administrative division for NMACTE.

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  In addition, Mr. Clough has worked closely with Workforce and Economic Development entities in his various positions and is passionate about affording students opportunities in Career and Technical Education so students are served for career readiness. He has held positions with the Grant County Prospectors as President and served on the Grant County-Silver City Chamber of Commerce. He currently serves in an ad hoc capacity on the Roswell-Chaves County Economic Development Corporation and is partnering with Lake Arthur Schools and ENMU-Roswell on a Early College High School-Career Academy model for the students of the Pecos Valley.

  Mr. Clough earned his B.S. degree from Ohio State University in Social Studies Education and has a M.S. Degree from the University of Akron in Physical Education-Sports Management. He received his administrative license while attending the University of Akron and completed his Superintendent licensure program through the University of Toledo while doing doctoral work in Educational Leadership and Supervision.

  His wife, Libby, is currently an 8th Grade ELA teacher with Artesia Public Schools, and he has two sons, Zachary, a teacher in Idaho, and Andrew, a School Support Specialist in Ohio.

Ty Smith
Parent, Medical Facility Director, & Student Advocate
Ohio

Ty Smith, a father in Illinois and an outspoken conservative YouTuber, is one of many who have taken a firm stance against CRT. Smith, a father of two teenage children, delivered an impassioned address that went viral, declaring: 'When you talk about Critical Race Theory, which is pretty much going to be teaching kids how to hate each other, how to dislike each other.

Paul Gessing
Foundation Director and School Policy Analyst
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Paul Gessing became the first full-time President of the Rio Grande Foundation in March of 2006. Since joining the Foundation, Gessing has been a prominent voice for limited government and individual liberties in policy areas including: Constitutional liberties, taxes, health care, education, and transportation.

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  Prior to joining the Foundation, Gessing headed up the lobbying efforts of the National Taxpayers Union (NTU) a respected taxpayer-advocacy organization in Washington, DC.

  He has published articles in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, US News & World Reports, The Albuquerque Journal, Barron’s, and several other major publications. He writes for and appears regularly in media outlets around New Mexico. Paul has also testified in Congress and before a variety of state and local bodies.

  Paul graduated from Bowling Green State University in Ohio with a degree in Political Science in 1997, and he received his Masters in Business Administration from the University of Maryland in 2005. Despite not growing up in Albuquerque himself, his mother is a 1963 graduate of St. Pius, and Paul has family in the Albuquerque area dating back to World War II.

  Paul is on the Board of New Mexico Connections virtual charter school.

  Paul and his wife Krista were married in October 2007 in Algodones, NM, and have three girls, Grace, Katherine, and Charlotte Rose. He is active in Toastmasters and, in his spare time, Paul enjoys hiking and walking with the family dogs, playing basketball, golf, and traveling.

Lakeisha Patterson
3rd Grade Teacher
Houston, Texas

A proud graduate of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. She has a Bachelor's in Interdisciplinary Studies and a Master's in Special Education. This is the beginning of her tenth year teaching with eight of those years at Deepwater Elementry.

Emily Waldron
High School History and Ethnic Studies Teacher
Pico Rivera, California

Ken Futernick
Host, Moderator, & Teacher Educator
Placerville, California

The Courageous Conversations About Our Schools podcast is hosted by Ken Futernick. Ken is an experienced moderator, a teacher educator, and a long-time advocate for collaboration and civil dialogue.