June 11th, 2022
Current number of signers: 362
To the Muskego-Norway School Board:
We are writing to you as residents of Muskego, students of Muskego High School from any class, parents of Muskego students, and those with any other connection to the Muskego-Norway School District to strongly urge you to approve When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka for use in the Accelerated English 10 course. Our reasons for supporting this book’s approval are centered around the trust and respect we give to our teachers, as well as our vested interest in the quality of education given to the students of this district.
It is our understanding that the Muskego High School English Department has been engaged in an internal approval process when searching for a book to bring to the school board for further approval. This process began because of the need to change a piece of literature in the Accelerated English 10 course to better address the syllabus of the course, as well as better prepare students for the AP Language and Composition course, which is a common next step for students in Accelerated English 10. After carefully considering many different books with a variety of topics, writing styles, and Lexile values, the department submitted When the Emperor Was Divine for final approval by the school board. We emphasize that this initial approval process--carried out by the instructors of Accelerated English 10 and other educators at the high school--were thoughtful and thorough in their effort to improve this course for its students, and we support their judgment and knowledge of the course syllabus as the primary factor to be considered when approving this book.
Supporting our teachers is always critical to the success of the students in this district; this fact has become astonishingly clear in recent years when looking at our school districts in the area. As reported by Wisconsin Examiner on June 10, 2022, the School District of Waukesha has received at least 54 resignations from employees between April 1 and June 5 of this year, as compared to 28 resignations last year during that same time period--a 93% increase. These resignation numbers continue to climb. Many of these resignations come from teachers who have cited a lack of respect and acceptance from their school board as primary causes for their departure. One teacher, who was leaving with 18 years of teaching experience, stated that, “I used to feel valued and respected as a professional. I no longer do.” Other teachers elaborated in support of this feeling, explaining that the school board has adopted an “antiquated ideology” with regards to diversity and cultural history and what can be taught in the classroom. Another Waukesha resident warned that, “It is going to be difficult to attract new families, new students, and new residents with all the negative publicity this is causing.” Similar sentiments have been reported by TMJ4 and CBS58 in the past week.
One common argument against the approval of this book that has come out of the school board in the last month is that the book does not cover every possible perspective of the historical context surrounding Japanese internment. The book does, in fact, have a frequently-shifting narrator to better explore a myriad of experiences seen by many different people who were interned within the US during World War II. In addition to presenting readers with a diversity of perspectives, the changing narrator was cited by an Accelerated English 10 teacher as a valuable literary technique for students to learn about and witness within the larger context of the course. Furthermore, the inclusion of this book in the Accelerated English 10 curriculum will allow students to engage in nuanced discussion of the realities of Japanese internment and its cultural significance, which will facilitate stronger community understanding and, in turn, stronger rhetorical ability; the AP Language and Composition course is heavily centered on a student’s ability to understand and construct strong rhetoric, which means that When the Emperor Was Divine will have a direct positive impact on the success of students in this advanced course. As residents of the world and heirs of its history, we must be given the opportunity to reflect on the past and point out the pain and suffering caused in the past. This reflection is meant to prepare ourselves to create a stronger country and world by rejecting outright the mistakes of the past. The reactions of the board to the proposal of this book have revealed the disgusting intention to foster ignorance and maintain the status quo within the district’s students and, by extension, the residents of Muskego. We believe that this book should be accepted for the classroom based solely on its academic value, and we are infuriated that it has been met with an ideology that forcefully shuts down any mention of historically disenfranchised people.
It has also been argued by members of the school board that this book should not be approved because the selection committee was non-negotiably set on picking a work by an author who is a woman of color. While we do not have details or proof of this fact--and notably, the school board has not presented either--we believe that no matter the original intention, the fact that Julie Otsuka is a Japanese woman is only a benefit to the quality of education that this book will facilitate. In fact, recent standards released by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction encourages the inclusion of authors from historically marginalized and excluded social groups. The Wisconsin DPI has also released a list of benchmarks for an equitable school, which includes language dictating that, “The history, contributions, values and perspectives of diverse groups are affirmed by teachers and integrated into the school curriculum.” It was also not long ago that this school district addressed concerns from community members about its approach to teaching ideas related to race and social justice in the classroom, which resulted in this document being released by the district. This document asserts that the school district should by searching for “Ways to support understanding of the history of marginalization and the positive impact we can have on a daily basis when we use an equity focused mindset that addresses disparities.” It should be noted that this document has since been removed from the district website without adequate explanation, which has resulted in the results of that document being essentially ignored.
In addition to the statements made by the Wisconsin DPI and the Muskego-Norway School District, there is ample support for the use of educational materials from Congress, as well as strong academic research showing the educational benefit provided to students when given curricula with diverse perspectives and voices. This article from the blog of the US National Archives details the specific wrong-doings by the US government related to Japanese-American internment. This short paper comes from the non-profit, non-partisan children’s literacy organization Reading Is Fundamental, and it outlines the importance of literature with diverse and challenging perspectives in the classroom. Books often serve as a window into experiences that one can otherwise only speculate about, and students are entitled to receive an education that exposes them to the lives of people unlike themselves. The importance of this exposure becomes even clearer when looking at the recent rise in hate crime in the US, especially against Asian-American people. The only way to effectively combat hate is to promote understanding and empathy between different people and different cultures across the country, and this understanding has so much potential for growth within the safe space of a classroom.
It was also mentioned by members of the school board that When the Emperor Was Divine was ‘too sad’ of a book to be taught. Although this argument is fundamentally nonsensical when considering how to best provide education to the districts students, we will nonetheless address this argument by providing counter-examples of educationally valuable books--sad books--that have been taught at Muskego High School for many years. In English 9, students read Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, which describes the experiences of passengers on the MV Wilhelm Gustloff as it was torpedoed during WWII, as well as Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, in which both titular characters take their own lives by the end of the play. In English 11, students read The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, in which most characters die by the end of the novel in often brutal and graphic ways. In English 12, students read Hamlet by William Shakespeare, in which multiple characters die tragically as a result of murder, as well as by suicide in reaction to the trauma caused by murder. There are countless other examples of books that have been taught at one time or another that are simultaneously acclaimed by educators around the country and also very dark in their subject matter. The idea that this book in question should be denied based on its ‘sadness’ is utterly absurd.
We would like to conclude our petition with anonymous statements from some teachers in the district. It should be noted that these teachers requested that their statements be anonymous in part because of the pressure they feel from the school board and the district leadership to conform to a limited expression of their educational expertise. These anonymous statements are still coming in, and they will be added to this petition as more teachers wish to add statements.
“I’ve never felt so under attack for just doing my job or doing my duty to teach kids about others and their world. At one time this would have been college and career readiness; now it’s “indoctrination.” I feel like I have to defend every book that has a person of color in it. I also feel like our community support has turned for the worse. I now hate saying what I do because so many times I end up in a defensive stance over CRT, masks, etc. The board has caused division and for the community to question our every move versus before we had great community support. Somehow we teachers are now the bad guys.”
"The anti-diversity sentiment that the school board is supporting leaves me feeling scared and uncomfortable teaching. It is my ethical responsibility to grow global citizens--I cannot do that without exposing them to a diverse populace. We DO have diverse students in our school and they deserve to be represented (in text and discussion). The anti-diversity and lack of pushback against that from district leaders has left me actively seeking other positions in districts that support diversity.”
We do not believe the Muskego-Norway School Board has provided adequate reasoning for When the Emperor Was Divine to be denied a place in the Accelerated English 10 curriculum, and we demand that our district puts our trust in the judgment of our teachers. We earnestly support the teaching of this book in the classroom, and we believe that rejecting this book will mark a severe decline in the quality of education and curriculum discussion in this district.
See the full list of signers here
Names will also be updated on this document (last updated 12:18 pm CDT 7/27/22)
Signed by:
Lawrence Hapeman
Amy Talaga
Allison Hapeman
Jamie M Wright
Rebecca Russell
Laurie Giera
Rachel Meyer
Lori Lancaster
Emily Sorensen
Carri Sussman
Todd Sussman
Ann Zielke
Andrew Zielke
Aileen Wiede
Taylor Schnitzler
Jeffrey Schnitzler
Kellie Nimphius
Emily Wagner
Kelly Gahagan
Erin Gemoll
Lynn van Lier
Sarah Cramer
Isabelle Sussman
Marni K Hebert
Julia May
Samson Hapeman
MaryGrace Catania
The Rev. Erin Hittle
Maggie Scheel
Sara Govier
Heidi Ludtke
Tim Hapeman
Jon Ludtke
Jeanne Musolf
Cheryl Kloss
Ken Musolf
Marie A Mullen
Kathleen Wooten
Amy Zembroski
Jessica Pemble
Amy Christen
Lynda Lutzke
Steven Lutzke
Mary Jo Foye
Corrie M. Prunuske
Adriane Schutte
Maggie Shipley
Johanna Moerke
Elizabeth Lintonen
Jamie Kollman
James Crump
Alisha Niedziejko (Heinz)
Ellie Catania
George Sperka
Cassidy Nicholson
Ethan Hopp
Caleb Boudreau
Sasha Mcdonald
Allison
Trinity Slavik
Cassidy Becker
Sierra Coleman
Nabeel Bhimani
Kenny Herda
Spencer Kates
Megan Schneider
Jared Gibson
Cole Castine
Maya Liebel
Will Schantz
Paula Glaser
Mary Karfonta
Adam Teich
Ethan Wanner
Lauren
Sabrina Hebert
Luke Prunuske
Rebecca Hebert
Sydney Prunuske
Lucia Rutkowski
Lizzie Woida
Elizabeth Shelton
Erin Heinz
Carsen Codel
Kate Olson
Linzy Mahoney
Cole Danlin
Korbyn Goggins
Diana
Anonymous
Joseph. D. Goggins
Ellen Plahuta
Vexaria Lowe
Nicolas Nevarez
René R Farías
Donna M Farías
Aliyah Tushaus
Kaytlyn Dashner
Amanda Gast
Brent Foye
Sarah Fluegge
Celia Trexell
Jill Loch
Madi Ritzow
Julie Grotophorst
Melissa Patterson
Amelia Milton
Anna Milton
Emma Milton
Nicole
Angie Li
Andrew Roth
Scott Wangerin
Beth Hischke
Brian Hilgeman
Karen Mahoney
Blaise Mahoney
Ivy Ven Roy
Maggie Mattek
Paige Jahnke
Abby Myers
Megan
Nabeel Bhimani
Linda Haut
James Haut
David Prunuske
Twyla J. Lato
George E. Lato
Gina Mateo
Katie Matera
Amos Hapeman
Susan Kalensky
Cynthia Hasbrook
Barbara Hart
Stephen L Blonsky
Lauren Giuliani
Luke Foye
Joe Foye
Karla Klein
Aaron Klein
Gina Ruchalski
Jill Ousey
Andrew Solomon
John Keene
Lawrence Shainberg
Sara Sugihara
Anne Heller
Jill Borchardt
Frances FitzGerald
Leah Murray
Mehdie Vakili
Liz Flaig
Karen Teschner
Nicole Aragi
Sarah Furger
Marti Koller
Katie Priske
Rob Graziano
KH
Dani Shuster
Alan Young
Elizabeth Hillstrom
Kyle Kitagwa
H Suzuki
Esther Kim
Abram Murante
Mason Langer
Tamara Garcia
Kathy Pham
Miako Kitajima
Matt Onishi
Pedro Molina
Megan Seiler
Jeff Keiser
Jewelle Imada Keiser
Steven Davies
Hope Murra
Jessica Niver
Zachariah Paget
Lisa Albert
Darren Kameya
Rabbi Jonathan Klein
Lynn Sogi
Matthew Stinson
Susan Kitagawa
Carina Moses
Darryl Morin
Jesse Sheteron
David Brzycki
Susan Kuehn
Christine Schmidbauer
Jenny Walechka
Liv Walechka
Maxwell Davis
Michael Kuehn
Rebecca kuehn
Emily Rathsack
Scott Berger
Angela Monzon
Byron Monzon
Dan Baldwin
A
Kate Marx
Katie Herrmann
Peter
Teresa DuChateau
Nick Riccobono
Julie Putney
Rachel
Abby Sinitz
Tami McManus
Jonathan Drayna
Kathleen McGillis
Mary Kate Drayna
Virginia White
Anvita Bansal
Carol A. Overland
Kevin Miyazaki
Carole Shiraga
Cheryl Lund
Roxanne Tanioka
Gregg Chadwick
Kelly v D
Julia Kelly
Nicholas Iannone
Dan Topping
Steve Gaskill
Dallas Berka
Mary Spielmann
Abby Rodriguez
Michelle Gregory
Marybeth Heise
KK
Ashley G.
Chris Kataura
Rei Magosaki
Jonathan Wipplinger
Katie Wipplinger
Ashley Lederman
Chris M. Monaghan
Rachael Leek
Marissa Guthrie
Adelaide Blanchard
Kaye Herranen
Sarah Grey
Rachael
Francesca Hong
Pardeep Kaleka
Jennifer Cantrell
Krissie Fung
Stephanie W
Claud Kling
Katie
Kristin Rodenbeck
Prerna Kvalvik
Robie Lunger
Emily Hartmann
Kaitlin Ma
Sapphira Afifi
Ana Simpson
Jennifer D Naugle
Alan W.C. Green
Chingcha Vang
Kayla Zhou
Cong Lu
Sharyl J. Kato
Meilyn Xiong
Paula Phillips
Rajya Karipineni
Rianna Mukherjee
Anne O’Connor
Carl J. Zabat Jr.
Angelica Varona Camara
Pam Huth
Jenie Gao
Julie Hapeman
Sarah Moore
Michael Moore
Gwat-Yong Lie
Diana H. Chu
Lainie Yank
Mary Yank
Debra Minsky-Kelly
Leora Burish
Barbara Suyama
Debra Shiroda
Elizabeth Charewicz
Christine Zapf
Darlene Hall
Sandra Rohlinger
Amy Suyama-Barnes
Judy Matsuoka
RF Fox
Kym Weathers
Carol Manolis
Devin Kay
Jeri Schulz
Amanda Hansen
Chloe Adamson
Alexis Jordan
Izabelle Pogorzelski
Tim Hansen
Jenny Sagrillo
Madison Haupert
Kiya Wadsworth
John Walden
Dave Andrae
Karen Miyoshi
Beth Biskobing
Hannah Walden
Harriet Kinney
Robert C Cauthier
Ray Gingerich
Ericka Tucker
Mollie Kinter
Rabia Ahmed
Christine Kuramoto
Anja Whitaker
Jewel Fiona Derivera
Heather Hathaway
Angela Koch
Collin Woldt
Benjamin Sieren
Mia Barrett
Nicholas Maier
Jennifer Wehr
Alexander Tolentino
Cora Trexell
Greta Borgealt
Raimi Liebel
Matthew B Watry
Nicholas Connor
Deepa Pawar
Nicholas Connor
Angela Genner
Alabhya Prasad
Ruth Hozeska
Cassidy Nicholson
Danni
Lauren Calvetti
Courtney Walloch
Elizabeth Pitterle
J Movrich
Jeannine Petit
Nicole Hilton
rebekah kopec-farrell
Deborah Movrich
Abigail Sajdak
Billy Brookshire
Dr. Emily Murase
Susan E. Hida
Ann Hida
Carl Aamodt
Amelia Budd
Andrea
Linda Cabatic
Bruce Pierini
Judy Kaida
Linda Christiansen
Crystal Mishmash
Sarah Lin-Aamodt
Brandi Wagner