Lessons on the mural

Letter to the editor in the August 7 SF Chronicle:

Raise awareness on murals

Regarding “Voters want to keep mural, poll says” (Aug. 7) and “Black leaders back Washington mural” (Aug. 7): At a time when many students and faculty weren’t even aware of Diego Rivera’s Mural of Pan-American Unity at City College, we used a grant for instructional improvement to create lessons on it across the curriculum — English, history, art, graphic design, women’s studies, transitional studies, Latin American history, etc.

According to Phil Matier’s report, a poll shows that voters of color oppose the school board’s decision to paint over Victor Arnautoff’s mural at Washington High School 72% to 12%, and as Michael Cabanatuan reported “Black leaders back Washington mural,” so why doesn’t the San Francisco Board of Education focus on promoting a program that would increase the awareness of all aspects of the mural instead of painting over it?

Students could be given agency to take a close look at it instead of away from it and create artwork and written work expressing their thoughts and feelings. I was shocked at the viewing that they had only provisional signage. They could use a QR code to keep commentary current and inclusive. 

The Board of Education needs to add to, not subtract from, student learning.

Tina Martin

San Francisco

Rob's comment:

From Matier's column:

School board President Stevon Cook said he wasn’t surprised by the poll results. “I think the public is reacting to the price, but they haven’t really heard why we made the decision,” Cook said. “Most of the ‘click bait’ has been triggered by the words ‘whitewashing over,’ ‘destroying’ and ‘spending over a half a million dollars.’

“What has been lost, is that we made this unanimous vote in service of our students, especially those from communities’ negativity portrayed in the mural, to have a safe learning environment,” Cook said.

No, it's not about the inflated cost of painting over the mural. It's about Cook's idea of what his job is. He seems to think his primary function is as a baby sitter who must prevent his charges from being upset by what they see and learn. 

But a good "learning environment" should be intellectually and emotionally risky, especially learning about the shocking history of their own country. 

How can any generation make the necessary changes to society if they're ignorant about its history?