All the guests on today's Local Talk discussed ways they were combating the threats to learning, from book banning to censuring teachers through bills in the Iowa legislature. We started with an archived discussion about teaching and research in history by ISU Professors Brian Behnken and Amy Ruetenberg in response to legislative attempts to prevent teaching of the 1619 project.
Randy Evans,executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, spoke about the politically opportunistic attacks on teachers.
Moving from schools to libraries, Amanda Vasquez , Chair of the Intellectual Property Committee of the Iowa Library Association, formerly director of the Orange City library, told her story.
To cap off the hour we played an excerpt from the January 24 Moral Monday "Underfunding and over-managing our public schools" led by Connie Ryan, executive director of the Interfaith Alliance, with guests Senator Herman Quirmbach (Ames); Rep. Sharon Steckman (Mason City); and Melissa Peterson, Iowa State Education Association.
