To the Department of Education: Diversity is the practice of including or involving people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, etc. In three decades of teaching, I’ve not had a class where all my students were the same. Differentiated instruction is necessary in education. I must teach all my students, regardless of their myriad differences. I would not be able to do my job as an educator without honoring diversity.

Equity is the quality of being fair and impartial. No parent wants their child to be at a disadvantage the moment they enter a classroom. Because of that, I must be fair and treat each child as an equal of their peers. Consider the phrase “fair doesn’t mean everybody gets the same thing, it means everybody gets what they need.” Anyone who’s worked in education understands this. I cannot do my job as an educator without equity.

Inclusion is the practice of providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized. I teach a variety of music classes at the high school level, but one especially rewarding class that I teach is Unified Music, where I get to work with our school’s differently-abled students alongside their general ed peers. I’ve not seen a group of students more engaged or more eager to do well. Should those students have their opportunity to experience music taken away from them? I think not. I will not comply.

Dan Williams

Concord