The Nov. 14, 2024, article “ACSD Board Member Draws Fire” paints Brian Bauer in a negative light. The article recounts a portion of the Nov. 11, 2024, ACSD School Board meeting, during which Brian used the term “normal” to identify students who do not have disabilities and do not come from historically disadvantaged populations, and two fellow school board members chastised him for doing so.

I was at that meeting. I heard Brian’s words. If there is anyone that could be offended by Brian’s reference to “normal” kids, it’s me. I am the mother of a neurodiverse family. I am a disability rights and special education advocate. I am the mother to an ethnically, racially, and linguistically diverse family. I disagree with Brian on most issues. And I was not offended. I cringed, but I was not offended.

To anyone paying attention, it was clear that Brian’s reference to “normal kids” was not made in malice. He just didn’t have the “right” words. When one school board member first called out Brian’s use of the word “normal,” Brian asked for help; he asked what he should have said. Instead of getting help, he was told to be quiet as “a point of order.”

Let me be clear: By no means do I think it is OK for anyone to use the word “normal” to refer to any population of human beings. That would only serve to perpetuate harm and the delusion of there being some “normal” standard for us humans. But it is also harmful (and definitely not helpful) to shame people when they don’t use the “right” words — especially when they are asking for help.

As I tried to communicate in my public comment at that same meeting, I think we should help our fellow community members learn with grace when it’s clear that they mean no harm. We should help them find the “right” words and help them understand why certain words might be hurtful or harmful to others. We should not shame them.

Brian meant no harm. He asked for help and he deserved our help. Instead, he received a public shaming from some fellow school board members and an even more public shaming from an article in this newspaper — neither of which gave him a chance to comment or explain himself.

In the future, I look forward to continuing to disagree with Brian and others on issues facing our school district, giving them grace when warranted, and helping them find the “right” words (if I happen to have them).

Mary Slosar

Weybridge