E.K. Guyre: School Board Candidate Q&A
(D). E.K. Guyre has lived in the district for four years, holds a BSW, and has family in the schools. She is an active volunteer with local community groups, including Delaware Valley Action!, and is excited to continue working with the community to keep Pike County the wonderful place that it is.
1. Should kids be required to wear masks unless they show a medical exemption?
Schools should follow the law. Our state has mandated wearing masks in our schools. In the event that the mandate expires, best practices should be guided by medical experts at the AAP, CDC and doctors at local hospitals.
2. Do you think kids are getting too much screen time at school? Explain.
I would like to speak to more teachers and parents about this and get a better sense of the amount of screen time that is engaged in. This has not come up as a concern in the past few months, but there may be more to the situation and I would like to hear how our parents and educators feel about it.
3. How can we bring peace back to our teachers and parents?
We can bring peace back to parents and teachers by listening to educated professionals and making decisions using evidence-based information. We need to recognize that none of us can know everything, but there are experts in each field that we can turn to for reliable information. We also need to remember that we are a community and we are all working toward the same goal: to give our students an excellent, well-rounded education.
4. How do we teach our kids what it means to be responsible members of the community?
We teach our students how to be responsible members of our community by being a consistent example for them to follow. Our students do not just learn in our classrooms. They learn how to engage with and live in our community by the choices and behaviors they see depicted around them. If we want our students to be responsible members of our community, then we must be responsible members of our community.
5. Should schools stick to teaching the standard academic curriculum as it currently exists and leave the rest to parents?
I am not entirely sure what is meant by “the rest,” however, our schools already teach our students so much more than just the standard academic curriculum. Our students learn how to socialize, engage in teamwork, and responsibility by engaging in our sports, arts, and science programs. They learn about different interests by joining clubs and volunteering. Schools are not just about reading, writing, and arithmetic; they are preparing our students for the real world.