This election season, Democrat Gloria Witt is running for the United States House of Representatives for the 5th District of Virginia. Why? Because she feels like she has to.
Witt’s decision to run was spurred by what her campaign describes as an “assault” on issues ranging from education and voting rights to women, minorities, and the LGBTQ+ community. She hopes to preserve these key parts of American life, and protect against those who would remove them.
A-Town Today and The Revolution sat down with Witt on Oct. 3 to discuss her views on education prior to the election.
While she doesn’t have any political experience, Witt has served in various leadership roles in the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Lynchburg and Centra Health, was the president of the NAACP Amherst branch for six years, and is a small business owner. “…a lot of the skill sets are transferable,” she said. “So it’s been a learning journey, and I’m enjoying it, because at the heart of all of it is helping people.”
Witt feels that she would be a good fit in Congress because of the skills she gained through her work in the corporate world. “The idea that we’re all going to agree is a myth, but we can agree on a common interest…and listen. And once you understand what the barrier is through listening, you can move forward with thoughts and recommendations…and then move the entire position forward,” she said. “…That is a gift of my ability to pull people together for forward movement.”
Among her many issues and topics, including abortion rights and gun restrictions, education is an important part of Witt’s campaign. As a member of the House, she would work to improve America’s education system and fine tune it to today’s needs.
First, Witt feels that the education system needs reworking with regards to preparing students for their lives after high school. “That would be the thing I would want to shift when I make it to Congress to really talk about career, technical skills, because 60 percent of our young people don’t go off to a four year college…So what happens to all those young people? And I think we’ve got to kind of swing the pendulum back a little bit and really highlight and lift up career technical skills.”
Similarly, Witt thinks that it is the role of the federal government to create a framework for which schools to base their curriculum around. She also believes that teachers have become expected to go beyond their official duties, and should be paid more if they are to continue fulfilling these extra responsibilities.
However, content isn’t the only thing that matters about education; atmosphere is important too. Through observing and hearing about school from her grandson, Witt has noticed that schools have become less fun. “You show up, you sit down, you grind, grind, test grind, grind, test grind, grind. Where’s the joy?’ It’s no joy for the teacher and it’s no joy for the young person.”
Safety in schools is another major issue for Witt. She hopes that a combination of locking external and internal doors, a ban on assault weapons, and discrete, “cutesy” mobile metal detectors will help alleviate the nation-wide gun violence and school shooting crisis. “I think they’re worthy strategies and life saving strategies, and not quite as invasive as the big old metal detectors that you see in an airport, because this should be a place of belonging, and it shouldn’t feel like I’m walking into penitentiaries.”
Witt also appears concerned about the increasing role religion is playing in recent laws, especially in schools. “I think with the MAGA Republican Party, they are trying to legislate morality, and I would say they’re impacting our religious freedom because of that. Although I worship God, other people may worship a different type.” Witt supports the neutral moment of silence currently in place in Virginia, where students can choose if and how to pray.
Finally, Witt expressed her views on the teaching of controversial topics, like race, gender, and sexuality in schools. “[I] don’t think that the role of the school is to teach about it, but nor is [it] the role of school to demonize it or to make a child feel less than because of their gender and their desire to be authentic for who they are,” she said. “…There’s something wrong with that. And I have to take a page out of my teenager’s grandson’s book, and he says to me, ‘The problem, Grammy, is the adult. We know who each other are.’”
Both A-Town Today and the Revolution reached out to the Republican candidate, John McGuire III, with interview requests. His campaign did not respond to several contact attempts.
