First hour: Discussing the question, "Why do we hate?"
Second hour: RCSD Superintendent Terry Dade on his proposed strategies to address the district's financial crisis
“Why do we hate?” It’s a question we explore with two men whose paths have crossed after coming from very different perspectives. Pardeep Kaleka lost his father in 2012, when a white supremacist opened fire on a Sikh temple. Arno Michaelis helped form the gang that produced the mass shooter – that gang was the largest racist skinhead organization in the world. Now, Michaelis speaks out against racism and has written a book called “My Life After Hate.” He and Kaleka met for the first time in 2013, and since then, they’ve formed an educational organization and written a book, “The Gift of Our Wounds: A Sikh and Former White Supremacist Find Forgiveness After Hate.” They’ll be in Rochester later this month as guests of the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester’s Levine Center to End Hate, but first, they share their stories and their message on Connections. Our guests:
- Pardeep Kaleka, co-author of “The Gift of Our Wounds: A Sikh and Former White Supremacist Find Forgiveness After Hate”
- Arno Michaelis, co-author of “The Gift of Our Wounds: A Sikh and Former White Supremacist Find Forgiveness After Hate”
- Karen Elam, director of the Levine Center to End Hate at the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester
Then in our second hour, we’re joined by Rochester City School District Superintendent Terry Dade. On Tuesday evening, Dade shared his strategies for fixing the district's finance problems going forward. He told the Rochester City School Board's Finance Committee that the district needs to take major steps to address the kinds of problems that have caused uncertainty about revenue and budget gaps. One of his proposals is to cut nearly 290 staff positions, including dozens of teaching positions. Dade says he has stayed true to his commitment not to immediately slash teaching positions to cover for the previous year's budget gap, but difficult decisions must be made to address long term planning. We talk to Dade about the district’s finances, his proposed strategies, and how those strategies will impact students. In studio:
- Terry Dade, superintendent of the Rochester City School District
