America already has a wall, it’s made up of teachers.
I debated whether to encourage my sophomore Global History students to watch President Trump’s address on Tuesday, January 8, 2019. Since 2016, it has been difficult to navigate how to incorporate civics and current events into my social studies classroom. I desire student awareness, but I am concerned that any discussion of his speech, or his presidency in general, might lead to parental concerns of misperceived bias on my part. Furthermore, I don’t know if I can be as objective as I once was. There are universal truths concerning human rights (which is a topic in the mandated curriculum that I teach). However, at every turn, the leaders of our country are declaring that truths and facts are not necessary. Instead, fear and the demonizing of the other is a winning strategy for achieving, consolidating and maintaining power.
The other is sitting in my classroom. She is on the Step Team I advise. He is walking in the hall joking innocently with his buddies. The other (call them immigrant, brown, black, Latino, Arab, etc.) is part of the student body at my school, and they are fully conscious that when Trump says we need a wall to keep people out of our country, those people look like them. They fully understand Donald Trump, Jr.’s message when he relates foreigners with zoo animals.
NPR recently released an article citing that politics have negatively impacted education across the country. The piece, entitled: “Virginia Study Finds Increased School Bullying In Areas That Voted For Trump,” focused on a Virginia study concerning an increase in bullying in schools where support for Trump was high in 2016. The Trump presidency has impacted education more than any administration in my twenty-three-year career….
