Teaching in the era of Trump
I recently saw an item that really symbolized the sorry state of affairs that we find ourselves in as a society. Kenneth Storey, a visiting assistant professor of sociology at the University of Tampa was fired last week for tweeting the following regarding the tragic flood down in Texas:
“I don’t believe in instant karma, but this kind of feels like it for Texas. Hopefully this will help them realize the GOP doesn’t care about them.”
While the statement itself is foolish, petty, and ill-timed, it actually does bring to the surface a couple of salient points that are worth mentioning:
- Claiming that the flood in Texas was “instant karma” based on the fact that Texas consistently votes Republican down the line — Well, Texas has been voting reliably for the GOP for a long time, how is it “instant karma?”
- Stating that the GOP “doesn’t care about them,” so now maybe the people there will wake up. — First of all, is there a political party that actually cares about the voters, other than that they come out and vote? Second, if he’s making the point that people vote against their self-interest, particularly blue-collar working class rural Americans who blindly support the GOP, then, yes, that is what is happening, and it has been happening for a long time.
They say it’s all about the timing. Kenneth Storey, a Tampa University professor, made a foolish faux pas at the absolute worst possible time. It’s like being concerned about a young woman’s weight, and mentioning it to her at her wedding as she’s walking down the aisle. It’s just bad timing. (New York Times)
There’s little to debate regarding the poor timing of Professor Storey’s ridiculous tweet. As for its content, I would say that it also accomplishes little, other than to upset people on both sides of the political spectrum. However, there may be a far greater issue at play here that does create an open door for political and social debate. The question to be discussed can trace its roots all the way back to the 2016 presidential election. How should the Trump presidency be handled in the high school and college classrooms? Is he such a unique case in American political history that he needs to be discussed differently by teachers? Should educators check their political ideologies at the door? Are we abdicating our responsibilities as educators by not calling out the president if his behaviors appear outrageous in comparison to the decorum practiced by previous occupants of the White House?
For a guy who wasn’t exactly a dedicated student in the classroom, President Trump now finds himself at the center of many classroom discussions. By the way, that expression on his face in the picture above was most likely the face he made every time the teacher called on him and asked him if he had done his homework. (Getty Images)
Determining what is acceptable classroom fodder for discussion has never been an easy argument to settle. One thing that we can generally agree on is that the debate and tone in a college classroom is and should be somewhat different from the way issues are discussed in the high school classroom. College is for adults who are paying for an education, and are hopefully being exposed to new ideas and opinions that they heretofore hadn’t necessarily been.
Of course, there are many on the political right who scream about what they perceive is a left-wing bias regarding the political and social leanings of college professors, as well as the overly sensitized college students who need safe zones, and refuse to be exposed to alternative points of view, such as what we are witnessing at the University of California at Berkeley. It is disappointing, particularly in a college setting to see free speech, as well as the free flow of ideas being shut down by political correctness at what were once bastions for this type of debate. Most professors however, still go about the business of exposing their students to new and challenging ways of thinking, without the histrionics we witness on the news and social media from time to time.
The University of California at Berkeley once again sees itself at the center of the protest movement. However this time, it’s not civil rights or Vietnam, it’s free speech and controversial political ideology that is being opposed. In this scene of protest, Berkeley students are protesting conservative writer and all-around “snarker” Milo Yiannopoulos’ appearing as a guest speaker at the university.
Anybody who understands the concept of what college is supposed to be about, knows that controversial topics, unpopular opinions, as well as the concept of open discussion is the very fiber and being of what one is supposed to encounter at college. High School however, is a bit different. It is in our secondary public schools, where parents still hold a certain amount of sway over the tone and tenor of what takes place in the classroom through their representatives on the various boards of education where teachers need to exercise a bit of caution.
One of the most sure-fire ways for an educator to run afoul in the classroom in these politically divisive times, is to stray out of their comfort zone. For example, many teachers who are not social studies or history teachers in our public schools, still have opinions regarding the political scene in America. This has never been more pronounced since the election of Donald Trump. High School students are very aware of the changes taking place in our politics since Trump’s election, and they know that it’s difficult to escape these discussions. However, I believe that there is a general belief amongst students that while they know they are going to be exposed to their social studies teacher’s opinion on Trump, they may feel it is not really in the wheelhouse of the earth science, or home and career consumer science (“Home-Ec.”) teacher’s area of expertise. In other words, is it really the place for your Spanish teacher to tell you that you were stupid if you supported Trump in the election? (Actually, what the Spanish teacher would have said was: “Eres estupido de haber votado por Trump.”)
Mr. Walter White is a good example of what I’m talking about. This gentleman is certainly a qualified high school chemistry teacher, however, should he really be discussing the president in his classroom? I could see if he wants to dabble in a discussion regarding economics, particularly supply and demand, but not politics. (You Tube)
While on the surface, it would seem very simple to conclude that English, science, and math teachers should stay out of presidential politics, it may not be as “black and white” as one might have been led to believe. For example, if you have a president who proclaims global warming to be a hoax, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and you are a science teacher discussing the climate, or even pollution in general, and the president has appointed climate change deniers to his cabinet who are also for loosening if not the all out elimination of pollution restrictions, you certainly have to at the very least inform your students of these issues.
Does it make you a socialist to demonstrate to your science class that for the first time in recorded history, you can sail through the Arctic Ocean all the way to the Pacific without a boat that has ice-breaking capabilities? Scientific fact that flies in the face of political headwinds, which right now blow conservative, should not be hidden or sugar-coated just because they don’t fit the narrative put out by this or any White House.
Scott Pruitt is the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. He was appointed by Donald Trump despite the fact that he has done nothing but attempt to fight the E.P.A. and skirt its rules. Should a science teacher in high school who is teaching environmental science not mention in a discussion of pollution that the government is making it easier for industries to pollute?Is that too controversial? (Getty Images)
The same can be said for the English teacher. If you are teaching Shakespeare or any author who discusses power or race in their writings, isn’t it the idea to not only turn students on to these great authors and their works, but also to demonstrate to them how these classic pieces of literature are more relevant than ever in 2017? What point is there in teaching 1984 or Animal Farm, or Fahrenheit 451, or even It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis, if you are not going to point out the similarities of what is happening in America today, and compare it to what these authors attempted to warn us about in the past. Certainly, English class doesn’t have to be an ode to our lost democracy under the present administration, and it would certainly be preferrable if our students could figure out why the messages put forth in books such as 1984 have relevance for us in 21st century America, but the teacher can’t run from these classical works either. They have to find the proper balance between educating students to what is available to them, without shoving their own political views down the students’ throats. This is much easier said than done.
The balancing act for a teacher becomes far more acute when that teacher is a social studies teacher. All events in history are subject to opinion, and figuring out why and how an event took place in history will lend itself naturally towards debate in a social studies class. However, it is the students who should be debating each other, and not the teacher necessarily debating his or her students. It is the teacher’s responsibility to inform and enlighten, not to bully and cower students into submission regarding their opinions on all matters discussed in the classroom.
For example, a few years ago, some in the camp of the uninformed began claiming that here in New York State, teachers were allegedly teaching about how great Islam was as a feature of the “Common Core” curriculum. However, none of this was even remotely true. New York State’s 9th grade social studies curriculum couldn’t be more clear when it discusses how all of the world’s major religions, including the three great monotheistic religions have to be covered. The social studies teacher must educate the students on the history, traditions, and rules of these religions. Upon completion of the lesson, the teacher doesn’t turn to the students and say, “Oh, and by the way, it’s the Hindus who have it right. Everybody stand and praise Shiva the Destroyer!”
Is it my responsibility as a social studies teacher to tell students that the 1920s were a time of racism and prejudice, and that having the KKK march openly through our nation’s capital is a bad thing, or do I simply present these facts and let them figure it out. Here’s the problem, they have a lot of access to a lot of “information” on the internet, and some of it is dubious at best. Is this where a teacher must step in? (Getty Images)
One of the overlooked components of being a good teacher is explaining to students not only where they can get reliable information from for their research, but also, helping them identify sources that are let’s say, dubious in their accuracy and bias. The problem for students today is that they have almost unlimited access to information literally at their fingertips, but much of it doesn’t pass muster when it comes to its reliability.
The president has muddied these waters by proclaiming that every bit of information that is critical of him or what he’s attempting to accomplish is nothing more than “fake news,” and should be disregarded. Because the media is held in such low regard by so many Americans today, for reasons that are both legitimate, and less than savory, it has become more difficult as an educator to convince students that some of the information they are coming across is factually incorrect. Whenever legitimate voices are silenced or have doubt cast upon them, it opens the door for news sources that are at best sloppy when it comes to the facts, and at worst, purposely manipulative in order to get their agenda across at all costs.
Young and impressionable readers can be quick to buy in to these “news” sources, and so students will proudly proclaim in class that the first moon landing was faked in a Hollywood studio, or that Obama wasn’t born in America, or that somehow Nazis and Fascists are liberals, and that those who protest white supremacists are equally as bad as those that they are protesting. As a teacher of social studies, this type of misinformation can present many challenges that can often pit you against your students in the type of debates that don’t explore the important questions regarding history, but instead question whether the history they are learning can be trusted at all?
When the president is the main source of disinformation, a teacher’s job becomes just a little bit more difficult. (You Tube)
It is the teacher’s job to explain the different political philosophies, and not tell the students which one is better. Trump’s behavior and outrageous statements have probably forced many social studies teachers into a situation where their personal beliefs continue to creep in to their lessons whenever the president is being discussed.
Despite what I believe are my best efforts to come across as neutral, the more nuanced students in my class usually pick me off as a Liberal. Whenever it’s a presidential election year, students will always ask me who I’m voting for, but I never tell them until after. I always tell them that I’m too damn influential, so I don’t want to sway anybody. However, this year, I decided to be honest and let them know I was voting for Hillary, and I attempted to explain why. Most of my explanation was why I couldn’t vote for Trump. While the majority either agreed with me or didn’t care, a few were Trump supporters. I tried not to be too harsh in my explanation, and it would appear I did succeed in being, “fair and balanced.”
In what was one of the most satisfying things a student has ever said to me, a student who was an avid Trump supporter, and who had taken some heat from his other teachers, who said to me in front of the class, “Mr. Hoffman, I just want to say thank you. You’re the only teacher who hasn’t made me feel like a complete A___hole for wanting Trump to win.” This is known in teaching as a “small victory.”