The election hasn’t been officially called, but I’m embedding a series of tweets that will stand regardless of any hail-mary shifts in the coming hours.
Teachers will lead a lot of difficult discussions in months ahead AND will also need to organize around completely uncertain ed policies.
— Antero Garcia (@anterobot) November 9, 2016
Other than saying he’ll shut down the department of ed (& classroom effects of walls/immigration/etc.), there is no sense of what’s to come.
— Antero Garcia (@anterobot) November 9, 2016
And considering how big a factor non-college-educated demographics played in this election, I can’t imagine higher ed is in better position.
— Antero Garcia (@anterobot) November 9, 2016
And so teachers have 3-fold burden:
1. triage harm now
2. organize around labor issues
3. educate for future critical, civic engagement.— Antero Garcia (@anterobot) November 9, 2016
Teacher ed programs need to be intentionally political – there’s no hiding after tonight.
— Antero Garcia (@anterobot) November 9, 2016
Ours is an increasingly vulnerable profession and never more important than right now in guiding the nation.
— Antero Garcia (@anterobot) November 9, 2016
EVERY issue of bigotry that is placing Trump where he is. We need to own that burden in our classrooms and our pedagogies.
— Antero Garcia (@anterobot) November 9, 2016
Pundits get the luxury of talking about WHY this happened. Teachers? We get the responsibility of cleaning up the ideological mess we’re in.
— Antero Garcia (@anterobot) November 9, 2016
And while the demographics point to whiteness turning this election, our classrooms are so diverse. We need to teach with hope & dignity.
— Antero Garcia (@anterobot) November 9, 2016
Fear’s been factor for so many of our students during this election – racism, sexism, homophobia (and more). Civics are about to change.
— Antero Garcia (@anterobot) November 9, 2016
This election is a reminder that EVERY teacher is a civics teacher. This isn’t a choice.
— Antero Garcia (@anterobot) November 9, 2016
It looks likely that the definition of what being an “American” and being a “citizen” is going to tighten in the coming months.
— Antero Garcia (@anterobot) November 9, 2016
How will YOU talk about that with students that Trump has directly targeted through his words (and likely his policies)?
— Antero Garcia (@anterobot) November 9, 2016
How will YOU talk about your responsibility as a civics teacher with your colleagues down the hall?
— Antero Garcia (@anterobot) November 9, 2016
The plus side: we have a LOT of allies in this work — from the students in our classes to parents to local businesses and beyond.
— Antero Garcia (@anterobot) November 9, 2016
This is a reminder for marginalized populations that our existence–our identities–are seen as a threat. As teachers we build on that now.
— Antero Garcia (@anterobot) November 9, 2016
Thanks for this post and your leadership on these issues. What a terrible election result and turn of events for this country! I woke this morning to a crying 10 year old girl who had to finish her homework coloring the election map. She pretty much killed off her red marker while coloring through tears.
I know my white privilege allows me to turn off and on my concern and dismay about this election. For so many of my students, they feel a different stress about this news. My heart goes out to those who fear persecution, and deportation. I want to be smarter tomorrow about anti-racism than I am today. This post pushes my thinking about how to do that.