Local stories, local stories…yeah. That’s the thing, right? Put everything else out of mind. Think local.
Think, think, think.
In local news today, teachers will have to go to work and face students whose whole worlds have just been shattered in an election they couldn’t vote in. My heart is aching for them.
Students from all manner of marginalized and vulnerable groups will be fearful or numb. LGTBQIA students will be feeling less safe. Young women demoralized. Very young children will probably be unaware but they will certainly pick up on how the adults around them are feeling. They are like little barometers. They may not be able to articulate what is going on but they feel it, sometimes very deeply.
Teaching is hard enough on an ordinary day. Today is beyond comprehending.
Those who think that school is just about reading and math and that teachers should stay in their lane have probably never been in a classroom longer than occasional parent teacher nights. Schools have to deal with the real students who show up every day. You can’t just say “I’m here for the reading and math” and ignore hunger, fear, poverty, injustice, or any of the stumbling blocks that our culture puts in front of children.
How do teachers hold it all together on a day like today? How do they explain a political victory by people who reject feeding hungry school children, seek to actively persecute those who are “different”, or plan to literally round up and deport children and families? Our kids spend a big chunk of every day, five days a week, with their teachers. There no way that this won’t impact the school environment.
To be sure, some students will be from families that are happy about the election results. Some teachers will be, too. That does not render those who are suffering invisible. That doesn’t make getting through the school day any easier. It doesn’t matter where you live in Howard County or what your school looks like. Today those schools will open their doors and teach and care for children because that’s what they have committed to do.
We expect teachers to do far too much in not enough time and for nowhere near enough compensation. And today they will be holding the world together in ways we cannot possibly imagine. This post is dedicated to them.
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