It’s a Monday in February, and if you guessed that a lot of Howard County students have the new cell phone policy on their minds, you’d be right. It will mean big changes and it will be stressful, no matter how much good we hope it will do in the long run. But on this particular Monday cell phones might not be top of mind, as amazing as that seems.
Some kids will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE.
Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government.
Some fear heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed.
Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore.
It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings.
And look! Here’s something new to fear. That old hate group, Libs of TikTok, is out to get the Howard County Schools again.
I wrote about Libs of TikTok back in August.
Hate Group in the Henhouse 8/22/24, Village Green/Town²
A reminder:
[Founder Chaya] Raichik uses the accounts to repost content created by left-wingand LGBT people on TikTok, and on other social-media platforms, often with hostile, mocking, or derogatory commentary. The accounts promote hate speech and transphobia, and spread false claims, especially relating to medical care of transgender children. The Twitter account, also known by the handle @LibsofTikTok, has nearly 3 million followers as of February 2024 and has become influential among American conservatives and the political right. Libs of TikTok's social-media accounts have received several temporary suspensions and a permanent suspension from TikTok.
…Some Libs of TikTok posts have resulted in harassment against teachers, medical providers, children's hospitals, libraries, LGBT venues, and educational facilities, several of which received bomb threats after being featured on a post. - - Wikipedia
The worst thing about this is that it had to be someone from our own community who “reported this” so that Libs of TikTok could unleash an attack. This is someone who is so deeply uncomfortable with the concept of addressing issues of race and the prospect of students developing critical thinking skills that they were willing to draw a big red circle around those students and their teachers and make all of them targets of hate.
Adults have a tendency to roll their eyes about the things that young people care about. It may seem as though it’s all cell phones and social media, TikTok and selfies. It’s far too facile an approach to assume it’s all pop music, fast fashion trends and consumer fads.
Look at the world they wake up to every day.
Some are anxious and upset about the new cell phone policy.
Some will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE.
Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government.
Some dread heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed.
Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore.
It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings.
And now there’s something new to fear. Libs of TikTok has put a big fat target on their backs.
So, what will we do? What are the best ways to support our young people, our teachers, and our schools? Because, if we truly care about our kids the way we say that we do, we need to step up like never before.
Ideas? Let me know.
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