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TEACH LOVE
How to Teach During a Hateful Time
Day 1 — Setting the message
Like approximately half of America, I am unhappy with the results of the election. I have not had time to fully process what I think will happen when Trump moved into the Oval Office, and mostly because I don’t understand someone who is fully motivated by hate and ego. I’m certain it will be terrible, but I just don’t know.
But, as a teacher, I’m not going to hide from talking to my students about it. I need to give them space to talk and I need to have something to tell them besides “I don’t know”. They will look to me for answers and I need to show them at least something. I think that today is going to be one of my most important and challenging days of teaching. I am not at all looking forward to it, but here I am an hour before school trying to get my thoughts in order.
Here are some things I’m going to tell them and that I’m going to do. Some will be right, and some will be wrong. If you have suggestions or thoughts, leave them in the comments.
I will tell them that I do not know what will happen. I can’t pretend to understand everything that a Trump administration will mean for them as they navigate the next four years. It’s clear that he ran on a platform of hate, especially for people of color and marginalized…
