OPINION: Why if we consider democratic teachers/professors … given their behavior?
After reading this article from the chairman of a group called From Polarization to Progress at the Public Education &, Business Coalition, I had to grunt a little bit.
Katy Anthes, previously the Colorado training director, wants to remind all that, post-election, Americans” also agree on more than we do n’t”.
Of course, she writes this as someone” who is not on th]e ] winning side”, who’s “grieving”, is “in disbelief”, and has “deep sadness and concern”.
Anthes ( pictured ) also notes she” cannot excuse the words and behaviors” of Donald Trump, which she deems “mean, disrespectful, and divisive”.
But, luckily for those who voted red, Anthes wo n’t “paint]Trump ] supporters with the same brush”.
We are all being fed a slew of falsehoods about one another. That’s genuine. And I , can , realize that. Past teaches us that in times of uncertainty, people often pivot to anxiety and tribes. In order to improve this politics, regardless of who won the election, we must work through the coming days, months, and years to improve understanding across the divide. Teachers have to be the first to design this understanding.
We must unite to defend both civilization and each other in the work we see in front of us. We must remove how many we , think , we hate each other and how many we think the “other side” is bad. Our kids eventually absorb this culture, and they are acting it out now, also.
I’d like to think Anthes, I really do. I’m skeptical, however, given her characterizations and the many ways teachers across the nation have acted during and after the election.
Why do I think that Anthes was as politically sensible as Danielle Mann, Maximiliano Perez, or these other people in the classroom?
Think of New Yorker movie critic Pauline Kael’s admission that Richard Nixon won a second term, which is similar to the delusion of modern teachers. and expect you to nod your head in contract.
Further: Trump’s work may be harmed by a mocking photo of his teachers and family.
Consider this new post in , The Philadelphia Inquirer titled” Philly-area individuals had’ some tears ‘ and lots of inquiries after the election. Instructors made place for it all. Teachers claimed their students were “extremely deflated”, “teed off”, and had” some tears ]and ] lots of fears”. Thus, a teacher from that class responded by bringing up” the privilege that powerful white men in particular have in the United States.”
In Virginia, the state teachers union sent out an email to its associates which stated” They will arrive for us”,” Virginia … does not fit into the MAGA narrative”, and” America is bigger than Trump and his extremism”.
This particular incident brings back memories of the professors ‘ union representative who visited my class in October 1994 and inquired if I wanted a yard sign for the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate.
” Why”? I asked. ” I’m voting for the other guy”. The look of surprise on the rep’s encounter was magnificent. ( The guy for whom I voted won, by the way. )
A long-term substitute in the teachers ‘ lounge made a disparaging remark about Newt Gingrich ( the GOP had won the House in November for the first time in 40 years and elected him as Speaker ). He began giggles right away, anticipating how much I and the other guests may understand his “humor.”
I questioned why he assumed we were all democratic Liberals. Without uttering a syllable, he quickly left the club.
So you see, while Anthes ‘ assertions about “undoing” how we see the other side as “evil”, etc. truly are commendable, allow me a cliché: Actions speak louder than words.
Further: Cancel culture comes back to bite the Left amid comments wishing Trump was assassinated
IMAGE: Dubrouskaya Tatsiana/Shutterstock .com
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