The 2016 Presidential campaign was the most negative,
divisive campaign in recent memory. The
winning candidate openly threatened groups of individuals based on religious
affiliation, race, sexual orientation, immigrant status, and other perceived
differences. Citizens of all ages have
been troubled by the demonstrated intolerance as well as real and potential
threats to these groups. Even as the
campaign ended the election elicited not just hateful words but emboldened
discriminatory and extremist groups and individuals to target racial, ethnic
and religious minorities, immigrants and others. All of these angry, threatening rhetorical
and actual racist, bigoted acts have contributed to a climate of uncertainty
and anxiety among Americans who fear that this movement will impose and
normalize intolerant and hate-motivated behaviors against vulnerable
populations. Children are foremost
among those who are most vulnerable.
In April 2016, during the height of the campaign, the
Southern Poverty Law Center, a 45 year old organization that tracks and
monitors the activities of hate groups, surveyed public school teachers
regarding their observations of their students’ reactions. Over 2000 teachers responded. Their experiences were alarming. Students of all ages had a level of
awareness of the positions of the candidates and their supporters, thanks to
access to social media, electronic media and adults’ conversations. Over
two thirds of the teachers reported that children of color, especially, were
anxious, confused and scared about what might happen to their families if
Donald Trump won. It was noted that immigrant
children and children of undocumented families were stressed and even some
African American children worried about being sent back to Africa.
Over all the
teachers felt that many students were discouraged and depressed by what they
were hearing from the Republican candidate.
The problem was compounded by these children’s knowledge that some
adults in the schools and fellow students shared the candidate’s views. Teachers saw an increase in bullying linked
to the tensions created by the political rhetoric. Since the election, SPLC has
documented over 700 incidents of hate-related harassment throughout the country. We’ve experienced some of those incidents,
locally. SPLC is replicating this survey
post-election.
As educators, we especially shoulder the responsibility to
ensure that our schools are safe havens for our students. After the election
Dr. Cash and I talked about how to reassure our students, who are apprehensive
about their future; how to let them know that we understand that some of them
are feeling scared and anxious; that we support them and we value them and are
committed to ensuring a safe space for all students. Many of you have read the letter sent to the
District community that resulted from our conversations. But, Dr. Cash and I also talked about the
next steps. It’s important that our actions not stop with a letter.
The question then, becomes what do we, as educators –
parents- concerned adults -- do to help our children navigate the new reality
that our country is facing? I think that
one of the answers is that we use the events or situations experienced by our
students as teachable moment opportunities.
Ironically, too many of our students experience bullying and
intimidation in their lives. However,
using these experiences as teachable moments, we have the ability to engage
children in personal understanding of why respect is important in building
positive relationships; why civility is important in the process of promoting
dynamic dialogue; why being empowered is important in developing decision
making, problem solving and critical thinking skills that offer the means for
self-protection as well as the capacity to support fellow students who are
being bullied. This is not a new
idea! In fact, I know that it’s
happening in classrooms every day. Just
last week, to the credit of the school’s administration and teachers, the
Stanley Makowski Early Childhood Center held a school-wide anti-bullying series
of events.
But, now more than ever I think we need to be intentional
and inclusive in making anti-bullying a focus of a community-wide
endeavor. Two years ago, the District
held an anti-bullying campaign to heighten awareness about forms/consequences
of bullying and how to confront it; members of the Board of Education, the
Mayor, the Superintendent and staff rode the anti-bully bus; and visited
several schools throughout the District that shared their bully-prevention
programs. I was impressed by the
enthusiasm of the students; by their creative responses to bullying and the
attention that the District and the City gave this all important issue. I also
learned a new word that day. I learned what it meant to be an “Upstander”; an individual who sees wrong and acts. A person who takes a
stand against an act of injustice or intolerance; a person who is not a
“positive bystander,” that’s the definition of an Upstander.
Each and every one of us can be an Upstander,
and consequently a role model for our children.
And as such, we become the teachable moments that I children learn from
– outside of the classroom. I urge all
concerned adults to commit to making ‘Upstander” a word whose meaning becomes
an integral part of this community’s vocabulary and visible actions.
