After more than a year of polarizing campaign rhetoric about immigrants that led to reports of increased school bullying across the country, many school districts have begun offering additional counseling and support services for students who fear for their futures under the next presidential administration. In Arkansas, a second-grade student from Mexico arrived at school Wednesday with tears in her eyes , asking “Does this mean we’re going to have to get all the stuff out of our house?” Similar stories of worried students have come out of Baltimore , New York City , Los Angeles and elsewhere, even among those who are U.S. citizens . Hillary Clinton addressed this recently, saying, “No child should be afraid to go to school because they’re Latino, or African-American, or Muslim, or because they have a disability.” And on 60 Minutes on Sunday, President-elect Donald Trump told his supporters to ‘stop it,’ a general directive that was not aimed specifically at young people.
But what about educators, the men and women in charge of schools? How should they respond? As EWA reported, school districts are offering “additional counseling and support services” to troubled students. That’s the approach in Los Angeles, the nation’s second largest school district.
As students and staff arrive at school today, we know there may be feelings of fear and anxiety, especially within our most vulnerable communities. The District is providing additional supports to those who need it. With emotions running high, our schools will continue to be the anchors of our neighborhoods. We ask our teachers and school leaders to continue their amazing work of listening to our students and striving together to assure that public education is the great civil rights engine of democracy. As we do every day, we will take all necessary steps to ensure the safety and well-being of our students, staff and schools. And the work with our families to fulfill the American Dream continues today. Providing additional supports apparently means counseling for the victims. Is that adequate? Is that even leadership?
Not in a million years! I think it’s namby-pamby Casper Milquetoast behavior masquerading as leadership. Frankly, I think it’s a pathetic abdication of the fundamental responsibility to protect children. The adults’ job isn’t to make students feel better after
Imagine if the fire chief and the police chief ‘reassured’ the community about the known arsonist who was intent on burning down homes, schools and churches by saying, “Don’t worry, folks. If he burns your houses down,we have plenty of tents and blankets for you.”
Both of them would lose their jobs, and rightly so.
Strong leaders at the school and district level ought to be drawing a line in the sand, saying in the clearest way possible:
Hate speech and other forms of harassment have no place in our classrooms and in our schools. There will be serious consequences for any behavior that threatens the safety of students or makes it impossible for students to learn and teachers to teach. Period, end of sentence.
I am not endorsing Zero Tolerance, the failed policy of automatic suspensions for certain offenses. In fact, bigotry should be treated as a teachable moment, and the principles of restorative justice should be followed. Kicking the haters out solves nothing.
Digging into the ‘why’ of the unacceptable behavior would be controversial, because the seeds of the bigotry and hatred were probably sown at home, meaning that school leaders have to invade that territory. But they cannot shy from that responsibility, not if they want to be able to hold their heads up high.
These are dangerous times for many children, and educators must protect them. So far, they are not doing their jobs, from what I am hearing.
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The Merrow Report 
Too bad they can’t expel someone who happens to be our President-elect. Heart-breaking that things have come to this.
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[…] As schools reopen in the New Year and Donald Trump’s inauguration draws near, the reality of dramatic increases in hate speech and hate behavior cannot be ignored. Educators need to know that merely reacting to offenses will not be adequate. The adults in charge need to step up and be proactive. They must draw some very clear lines about what behavior will not be tolerated. It’s not enough to offer counseling and sympathetic hugs after the fact! […]
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