Each day, educators greet and teach bright, smiling faces of all colors, from all walks of life. However, amid much of the policy-fueled chaos in our country, many of those little faces are no longer smiling. What teachers see is uncertainty, confusion, and fear.
As Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to kidnap—and even kill—people, many students across the country fear that they or members of their families could be next. With the recent leak of a memo that says ICE agents are allowed to enter homes without a judge’s warrant, that fear is more tangible than ever.
If you’re an educator whose students and families could be in danger, it only makes sense for you to want to help beyond your classroom walls. By all means, march, donate, and advocate, and fight for undocumented youth and families when and where it makes sense. We should stand with the oppressed whenever and however we can.
And, there is something all justice-oriented educators—specifically of undocumented youth—can do for them that will make all the difference in the long-term: continue to teach them with all that you have.
Teaching grammar (communication) or fractions (numeracy and problem-solving), etc. to grade school students might not feel like playing your part in the resistance, but it is. As was the case during his first administration, young people are feeling the stress and strain of racist policies during Trump 2.0. We fight for young people who’ve experienced violence from law enforcement or those unlawfully taken into custody. Equally egregious is young people being made to interpret complex documents, become caretakers for younger siblings, or make serious decisions they don’t have the wherewithal to make.
In addition to protesting, teaching young people how to read, analyze, articulate, and think critically may be the best thing you can do for young people in danger of coming into contact with ICE. Because if young people are put in an unfair position to stand before authorities, speak up on behalf of someone else, or look after family when the adults have been taken, their life may very well depend on their ability to read and think critically.
We live in a time when it feels like we need a superhero to save us from the dangers that abound. But we already have them: teachers. Not because teachers have X-ray vision, can fly, or have superhuman strength. But because teachers are patient and kind, they can bring a smile to children’s faces with a science lesson that has liquids explode, or get kids excited when they join them in a game during gym.
Teachers are the people who can inspire children to dream big and to understand that they are not the sum of their mistakes or failures. Teachers have the unique ability to motivate, encourage, and enlighten young people, not simply to get good grades, but to change the world for the better. It may seem a lifetime away for our youngest people to have an impact, but historically, they have often been at the forefront of liberation movements.
You might be teaching the next leader of a movement to combat the injustice we’re witnessing. You might teach the graphic designer who will make materials for the movement. Maybe they will write speeches for a political candidate, manage a nonprofit’s budget, or teach the next generation of leaders. The possibilities for your students are endless, and when you teach your content, you are exposing them to new experiences that inspire new ideas, thoughts, and solutions to old problems, as well as new ones.
We are the catalyst that can change the course of a child’s trajectory. For better or for worse. It may seem that young people need someone to swoop in and save the day. But what they really need is structure, rigor, consistency, and someone who believes in them. Teachers occupy a unique position in being able to provide young people with all those things, especially those who are being blocked from them due to public policy.
We need to be highly effective at our jobs and show compassion, care, and concern while doing it. If we do, I believe our work will be the difference between the world becoming better than the one we are witnessing and remaining the scary, dark place that frightens the young people we teach.
The only way to cure the darkness is with light and a good fight. So, use your vocation to make bright young minds shine brighter so they can defend themselves and others (including, undoubtedly us, one day) with those minds. This is our calling. More than ever before, this is our time to answer.
A luta continua vitória é certa.
