Alan Singer
The primary goal of teachers, especially secondary school social studies teachers, is to help students weigh evidence, distinguish fact from fiction, consider underlying assumptions, and form their own informed opinions. It's about helping people evaluate issues from multiple perspectives. As a teacher, I usually reserve my opinion on certain topics, but I have no problem arguing that slavery, genocide, racism, dictatorship, and anti-Semitism are bad. There are no benefits.
For every topic, I give my students a document to evaluate that includes points I agree with and points I disagree with. My primary role in class is to ask questions that encourage respectful discussion of issues. I use this approach both when talking about the past, such as the causes of the American Revolution, and about current issues such as the role of human behavior in climate change, whether military action constitutes a war crime, and whether collective action. Use this approach even when speaking. It should be recognized as terrorism.
One of the key topics this fall will be the Biden administration's record on foreign policy, the economy, climate, and the immigration and refugee “crises.” The other question is whether Biden's age should be an issue in the election, whatever the evaluation of his first term.
The big question in September will be what to do about former President Donald Trump. How do we manage a balanced and unbiased analysis of a candidate who makes outrageous, hateful, and blatantly false statements? President Trump faces numerous criminal charges; Convicted of defamation and fraud, he sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election, continues to claim the election was stolen, dismisses all charges against him as politically motivated, and grants presidential election immunity from prosecution. requesting. Former president.
The November election will be a major focus of middle school and high school social studies classes. I am not neutral about slavery, genocide, racism, dictatorship, or anti-Semitism. Nor is it neutral about the threat Trump poses to the future of American democracy and the nation's constitutional foundations. I will not use baseless conspiracy theories, propaganda websites, and document packages that defend President Trump, nor will I pretend that my students are evaluating legitimate sources.
Even a fact-checking exercise about President Trump's statements could leave teachers accused of injecting their opinions into class conversations and trying to influence students' thinking. But the teacher's job is to influence students' thinking. Our responsibility to foster civil debate supported by evidence in an election year means that we must encourage students to think critically about campaigns and candidates, and whether Trump We will have to live with this problem if it means presenting an accurate picture of the threat posed. result.
There will be students in every class who support Trump, and that's their right. They should be welcomed into the discussion and encouraged to present evidence to support their position, but are not allowed to yell or threaten other students. I witnessed it in 2016 and 2020.
Trump has said some terrible things recently, some of which he has retracted and some of which he has not. Even one of them should be disqualified from being president. He told American Jews, already facing a rise in anti-Semitism, that “all Jews who vote for Democrats hate their own religion. Because they hate everything about Israel. , you should be ashamed of yourself.'' He accused immigrants of “poisoning the blood of our country,'' echoing the ideas of Adolf Hitler, and accused them of “poisoning the blood of our country.'' He promises to be deported.
As President Trump increases the level of hostility, he is decreasing the quality of political discourse. He warned of “bloodshed” if not elected, and said he would either withdraw the U.S. from NATO, which has helped prevent widespread European war since tens of millions of people died in World War II, or join NATO. threatens to significantly reduce U.S. financial support for the United States. I and II, and withdrawing the United States from global efforts to minimize climate change. He has repeatedly expressed his admiration for authoritarian leaders such as Russia's Putin, China's Xi and North Korea's Kim.
Trump continues to lie about his presidential record in speeches. He didn't build the biggest economy or pass the biggest tax cuts in American history. No president since Lincoln has done more for African Americans. He didn't defeat ISIS, he didn't increase government revenue, and he wasn't re-elected in 2020.
Teachers shouldn't tell students who to vote for or how to vote themselves, but they should help students understand who Trump is and what he represents. It would be negligent. If you don't know how to do this, you can have your students read and discuss the points I've raised here. Students can assess whether they are expressing legitimate concerns or just anti-Trump propaganda.
Dr. Alan Singer is Professor of Teaching, Learning, and Technology and Director of the Social Studies Education Program at Hofstra University.
