Get ICE, AI, and other Acronyms out of Schools

An essential part of being a teacher is caring about our students' lives and the communities we serve. 

This quote from the opening editorial of Volume 40, No. 2 of Rethinking Schools stood out to me as the overarching thesis that connected the stories of this issue. Whether used to describe the leadership of teachers and our unions in pushing back against ICE, a tension point in negotiating how to best support trans youth, or examining AI in schools, this essential component of care centers the manner in which teachers engage on these issues. For me, it is simultaneously why teaching is the hardest job I have ever had and why I cannot imagine doing anything else. 

In "Kicking ICE Out of Our Schools and Communities," the editors of Rethinking Schools examine the rising pressure on school communities to protect our vulnerable community members. While the article correctly notes that ICE is not new, and the damage incurred by both the Obama and Biden administrations, I think it is also essential to remember that at the beginning of the Trump Administration, many officers left ICE. This paramilitary force that exists now is filled with recruits who specifically joined the administration to participate in these brutal, inhumane raids and crackdowns on our most vulnerable community members. It's against this force that teachers have emerged as strong and consistent opposition. 

Two components of this editorial stood out to me. The first was the note on the power of educating students and the broader community on their rights. After seeing so many incidents of violence and abuse, it is easy to feel like our legal rights are insignificant. However, as the editorial notes, educating people and children about their rights during searches or when questioned has proven to be a powerful weapon. "Ensuring community members know their rights increases their willingness to defend each other against abuses." 

The importance of unions in this fight was also significant to me. The examples of the Chicago Teachers Union or the United Teachers of Los Angeles leading this charge show the vital importance of organized labor. Joining a union is a real factor in why I became a teacher, and this editorial shows how much more powerful teachers can be when we have the backbone of a union. I think it's also been a real factor in the modern fight against teacher unions. Whether disguised as "pro Charter School" or under the excuse of looking for waste, teacher unions have been the target of many attacks in the past years. It's hard to separate these attacks from a desire to limit the political power and influence of these groups. 

Supporting Students in Schools Outside of ICE

Two articles stood out to me in this issue in addition to the ICE articles. In "Trans Teacher, Detrans Student: A Roadmap for Transformation," Jaymie Metivier discussed the real difficulty in navigating how to support their gender nonconforming students. As the first adult that many of these students have met that mirror their own gender identity, Metivier discusses the real challenge of wanting to serve as a positive and supportive adult while also hyper-aware that they could be accused of grooming or encouraging young people to go against their parents and families. Reading about that difficult balance, I again thought of the quote at the head of this blog. I relate to the feeling of wanting to be an advocate and support system while also aware of our limitations as a temporary adult in these young people's lives. 

In "Educators over AI" I also saw this quote emerge. I think as teachers we see the negative impact of AI in a direct and constant way. The section discussing an AI generated unit on World War II in particular stood out to me. As a Social Studies teacher, I am deeply concerned with how AI treats history as black and white. Students type in complex questions and they receive a clear definitive answer. Rather than understanding that history differs depending on perspective, or that sometimes clear answers cannot be found, students walk away from their computers thinking that there are right and wrong answers. I am incredibly skeptical of these tools in an educational setting. 

I really enjoyed this magazine, and got a lot out of many of the articles. I particularly liked, and will end my reflections, on Linda Christensen's piece on using writing to embrace humanity. I worry teaching history about the lessons that students can learn. If you teach world history as I do, the reality of the world becomes a pretty brutal realization for students. My curriculum goes through colonization, the genocide of Indigenous Americans, revolutions, globalization and industrialization, the partitioning of Africa, and the World Wars. What lessons are students going to take away from this class? That humans are violent? That might equals right in most historical circumstances? 

Christensen discusses how to build student awareness of the power of positive action. She notes on the power of having students reflect on circumstances where people stood up and helped, and how to work with students through reflecting on regret. I think this type of intentional work, building and encouraging students' humanity, is essential to add to my curriculum.