Teaching in the Tempest
Our schools are at the center of a fierce storm; how we navigate out will determine the course of our society
I did not love high school when I was in those awkward trenches. Leaving halfway through the day and skipping two AP classes was my favorite thing to do in my senior year. The scowls I would draw from my crusty Biology teacher fueled me to even dumber and more brazen heights. I understand thoroughly the idea of hating the concept of school.
But I always liked learning, in an abstract sense and in a practical sense. Discovering a new grammar rule or mastering a new type of equation secretly gave me joy, even as I presented a facade of ‘idgaf’—to use the 2012 colloquialism— to my peers (who all knew I was full of shit and loved being a nerd). I knew one day I’d probably do a little bit of teaching, hopefully as a professor at a university, but I never really considered the idea of encountering a student like young Hanson in his heyday.
Flash forward 10 years: a two-year loss of school due to a global pandemic, a decade-plus of smartphone saturation, and the prevalence of readily available, mind-altering substances* have led to the first generation of iPad kids absolutely floundering in their first years of school where grades actually matter. I realized it last year when, teaching ELA, I would have to give my 8th-grade students almost 15 minutes of reading time for a passage that was one page. Now, some of the students were obviously just not reading; however, some were simply trying their hardest… and still coming up short.
(*weed/THC should be legal for those over the age of 21, at least, and in most cases is totally fine when consumed in moderation; it’s not a great thing to do when you’re 14!!)
I don’t think there is anything wrong, inherently, with older generations commenting directly on the education of students in school. After all, I believe—obviously—that students should be taught more creative and inquiry-based methods that force them to interrogate the world around them. Foucault and Althusser identify the school as a prison and an ideology-reproduction structure, respectively. I agree with the students in my class who air complaints that echo Foucault’s thesis, without the underlying theory, of course—but that’s not something I can openly agree with in class, which, in turn, proves Althusser correct. As much as I support the dismantling of capitalist ideology and economic order, I cannot express that in my capacity as a teacher (especially in a 90% white, highly conservative school district). Not only would my words ignite students’ ire, but I would also draw fire from an increasingly-invested parent contingent that seems to be the new voting base of the Republican party.
Our generation’s ‘satanic panic’ is fought in the classroom. Viral, vitriolic campaigns against easily-disproven fake stories like the “trans kitty litter boxes” gain traction because of confirmation bias and social media echo chambers and make it all the way to the top of the conservative media sphere. A Minnesota school's new mural caused parents to show up in force to a school board meeting in full force, decrying the “Satanic” Hand of Mary, a Christian symbol used in Latin America. Florida, led by part-time Governor and full-time culture warrior Ron DeSantis, passed a bill outlawing the “teaching of gender identity or sexual orientation” for kindergarteners through 3rd grade… something that was not happening in the first place. If anything, students were being taught that gay and trans people are real and… are not evil? I know, absolutely crazy.
Teaching is the hottest culture war issue for Republicans in America, and it has such salience for many normal people that would otherwise have no reasons to support homo- or transphobic policies. Americans, while seemingly understanding propaganda and ideological indoctrination the least of any major country are always the quickest to cry wolf over fears that the Gender-Marxists are brainwashing their kids. (Trust me, if we could, we would.)
Recently, I was caught up in a minor incident because I decided to teach about a historical event during the Protestant Reformation in which several nuns of wealthy families claimed demonic possession to try and drive out an opponent of Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIII. (There’s an excellent Puppet History about these events, featuring perhaps the best musical number in the entire series). My mistake was using this event, which was basically a way for French Catholics to consolidate power and snuff out hints of Protestant uprisings because the event featured alleged demonic possession (which obviously was fake!). A student told their parents and it went up the chain of command and my principal received a call from the superintendent of our school system. All because I wanted to teach a lesson with a few demons on Halloween.
While this is obviously not the same as the massive backlash many teachers have received for largely good or normal lessons, it is a microcosm of our new reality: teachers are being heavily scrutinized at their jobs for the crime of…teaching? It puts me in a hesitant state to teach pretty much anything: should I forego talking about the horrors of the slave trade?; do I absolutely need to talk about the Communist Manifesto?; how important is American Imperialism really? The consistent attacks on teachers and schools based on absolutely baseless claims and warped senses of entitlement by parents (and sometimes, childless community members?!?!) force all other teachers to reflexively reflect on our practice, and not in the good way that our supervisors want us to. Some students may never take another humanities class again after graduating; some may take the minimum required by their business degree and never think about it again. Courses like history, English, and civics are vital to students’ development, especially at a time when most students are not even able to write full sentences on their assignments.
The culture war has finally been brought to bear in the hastily-dug trenches of education, with the ultimate goal of this long siege being de facto income-based segregation between elite private charters and underfunded public schools. New institutions of ideological reproduction exclusive to the upper class (and a few exceptional poors brought in via scholarship) will further the massive educational divide between those who have and those who do not.
Dialectically examining this conundrum, we can see how the desire from capitalists to create their new charter school dystopia informs their explosive blasting of these satanic panic stories via right-wing social- and legacy media. Obviously, the destruction of “woke” indoctrinating schools that teach children…the truth?...about the world and the past will serve their interests as well, but it comes from an important material interest. Students of these new anti-woke academies will emerge proud, patriotic footsoldiers of the capitalist order, taking Althusser’s Ideological State Apparatus to a comical extreme.
All of this does not portend well for education as a profession or as a public good. A society is only as good as its next generation. I feel that we are failing our children, children who just lived through a dramatically traumatizing pandemic that stunted their socialization and educational development heavily. In order for us to be able to serve our students better, we need educators to be paid. We will not be able to retain teachers in positions if they continued to be paid at the rate they do in many states.
In short, we need unions.
Hope you guys have a great weekend and enjoy the new Pokemon game :) I think I am going to pick Sprigatito because I love cats but I am not sure yet. Will update in the near future.
-H