Today one of our administrators told me that principals in our district had all been sent an email regarding tomorrow's inauguration. There were to be no displays of partisanship or anything that might possibly conceivably cause any student not to feel "welcome" or "safe" in our schools. When a nearby teacher suggested that I put "Make Math Great Again" on the board as a joke, this administrator--who is usually as cool as a cucumber--was pointed in his (we only have men as administrators at my school) response, and it was a big fat NO. I got the impression from our subsequent conversation that our district was looking to jump on someone even for something so innocuous.
Does anyone think that such an email would have gone out had Clinton won? Me, either. In fact, I asked that question of one of our very liberal teachers today, and he stated in very strong terms that he didn't think so, either.
The message being sent out, and it's not a subtle one, is that there's a "right" and a "wrong" outcome to this past election, and the "wrong" outcome is what we got. Those Americans who support the "wrong" outcome are "bad" people. The left decries "othering" people, except when it suits them.
I thought it ironic that a college campus newspaper from 2 months ago had a "Trump creates climate of fear" article, as if all the students were terrified by the election results. No pro-Trump statements allowed.
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time believing that if Clinton had won, the headline would have read "Clinton creates climate of fear." Good little journalism students aping their leftist idols and masters...
Mr Miller, I was always a fan of your in-class political discourse even though I pretty much always disagreed with you. I don't like that the administration did this to you. We had great debates in class. (I had you for Pre-Calc over a decade ago.) I also want you to know you were my favorite math teacher in high school, despite our disagreements.
ReplyDeleteThat being said...
What do you think of Trump's statements about reducing our global military presence? Surely you can't be a fan of that?
Anonymous, thank you for your kind words.
ReplyDeleteTrump was among the last of my choices among the Republican candidates during the primaries. Initially I was a Talker for Walker, and when he dropped out I became a Cruz Missile. I wasn't so much On The Stump for Trump as I was against the Dowager Duchess of Chappaqua (I *love* that phrase).
There was plenty I didn't like in his speech. I thought it too protectionist-y. We tried that crap in the 1930s; it didn't work then and it won't work now.
Trump isn't so much a Republican as a populist, and I liked some of the "your government won't ignore you anymore" statements in his speech. We never get 100% the candidate we want, and I certainly didn't in this election. But I get several hundred percent more of what I wanted with this guy than I would have if Clinton had won.
Oh, and I'm Darren. :-)
ReplyDeleteIsn't it strange when past students seek you out? I had a student I had 15 years ago message me. He's 34 and has three kids!!! And he's a dentist!!!! I may hit him up for a discount (j/k) By the way he messaged me to apologize for being obnoxious in class, which quite honestly I don't recall.
ReplyDeleteAs for the censorship thing, we had kids watching it live on their phones. We, the teachers, were told we couldn't show it in class without alerting parents. Honestly, I'm not sure which way I lean. I'm just really tired of it all.