In K-12 schools, the common refrain to justify DEI is, “We are just preparing students for a world that doesn't look like our school.” They never honestly define what that world might look like when they graduate from high school and enter college.
Imagine hearing that your daughter’s college roommate cried for 90 minutes after the election results were in. And later in the day, announced she would dissociate from anyone she knew who voted for Trump. This is not unique.
At the college level, it begs the question: Are students asking to be treated like toddlers, or are the “adults” infantilizing them? Do schools have too much money and too many administrators with no real work, leading them to look for problems? Is it the job of schools to be coddling their students?
While K-12 schools have been hyper-focused on teaching empathy, they have failed to teach students to be curious about people who might think differently. Despite the incessant focus on DEI, schools fail to expose students to diverse viewpoints, leading to many meltdowns as those in K-12 and higher education respond to the election.
Because the real world is full of perspectives students don't hear, they are woefully unprepared for a world that doesn't look like “campus.” As a result, they don't have the mental muscles to help them process things that “upset” them. Do schools work to ensure students get news from diverse sources? How can students learn to access less biased “news” when, for example, The New York Times gives students free subscriptions?
An exemplary approach
Andrew Chase, the very wise Eaglebrook Head of School, shows how to lead and educate. He acknowledges that “the faculty is primarily young, so you have to continually work with them…We have spoken to the faculty since summer about being professional and keeping our students' development as middle school boys at the forefront. That is why we have focused on civics and keeping politics in History class and World Views classroom. As a faculty we are focused on academics, sports, electives, caring and knowing our community and the natural beauty of the school and each other, and developing values, character and resilience... Being a 'snowflake' has no place as a role model at Eaglebrook. This is why we do boundary training every year with the faculty and role playing so they know their responsibility as educators. It takes effort and practice.”
His message to faculty is below:
“During this election, it is important to maintain a non-judgmental environment. Different political beliefs must be valued.
Guidelines for election discussions:
Election curriculum is factual and impartial.
Discussion that involves opinions is respectful.
The election is an opportunity to encourage critical thinking. Students can use real information to support their opinions.
Teachers are professionals and do not share personal political views during classes and activities.
It is important that — as educators — we implement these guidelines to make the election an educational experience for our students.”
What can we learn?
As Niall Ferguson writes in the Free Press, “This election was a crushing defeat for political lawfare, critical race theory, woke campuses, biological males in women’s sports, genital mutilation of teenagers, the Ivy League, the legacy media, and Hollywood.”
But more importantly, the extreme reactions to the election results reveal that schools do not prepare students to understand that not everyone who looks alike thinks similarly.
This is a teachable moment for all.
As Scott Jennings said on CNN, “We have to figure out and understand how to talk to and listen to the other half of the country that rose up tonight and said, I've had enough.”
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