An Open Letter to Educators

An Open Letter to Educators

Before I begin, please feel free to copy and paste this letter to anywhere you see fit. I (the original author u/Nebulas-Entity) can only spread it so far myself. So if you enjoy and know of others who could use this, by all means...

Yesterday I was contacted by three members of my personal circle that asked me to rethink my career choices. Just today, a close relative of mine demanded that I change my majors (History and Secondary Ed) so I can’t “contribute to the poisoning of America”. The education community knew it was going to be in for a hard time these past four years when our President elected Betsy DeVos to be our Secretary. But unfortunately, many could never believe that our own President would attack us in this way. President Trump’s speech on the 4th of July is nothing more than the latest attempt for this administration to find a scapegoat for its own political failures.

With the constant problems we face today, there is only one thing to say. To every educator out there, from the past, present or future, thank you. Thank you for the work you put in to our students. To our lives. We seem to forget the most important job of an educator at any level is to prep your students to become not necessarily a genius, but to become someone capable of critical thought. We as educators must prepare our students to engage in the world with tools of complex analysis and critical thinking. This is what our President fears. We are not teaching students to hate America, but to gaze upon it with eyes and mind that seek to continue to build and prosper our nation

Our country is in dire straights. But, education is the building block that allows for anyone of any identification or background to come forth and help the world. We as educators have a unique ability to spread the powerful tools we possess across the country. We seek to promote learning across all races, genders, abilities, ages and so on and so forth. If our county really is “The Land if Equal Opportunity” as our President proclaims, then educators are more integral to the building and success of American values and society than any other.

It is educators who fight through the pandemic to ensure that our students continue to progress into adulthood. It is our educators that scrape by with little funding to try to promote student learning as much as possible. It is our educators who are helping to build a better tomorrow. One where people have the ability to examine their own lives and biases, and recognize the way to move on. Ways to move on to a world where we celebrate the backgrounds and identifications of everyone. Ways to move on from the violence of today and build a world that’s truly equal and equitable for all. No Mr. President, we do not teach hatred to America, we teach how to make it better.

Today I have hit a low in my journey to become a teacher. However, I am bolstered by the teachers who have come before me. I am inspired by the teachers who come after me. I am carried forward on the shoulders of the teachers now. We are a community and a strong one at that! Our aims and goals will continue to promote the success of America and American students. Regardless of anything that tries to stop us, we will teach our students. No matter what comes in our way wether it be COVID, hatred, Hell or high water. Educators are part of the backbone to our nation and for that they should thanked and celebrated. However, even if they aren’t, they will still move forward to better this country. That tenacity, that drive, that will, and that heart is more American than anything this administration will do.

Thank you to all educators out there.

Submitted July 06, 2020 at 01:42PM by Nebulas-Entity https://ift.tt/31P86TG