Back-to-school season is an exciting time. Students are looking forward to seeing their friends, making new ones and building on what they learned in the previous school year. For some, it might be a bit scary or intimidating, but school staff will be there to help them get through it. For educators, we are eager to do what we do best — create a learning environment in which students want to come to school and do well.
But this year we have to face the very real challenges surrounding us. We must take proactive measures so our students can learn and thrive and so educators can teach to the best of our abilities. Public education is a democratic good, yet some disturbing issues are confronting us — both outside and inside our school doors — that can upend the very existence of our public schools.
The most recent and outrageous effort is President Donald Trump’s attempt to militarize our city. He now has federalized our D.C. Metropolitan Police Department — a particularly unconscionable move for someone who failed to call in the National Guard when we had an actual riot on Jan. 6. I wish he would give as much attention to finding ways to bring joy to our classes and support our families to boost attendance.
We have immigrant families who fear U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. Children are scared their families could get picked up and deported; they worry their families won’t be there when they get home from school. We need the District of Columbia Public Schools to fully acknowledge the problem and give us proper training to handle these situations.
And then there are the ongoing problems with the privatization of education. Rather than keep up the charade that voucher and charter schools are better than our neighborhood public schools (www.ncpecoalition.org/2019-dept-of-ed-study-summary), we should be lifting up the voices of educators, families and students to support what we know is best for our kids.
With the overreliance on standardized tests to rate, label and punish so many of our schools as “low performing,” we are seeing resources that could help kids get stretched thinner and thinner. Teachers are forced to spend too much time testing and preparing for tests rather than allowing kids to experience the true joy of learning something relevant, interesting and new. We need to be able to focus on equity and ensure that those students who need the most support get it.
But together, we can and should face these challenges. With solidarity among educators, students, families and communities, we can chart a path forward. We need to listen to one another’s needs and support one another through our collective struggles. The times are hard, but we’ve seen that before and have worked through them together. The Washington Teachers’ Union is there for you, your students and our communities. We want to work with you on your concerns and will stand with you during these uncertain times. By building relationships with one another, we can stand up to all those who seek to thwart us.
Fuchs is president of the Washington Teachers’ Union.
The mission of the Washington Teachers’ Union is to:
- Raise the standards of the teaching profession by ensuring and promoting conditions vital to effective services for all students.
- Define and strengthen services of the schools and to afford employees with a full opportunity to participate in the democratic decision-making process within schools for the common good.
- Protect the legal rights of all members.
- Provide and maintain, as the sole and exclusive collective representative for members of the bargaining units, the effective implementation of the collective bargaining agreements between the Washington Teachers’ Union and other employers.
- Make employees aware of their political and social rights and responsibilities.