Democracy can sometimes be 鈥渘asty,鈥� but it鈥檚 important to take part in public dialogue, said Leigh Smith, the federal programs administrator with Gaston County schools in North Carolina. She brought her 13-year-old son, Jack, to Washington to witness the nation鈥檚 tradition of a peaceful transfer of power.
鈥淚 want to teach my child that I value and support the office of the presidency, regardless of who is in it,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to hear a lot of different opinions, a lot of different views that you don鈥檛 agree with. That鈥檚 okay.鈥�
Teachers and their students who attended the inauguration of President Donald Trump expressed mixed feelings about the changeover.
Some were hopeful about the changes Trump could bring about to the power dynamic between Washington and the rest of the nation, while others worried that he would exacerbate political and other divisions in the country. They also discussed his pledges on the campaign trail, his use of social media, and things he has said about education policy.
Ben Lewis, a social studies teacher at Brenham Middle School in Brenham, Texas, said he was determined for his students to see Trump鈥檚 inauguration because 鈥淚鈥檓 a fan of his office.鈥�
Asked what he hoped to hear from Trump, Lewis responded, 鈥淚鈥檓 like everyone. I want to be inspired. I want to be hopeful.鈥�
However, Lewis said he was skeptical about Betsy DeVos, Trump鈥檚 nominee to be education secretary and a school choice advocate.
鈥淗is pick for secretary of education is not popular with any teacher, from both sides of the aisle,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 from Texas. I鈥檓 surrounded by conservative teachers.鈥�
Bobby Howard, a social studies teacher at Gainesville Middle School, a charter school in Gainesville, Ga., said he was hoping for 鈥渁 unity message, not partisan politics.鈥� And of his students鈥� attitude to the inauguration, Howard said, 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking to see if they鈥檙e more relaxed after his speech.鈥�
鈥淚 like the sound of having more local control,鈥� said Sylvia Puckett, another social studies teacher at Gainesville Middle School, referring to Trump鈥檚 promise to reduce Washington鈥檚 oversight of education. She added that in terms of his general rhetoric on schools, 鈥淔rom the statements he鈥檚 made, they sound like good ideas.鈥� However, Puckett also said she wasn鈥檛 sure they would be implemented without being twisted or watered down.
After the inauguration was finished, Howard said he was still looking for more specifics from Trump about what he would do.
鈥淗e started out kind of negative. We got a little more unity towards the end,鈥� Howard said of Trump鈥檚 speech, adding that when he got his students back together in his class. 鈥淲e鈥檙e definitely going to go home and kind of dissect it a little bit.鈥�
鈥楧ecent Option鈥�
The Trump inauguration is the third for Anne McCandless, an Advanced Placement government teacher at Providence High School in the Charlotte Mecklenburg district in North Carolina. Everyone can watch the ceremony on TV, McCandless said, but she wants her students to be in the crowd and get the 鈥渇eel and experience鈥� of inauguration.
鈥淭his is the way American works, the smooth transition of power. It鈥檚 right there for them to see鈥� concepts that are often abstract to them, like patriotism and nationalism, said McCandless, who also attended inaugurations in 2009 and 2013.
After Trump was inaugurated, McCandless said Trump had the potential to be a 鈥済reat president鈥� if he kept key promises. But she was upset about how he discussed education in his inaugural speech.
鈥淲e have such a teacher shortage nationwide,鈥� McCandless said. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e going to tell everybody how bad it is to be teaching and be working in that field, when so many of us don鈥檛 feel that way, what is he doing to recruit more teachers and to make it a better situation for them?鈥�
Her students, when asked about Trump and his inauguration, focused on his use of social media, and how he might not be their top choice but was preferable, in their view, to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
鈥淚 support the Republican Party,鈥� said Dan Gershen, a senior at the school. 鈥淚鈥檇 say he was a decent option.鈥�
And Aidan Seidman, a sophomore, said he was excited to see a 鈥渟trong leader with strong opinions鈥� like Trump become president.
鈥淚 think we鈥檙e tired of this Washington BS. We need to drain the swamp,鈥� said Seidman, a sophomore, who said he was confident Trump would renegotiate bad trade deals and bring more money back to America. 鈥淗e can run our country through Twitter.鈥�
But other students worried that Trump was divisive in several ways, and that his behavior on social media was clumsy and foolish. Saniye Wilson, a Providence High senior, said her mother is a Muslim immigrant. She finds Trump abhorrent.
鈥淗ow can I get over him completely destroying me as a person?鈥� Wilson said.
Nick Stathopoulous, a supporter of Jeb Bush during the GOP primary, a senior, said before the inauguration he was hoping to hear a unifying message from Trump, and 鈥渢hat he鈥檚 about bringing people together.鈥�
After Trump鈥檚 inauguration, Stathopoulos was pleased.
鈥淗onestly, I thought it was pretty impressive. It sounded a bit more under control,鈥� Stathopoulous said. 鈥淣ow he鈥檚 getting a better sense of his responsibility. There should have been a better sense earlier on. He just sounds like he is just looking for the best interest [for] everybody in general, not just the government but the people.鈥�
The same couldn鈥檛 be said for Tray Childers, an 8th grade student at Gainesville Middle School, who said the speech didn鈥檛 really have a hopeful tone.
鈥淧utting America first is a great thing, but we do have to worry about other people鈥� around the world, Childers said. 鈥淚t was not the greatest speech I鈥檝e heard. ... Most of it is not positive.鈥�