Editor鈥檚 Note: Trump administration policies are shifting so quickly that information in this post may have changed. More information about policies that affect education can be found here.
Last week, I published 10 Actions Teachers Can Take Now That Trump Is President.
President Donald Trump鈥檚 executive orders have been coming so fast and furious since that post, it can be hard to keep up.
Here are 10 additional actions teachers might want to consider taking now that we have a new president. These ideas spring from both new political developments and from additional reflections and conversations.
- Be wary of falling into the trap of 鈥�,鈥� as it appears the U.S. Air Force did by that included videos about the Tuskegee Airman (as well as one about the first women pilots) in response to an anti-DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) executive order that was issued. Fortunately, the Air Force the following day. Many educators are rightfully concerned about increased enforcement of existing anti-critical race theory laws in their states (given the atmosphere that the Trump administration is creating), and potential new ones. And though there are clearly topics we may need to tread carefully around, there are also many (especially since few, if any, K-12 educators ever taught CRT in their classrooms).
- It appears that another executive order may on federal government funding to support 30,000 recently arrived refugees (this 鈥渇reeze鈥� is in effect and is different from the one that has been put on pause until at least Feb. 3). These adults, families, and children are completely dependent on support from resettlement agencies during their first months in this country. Consider contacting your l as a class or school club project to see how you can support them.
- In my previous post, I described how English-language learners shared their personal stories with English-proficient students in our and how that built connections and ... empathy. Your school may not have a large enough number of immigrant students to do that kind of activity. If that鈥檚 the case, a substitute for it could be having students read a book (or excerpts from one), and there are plenty of young-adult books about and to choose from.
- Another one of Trump鈥檚 executive orders seeks to nullify birthright citizenship, even though over 100 years of finds that the 14th Amendment supports it (a federal judge , for now). It鈥檚 an important opportunity to make the U.S. Constitution come alive for students, and you can find many lesson ideas about the amendment .
- When teaching about birthright citizenship or, for that matter, just about any issue, consider not framing lessons as 鈥渄ebates.鈥� As educator Tricia Ebarvia previously wrote in this space, debates tend to become 鈥�less about understanding the complexities of issues and more about winning the argument.鈥� Tricia shares several debate alternatives in that post. Not only are those options likely to result in more effective student learning, but they also might reduce potential levels of polarization in the classroom.
- There may not be a more important time than today to help our students become critical consumers of news and develop the skills needed to spot misinformation. There is no shortage of on this very topic.
- and 鈥溾�� have been considered cornerstones of American democracy. Trump鈥檚 actions during these first 10 days raise questions, including whether he has a vastly on them than his predecessors (the Trump administration鈥檚 recent on grants is the most recent example). Even if teachers have already 鈥渃overed鈥� those topics in this year鈥檚 social studies classes, a review might be in order.
- and others who promote a toxic brand of masculinity appear to have become more emboldened by Trump鈥檚 victory. Tate, in particular, is very popular among a sizable segment of teen boys. Now would be a good time for teachers to initiate conversations with their students to see who is , check how they feel about , and raise about what he says. A recent EdWeek report offers additional suggestions for how educators can connect better with boys.
- If you, like many other educators and noneducators, feel like you want to do work outside the classroom, on your own time, to do more to improve our communities, you might want to explore . I鈥檝e spent 13 years curating it and used judgment informed by my 19-year community-organizing career and 23-year teaching career to determine what should go on it.
- We need to play 鈥渢he long game.鈥� Teaching has almost always been a stressful profession, and our present political environment is not making it any easier. Our job is 鈥渉igh-stakes"鈥攆or the future of our students and the future of our country. Even with that pressure, we, too, need to have personal lives and prioritize self-care. I don鈥檛 know about you, but I have more confidence listening to the ideas of how to do that from other teachers than from district central offices. (Our district once sent out an email announcing free chair massages at the central office for district employees鈥攂etween the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.!) With luck and self-care, most of us will still be teaching long after Donald Trump has left the White House.
These 10 ideas (and last week鈥檚 10 other ones) are just drops in the bucket, and I welcome hearing more on Twitter (now X) , on BlueSky , or via email at lferlazzo@educationweek.org.
