As a teacher, I must always be ready to ask, "what do my students learn from my reaction to this?" I know it never seems like they are paying attention, but they pick up on more than you think. They listen to adults as we make these statements, and they watch what we do. When we say, "he ain't my President," we teach them that it is okay to be childish when we don't get what we want. We teach them not to respect authority as long we don't like that particular authority figure, which in turns teaches them to undermine all authority figures, including us. When we act as though the world is about to come to an end, we teach them that God's sovereignty is dependent upon the actions of one man. We teach them that our founders didn't plan very well when they limited the power one man could have. When we refuse to watch the man we didn't want to win take the oath of office, we teach them that our preferences should override our patriotism. These are dangerous things to teach our kids, and I believe we need to grow up and like grown ups.
From previous posts, you know that I am not a fan of our President Elect. As a life-long Republican and Never Trumper, I had some very complex emotions on election night. I voted third party for the first time in my life and would never have wanted this man to be my President. But here's the deal; HE IS. He is my President, whether I voted for him or not because our country only has one President. He is going to be the President for the next four years because the constitution that governs our country says so. Since George Washington made the choice to step down after his second term, America has been defined by the peaceful transfer of power. People like me, who opposed Trump's election, didn't have to be publically killed in order for him to be elected.
Do you want your students (or parents, your kids) to respect your authority, trust God, and believe in the rule of law? Then, let's start teaching our kids more positive lessons than we did in 2016, and let's start this week. Let's speak about the office of the President with respect even when we don't respect the man. In so doing, we will teach them that we respect authority, all authority because that's the only way a civilized society works. Let's talk about God's plan for the future of our country instead of acting like it doesn't have one. In so doing, we will teach them to trust something bigger than a man. Let's teach our kids about the constitution and the wisdom of our founding fathers in restricting the power of President instead of hoping their history teacher will do it for us and then complaining if he doesn't. In so doing, we will teach them that understanding our government is the responsibility of every citizen. Let's celebrate what the inauguration represents, as hard as it may be to listen to Trump take the oath. In so doing, we will teach them that in a democracy, sometimes the other guy wins and that believing in the concept of democracy means we accept that. Not only do we accept it, we celebrate it by throwing a bunch of big parties, a cost far lower than other countries have to pay to change their government.
When you spend time with kids, for a few minutes or for eight hours a day, God has given you a responsibility. They watch you in order to learn what it means to be an adult. If we act like children instead of adults, we abuse that responsibility. Before I went to bed on election night, I practiced saying, "President Trump" a few times out loud. It helped my say it the next day when I had students in front of me. If you are having trouble with Trump, try it; it might work for you.
Trump enthusiasts, you aren't off the hook either. You have the opportunity and responsibility to teach your kids to be gracious this week.
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