It's been nearly a week since President Donald Trump signed the executive order to temporarily ban Muslims from seven specific countries to enter the United States and public discussions continue to escalate. At certain high schools and middle schools, teachers are trying to help the kids understand what is going on, especially since they have foreign students.
Tom Rademacher, a teacher from Minneapolis, has Muslims and immigrant students in his class. He decided to ditch the week's lesson plan last Monday to discuss the poem "Home" that was written by a British-Somali poet Warshan Shire. It described the lives of refugees.
He told Huffington Post that his purpose for sharing the poem to his students was not to incite heated debates. He wanted his to students to form different perspectives in light of what's happening and he also wanted to give immigrant students a place from which they can share their concerns and worries.
Middle school teacher Mark Westpfahl is making his history class more interesting through political cartoons. On Twitter, the educator shared some images to help middle schoolers learn about immigration and how it connects to the new policy. Westpfahl hopes that this will help the students think critically and gain perspective.
Since the new government, immigrants have been walking on the edge and uncertain of what will happen to their status in the U.S. in the coming months. Teachers told Chalkbeat the students are feeling the stress so much that behavioral incidents have risen.
Carol Salva believes students who have no idea what it's like to be a refugee or an immigrant fear these refugees and immigrants. "But they bring perspective that you don't have and I don't have," Salva said. "I don't mean to romanticize their hardships. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. But their perspective is huge and what we want for every classroom."
What these teachers are saying is that education is a big factor in these trying times. It can be a tool to help bring peace, as everyone will come to understand each other's differences in beliefs. What are your thoughts on this matter? Let us know in the comments!
