The teachers union developed a strategy on how to fight the Trump administration
Hosted by the National Education Association A webinar Teachers on Wednesday encouraged President-elect Donald Trump to oppose immigration reform, saying his goal is to “make students in the country feel less afraid.”
“There are laws on the books now that prevent immigration agents from entering school campuses, and so various people in the Trump administration want to roll that back,” said Jennifer Berkshire, author of Education Wars.
Trump said his focus would be on deporting violent criminals who entered the country illegally, including first arresting terrorists and cartels.
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National Education Association President Rebecca S. Pringle speaks on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center on August 22, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Reuters/Mike Segar)
“There’s a real role for teachers, including teachers who want to talk to the groups and find out…what can we do in the school to make the kids less afraid,” Berkshire said. .
She called Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, who in September said he wanted to put Bibles in every school in the state.
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“But the reality is, something like a book ban or an extreme candidate for a school, a school board, or someone like Ryan Walter, you know, for teachers to teach from the Bible or lose their certification, uh, it really feels like a circus,” Berkshire said.
The National Education Association is an organization with over 3 million members. Its president, Rebecca S. Pringle, has previously called the Trump administration “cruel, deceitful and corrupt.”
Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters discusses using the Bible in schools during an interview with CNN host Pamela Brown. (CNN screenshot)
Chelsea Acosta, chair of the NEA’s Committee on Gender Awareness and Gender Identity and a board director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said “I’m concerned” for her community.
“When I started … with the ACLU, Trump came in his first term, so it’s a little bittersweet … here we are in his second term,” Acosta said. “I didn’t think we’d be here, but here we are, and I think a lot of us care about our own communities and our students.”
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The webinar was opened by Caitlin Ehlers, a member of NEA’s Spring Educators Program and board director of the Student Washington Education Association, who gave the floor recognition.
“We will begin by acknowledging that the participants of this call live and work on the traditional lands of many indigenous peoples. I speak to all of you from the traditional lands of the Duwamish people, managed by agreement. Point Elliot,” Ehlers said.
“We honor the first people of this land and all their elders, past, present and emerging, and we are called to learn and share the history, culture and contributions of suppressed tribes in telling America’s story.”
On January 20, 2025, Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. (Trump-Vance Transition Team)
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