English1301 Essay #1

Heather Jensen

ENGL 1301-8XXXX

Date

Black Lives Matter: A Menace or A Movement

Black lives matter, a movement born from the deaths of African Americans at the hands of police. Should middle and high schoolers be educated on the politics of Black Lives Matter? In the article Should students learn about Black Lives Matter in School? By Hayley Glatter published July 2016, the discussion is set around how to introduce the Black lives matter movement in to the curriculum with limited resources for students to utilize. Despite how impactful this movement is, the chances that anything regarding BLM will be published in textbooks, to use as a resource anytime soon, is highly unlikely.

Hayley goes into detail about how teachers are working hard to implement current events into modern day curriculum. This article explains not only the obstacles that teachers are facing but the measure at which these teachers are willing to go, to provide this information to students. With limited resources to aid in the discussions that are being held in class, teachers are being more innovative in their approach to get this information across. With the help of the internet and social media, teachers are taking full advantage of what they can find to give students a better understanding of the discussions at hand.

As a result of the measure that teachers are being forced to take, there has been a great deal of back-lash from parents and social media. While that may be enough to halt any teacher, to prevent any kind of disciplinary action, some teachers are pushing forward with objective to teach students about the real world. To add insult to in injury, textbooks being are published every 7 years, teachers have no choice but to create their own resources or take resources off-line. The lagging publication of textbooks along with the hesitation of major textbook publication companies refusing to publish information that may be too controversial, is just as big of an obstacle as the back-lash from parents.

I found some of the information from this article to be exceptionally valuable. To start, the fact the textbooks are published every 7 years is slightly surprising. I will admit, what was not so surprising, was the lack of participation from publication companies. I’ve always felt that the agenda of school, was to brain-wash and teach what “they” feel we should know. I fully disagree with the agenda that schools are using to teach students. Resources should be more readily available teachers to use. I disagree that publication companies are avoiding or omitting the truth. We are all entitled to the truth. What the publications companies have been doing is formulating opinions for the masses based on half-truths in my opinion.

What moved me the most was the thought that teachers are facing back-lash, for in my opinion should be taught and discussed at home as well as in school. I must admit that I am stuck thinking, why wouldn’t you want your children to know and understand the way of the world? My thoughts lead me to believe that those who are apart of the problem will condemn teachers for discussing such politics with young minds. In my opinion, I can understand why parents would want to guard their children from toxic situations, but with social media being such a big a part of this generations life, that’s extremely hard to do. Personally, I disagree that teachers should be receiving any type of back lash for using their platform to do more than program the minds of the upcoming generations, but to teach the reality that they stand to face as adults.

Research from the article states the benefits that students will have from discussing current events can be life altering for students. Not only will they have an adult figure other than their parents to explain the battles of life, they will also have a platform to discuss their feelings about these topics. Discussing topics such as Black Lives Matter, racism and homosexuality, in a public setting can help students to see and understand the perspectives of others. I agree these conversations are important to have in school, simply because you have no idea what’s being taught at home. With the upcoming generation, it appears that the hate for other races are being taught by older figures. Having these discussions in school like settings could teach students to form opinions of their own.

To conclude my thoughts on this article, I will say that I am pleased to have read this article. With the Black Live Matter movement being such a sensitive topic, it is great to know that there is a conversation circulating in academic circles to implement this movement along with others into modern day curriculum. Though some teachers are facing obstacles, with the back- lash from parents and social media, it’s refreshing to know that there are some trendsetters willing to sacrifice their career for the greater good.

Works Cited

Hayley Glatter. “Should students learn about Black Lives Matter in school”. The Atlantic, July 21, 2016, https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/07/black-lives-matter-in-school/492275/