A draft of my letter of resignation:
To Whom It May Concern:
The day you mandate that teachers have to legally be unethical, dishonest, and horrible humans will be my last.
While I see that legislators have been stacking racist, homophobic, transphobic, and anti-truth laws across the nation, I have to remind you: you are lucky to have me. With my education and experience, I am highly employable. I can make a better living elsewhere, so you need to be more thoughtful when trying to regulate this job.
I will not hide truths about racism, nor will I betray vulnerable students seeking safety and confidence. I will mention that Oscar Wilde was gay. If a student asks about Eleanor Roosevelt’s love letters to women, I will tell the truth. My students will know that Mexico City had a printing press before Cambridge, and they will hear about the traitorous and unauthorized signatures that moved the Cherokee tribe from Georgia to Oklahoma. My students will read the words of Frederick Douglass, and analyze the speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.
My students have read Maus. They will continue to do so. If my students ask to read Perks of Being a Wallflower, I will ask them their favorite part.
If my student wants to go by a name or a pronoun different from their legal documents, I will honor that. And the day you penalize me for my humanity, will be my last.
Sincerely,
A human first, and teacher second.
Of course, the problem with this letter is that the villains win. This is by design. The legislation and school board decisions crashing across the country are biggoted, sure; however, I believe them to be part of a larger strategy. They want to dehumanize teachers. They want us to lose our voice; they want us to become automatants teaching to a test. In a right-wing utopia, only the rich and religious will have free-thought. In a right-wing utopia, critical thinking will be erased from the masses. In a right-wing utopia, schools will be bare-bones, computerized, and void of reasonable voices.
And so, I’ll tuck this letter of resignation away, and only use it in the darkest of times. Because, in my America, the villains do not win. In my America, free speech, prosperity, and kindness prevail. In my America, equity, critical thinking, and diversity are valued. And despite some venomous, devious, and disgusting bad actors’ best attempts, I have no desire to let them win.
James King
James King is a high school teacher in Glendale Union High School District. He is the newspaper advisor, speech and debate coach and teaches AP English Language and Composition as well as Journalism. James is a graduate of the University of Central Florida. In his time in Florida, he worked as a substitute teacher for 5 years while simultaneously working in corporate training. In his free time, James enjoys reading, musical theatre, sand volleyball, comic books, and often-vapid reality TV programs.
Comments 1
After Maus was banned one of my kids pulled it off the shelf and asked “Is this the book that one state just banned?” I told him yes, and his response was immediately to flip it open and talk to me about it. Our legislators want to censor our kids, but banning something is always the best way to put it into the hands of the masses. Now to use our votes to get better legislators in office.