San Diego Teacher Thomas Courtney has some strong feelings about what will happen if ICE shows up looking for immigrant students to cart away.
President Trump is making some serious executive decisions. Some of these decisions are bringing interesting debates to the educational spaces I find myself in.
However you see the new administration, one thing is for sure: The immigrant communities that trust me to keep their children safe are now afraid. And that’s a problem for me, because I pride myself on keeping things like fear out of my classroom. And so does every other teacher that I personally know.
For example, whenever a school shooting occurs, you’re bound to find a teacher hero that day stepping up. In every instance, politicians call out teachers for being heroes-for protecting students from school shooters. We’ve been called heroes for managing our students during the pandemic, from any number of traumas. Why then, would anyone think a teacher like me would stand by while someone in a uniform dragged a kid out of my school for just being there? My district, San Diego Unified, has announced that should ICE come knocking, they will need a warrant. Should ICE come seeking my immigrant students for deportation to perhaps Guantanamo Bay, or perhaps by military airplane with or without their family to their native country, they will need a warrant. I’m to call the principal, or vice principal. I’m to wait for administrative help. I’m proud to work for those administrators and my district But if ICE comes to my classroom, that isn’t what I’ll do.
President Trump can make his executive orders there in the oval office. I’ll make mine, right here in my office- under the US Flag that hangs in my classroom and next to the bulletin board where I display student work samples from children.
No One Touches My Kids While I’m on Duty
Any day of the week, I don’t care if there is an active shooter, or if someone holds a slip of paper, if my student doesn’t want to go somewhere with someone they do not know on my watch, they aren’t going anywhere.
Nobody Takes a Student From My Supervision, Unless I Know They Are Going Home to Mom and Dad
One of the hallmark rules of teaching is simple: Kids do not go home with anyone but the people who are allowed to pick them up. Unless a warrant is signed by a parent and specifically states that the parent is allowing ICE to remove my student, they aren’t going anywhere.
Nothing Supercedes the Oath I Took When I Became a Teacher
My educator’s oath, the day I was sworn in as a California educator included the phrase that I “will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter.” And I intend to faithfully fulfill that duty until the day I no longer am teaching, or the day I am the one deemed a criminal.
I do not need a superior to fully understand that my allegiance to protect my students in a classroom of the United States, grants me the right to fulfill this duty. My teaching executive order will trump that of the president’s at that time.
And although I am a legal citizen of the United States, and although Trump officials can spout ad nauseum they aren’t here for anyone but criminals, I know one thing-none of my great kids are criminals.
What I am not sure folks understand out there, is that I am not alone. All around the nation there are teachers like me, who will not allow their students to be taken from their classrooms either. Teachers, regardless of what you have heard recently, take their pledges seriously.
Of course, Trump appointed officials keep telling us that they are not going to go into schools and drag kids out. But Trump officials also can’t seem to make up their mind about memos. Therefore, as someone who hears a dozen times a day that homework was done, just left at home, I’ll take that with a nice fat grain of salt. Thank you very much. Then, I’ll let others debate about it and stick to what I know for sure-my sworn duty to my kids.
