As I follow the current presidential primaries, I find it disturbing to see someone run for US president on a platform of open xenophobia, racism, sexism, and deep intolerance. I find it even scarier that so many people want to vote for him on that basis alone, under the guise of celebrating “political incorrectness.” From an educational point of view, though, this kind of makes sense; the US K–12 educational system may very well have been preparing voters for Trump’s brand of intolerance and bullying for decades now through ostensibly well-meaning policies like No Child Left Behind, the “back to basics” movement, and Common Core.
There are probably dozens of factors behind the popularity of a guy like Trump, but one major survey found that the most important feature Trump supporters had in common was a penchant for authoritarianism, a penchant that has been sociologically interesting since the rise of Hitler and World War II. Folks with authoritarian leanings are conditioned in general to obey instead of think, to respect intimidation instead of character, to follow strong personalities instead of principles, and to conform and to pressure others also to conform or be punished. An authoritarian structure is a life-saving gift when people literally can’t think for themselves—like in times of war or other emergency situations, as blood flow is rerouted from thinking faculties to fight-or-flight responses. Instead of panicking, paramedics, firefighters, soldiers, and even children in fire drills look to a commanding figure for an organized plan and synch into life-saving choreographies that they learned via “skills and drills” and “rote memorization.” These learning methods are wonderful preparation for situations when only brain stem reflex is available, but they are pretty much the worst tools for fostering critical thinking and complex decision making.
Unfortunately, the tone in most public schools is—well—military. A top-down-imposed battery of nationwide required outcomes forces administrators, teachers, and students alike to fall into militaristic rank and file. Students, more often than not, wear uniforms, march in lines like silent little soldiers, eat their lunches in the tiny allotted time (or go hungry), and participate in mini-wars with other schools for the highest scores and thus more resources. (An interesting aside: authoritarianism has always been a strong feature of working-class and poor schools, according to this landmark study. The growth of authoritarianism in schools could be an indication of a shrinking availability of middle-class jobs.) As recesses disappear and homework loads grow, there is less and less time for unstructured play, which has been shown in multiple studies to be the most fertile learning environment. Educators must be as efficient as possible with their scant time and resources, so students must learn everything in the same way and at the same rate—with military precision—or be disciplined. This results in conformity, the magic word of the military. The problem is not just standardized tests; we are producing standardized students. Is it any surprise that there is a national epidemic of bullying in our schools? In the culture of authoritarianism, differences are not tolerated, from the top to the bottom.
Let the military be the military, and let schools be schools. In the wake of Ferguson, there has been much public debate regarding demilitarizing the police, for clear reasons. Although the connections may not be as obvious, let us also consider demilitarizing our schools. Could we have minimal nationwide required outcomes and leave more room for states, communities, families, and individual teachers to make decisions about the needs of students? This isn’t war, after all; this is learning. And when it comes to learning, we should be looking to the nations with the strongest economies and highest levels of happiness. In Finland, for example, students are encouraged to learn via play and curiosity. And while we’re at it, let’s reroute some of our war money to schools. Changing the working conditions of the teachers, after all, changes the learning conditions for students—from a national institution of discipline and obedience to a national institution of learning and critical thinking. Let’s teach our children to vote with their heads and hearts for equality, social justice, and peace and not to rally around the authoritarianism and bravado of the political equivalent of a playground bully.
Nichole E. Stanford is a writer in composition and rhetoric focusing on Cajun English, minority academics, and prevalent language myths in the United States for general audiences. She is the author of the forthcoming Good God but You Smart! Language Prejudice and Upwardly Mobile Cajuns.
