U.S. Missiles Strike Iran: What Students Are (Not) Being Taught
U.S. Missiles Strike Iran: What Students Are (Not) Being Taught
Lauren Badger
On February 28th, U.S. missiles hit Iran, targeting their missiles and military sites as well as the country's leaders. As a result, the
Supreme Leader, as well as many other people assuming leadership positions in Iran, have died; leaving citizens distressed and confused. President Trump placed blame on Iran for the bombing of an Iranian all-girls school which killed at least 175 people, many of them children, only for further investigation to reveal that it was a U.S. tomahawk that struck the school.
This is a huge event, for everyone in the world, and I feel that this war is not getting enough coverage, specifically on an educational level. I found the previously mentioned information from news platforms like BBC and the New York Times and CNN. I learned more from Pivot, an hour-long podcast where the hosts talked about the war for 25 minutes, than I have in school since the initial bombing. The only times I have heard anything about Iran mentioned was with one-on-one conversation with teachers and a short, 10-minute news debrief from a general news outlet in my history class.
The purpose of coming to school is to receive an education. Teachers always encourage students to apply what they have learned to the outside world-and yet, it feels as though all we are being taught at the moment is that it is ok to stay silent when things are controversial and harder to understand. Why is it that teachers are so fearful of speaking and educating about our own country's actions? In what world has party polarization become so extreme that teachers feel the need to stay silent about the basic facts of our country going to war?
There are many differing perspectives in this situation: I have the utmost respect for my teachers and I understand that they may not feel comfortable or safe to cover information about the war, as they’d like to keep their jobs. However, I think it's even more important to cover information that, while true, is vexed. As a student, we have been taught about figures like Rosa Parks and Fredrick Douglass, people who stood up for their rights and beliefs despite the possible consequences that followed; yet, within Flag High we are exposed to adults staying silent about basic, unbiased facts about worldwide events that the U.S. are initiating. We should be able to apply our historical learning skills to the real world, to turn our view from the past to our current situation and be able to think critically and build empathy for differing perspectives. By not discussing information about the bombing of Iran, about affected straits and trade routes between countries or the oil or even other countries involvement, teachers set the example that challenging conversations that offer differing perspectives are best left unacknowledged. It teaches students to stay silent as well, despite being constantly told to go out into the world and make an impact while standing strong in your beliefs.
It really is a challenging issue to cover-in an ideal world, I would love for teachers to be able to have that freedom and to not be insinuative of political bias while teaching. Lillee Martin, a peer and editor for The Talon, was able to offer extra insight into this as she had previously written an article on the complications of speech freedom as it pertains to educators; “There’s a lot of ways you can be educational without being projective,” she said, “and it’s the schools’ responsibility to make sure students are educated, beyond the bounds of curriculum, and systems need to fluctuate with society. As active and upcoming participants in politics, we should be educated on the political environment.” She mentioned how information in the media is very left or right leaning, which further polarizes the different political parties, and by teachers not providing students with unbiased information or even any information at all because of that fear, it creates this “enabling relationship for teachers to tone down historical facts because their fear of student reception."
I think it's really important to acknowledge this issue, as it not only pertains to students learning within the school building but also how they choose to act outside: the lack of acknowledgement and conversation from teachers not only encourages students to stay silent about their political beliefs, but also to be unempathetic or not understanding of other students’ perspectives or opinions. Students should not be required to do extensive research outside of school to figure out what is going on in our current political climate. Teachers should be able to encourage students to be informed by giving them unbiased sources of information in class, and encourage discussions between students about current events without fearing for their job security.