Resisting Trump: Teaching English Language Arts in the Age of the Demagogue

The authors who regularly hum the classic Monty Python song-"Always look on the bright side of life" view the Trump presidency not just as an unmitigated disaster but also as a "teachable moment." Trump's remarkable rhetorical skills in grasping and holding power are often overlooked but they are worth reviewing if only to see how an amoral politician can frame key ideas in a way that pack emotional and more importantly electoral college punch. These skills are neither trivial or...
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The authors who regularly hum the classic Monty Python song-"Always look on the bright side of life" view the Trump presidency not just as an unmitigated disaster but also as a "teachable moment." Trump's remarkable rhetorical skills in grasping and holding power are often overlooked but they are worth reviewing if only to see how an amoral politician can frame key ideas in a way that pack emotional and more importantly electoral college punch. These skills are neither trivial or unworthy of study-they are the stock in trade of a born demagogue. Arming our students with some tools to resist the onslaught of lies, half truths and myths that Trump and many like him now trade in is not as some might claim, politicizing the classroom, but a genuine effort to prevent them from succumbing (as many did in the 1930s and 40s) to the appeals of fascism and authoritarian rule. The authors provide non partisan ways to help your students dissect faulty arguments, and irrational appeals that weaken rather than strengthen their own agency. With references to the Common Core and many of the most widely taught books in the ELA curriculum-1984, The Bluest Eye and Hunger Games as well as Shakespeare-the authors help you as a teacher make your lessons more relevant and meaningful for the times we live in.