Commencement and accountability
Along with providing the tools of knowledge attainment, we educators must provide the guardrails of ethical, inclusive, human-rights-centered values.
Hello friends - over the past four days, I’ve participated in three commencement ceremonies: one high school, for my partner’s grandchild; one each for my bachelor’s and master’s student. I love these ceremonies - their awkward combination of serious ritual and silly jubilation, the sense of accomplishment and possibilities ahead.
This year, the felony charges and an unsealed indictment against the former president wove a surreal backdrop to the celebrations. As I stood for the national anthem at each one, I could not help but think about the well-educated, degree-endowed lawyers, financiers, business people, economists, doctors, and other “leaders” who enabled, empowered, and protected this person as he grifted his way into and through the presidency. Who encouraged followers to illegally and violently attempt to overthrow the results of the election he lost. Who are, even now, telling false stories of persecution to continue the flow of money they seem to find powerfully addicting.
All too often, we invoke “education” as the solution to many of our society’s ills. The last few years stand in stark contrast to such platitudes.
My industry - higher education - has shown it is willing to give up being an exemplar of truthful exploration of the responsibilities of citizenry, to become a hothouse for anti-democratic, elitist ideas and practices. This is not new: the earliest universities and colleges in the country were often reserved for the children of the wealthy. But it is, now, an existential threat to our thriving democracy.
It is not a coincidence that the anti-democratic governor of Florida is moving to take over his state’s higher education system. This is far more than a performance in the culture wars: education is deeply involved in socializing the upcoming generations. Control what they learn (and do not learn), and you can control their world-views.
Worse, though, is the ground we’ve ceded to the false value of “neutrality.” As educators, we must understand that there are not “two (equivalent) sides to everything:” there are simple and complex issues, and there are values embedded in all of them.
Example: at my institution, where our very mission and vision describe values of inclusive learning communities, where administration makes public statements of support for various history months, speaks out against certain heinous acts of discrimination and violence - this leadership has been conspicuously silent on the loss of reproductive care rights, the rise of right-wing violence, and the indictment of a former president.
Providing the tools of knowledge attainment without providing the guardrails of ethical, inclusive, human-rights-centered values is shameful and dangerous.
Fellow educators, we can and must do better. We cannot control what our graduates do beyond commencement; of course; we cannot even control what our students do while they are with us. We can influence, teach, invite, and share our own commitment to citizenship as stewardship. And we can challenge anti-democratic practices, actions, and values wherever we see them in operation.
If you are celebrating a graduation this spring, congratulations. Go forward with an open mind and heart. If you celebrate a graduate, congratulations. Help them find a path guided by deep love.
And thank you for your company on this journey.