Introduction
The introduction to the Rethinking Schools ICE issue makes it clear that schools are not separate from what is happening in society, especially when it comes to immigration enforcement.
One of the biggest ideas is that students cannot learn if they do not feel safe. The introduction explains that ICE presence in communities creates fear that follows students directly into the classroom. Students are described as coming to school “carrying… worries in their hearts,” which shows that fear is not something left at home. This fear affects how students show up and participate and even whether they come to school at all.
Another key issue raised in the introduction is that immigration has been treated as a security issue instead of a human issue, which has expanded systems of surveillance, detention, and deportation. This framing is important because it directly impacts how students and families are viewed and treated. At the same time, the introduction highlights something powerful: resistance and community care. Teachers, families, and communities are not just accepting these conditions. They are organizing, protecting each other, and advocating for students.
Three Talking Points
Beginning
The introduction challenges the idea that schools are safe and neutral spaces. Instead, it shows that schools are deeply connected to political and social systems like ICE. This stood out to me because as educators, we sometimes act like what happens outside of school does not affect learning. But this proves that it absolutely does.
Middle
In Kicking ICE Out of Our Schools and Communities, educators explain how students are coming to school with fear and anxiety, sometimes even preparing for the possibility that their parents could be taken. In the context of "Now Is the Time to Defend Our Students," schools witnessed a pervasive atmosphere of fear within their communities, as students absented themselves from school due to the proximity of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. These examples highlight the real-world effects of the problem, which are seen in classrooms and affect students' attendance, engagement, and mental health.
The final part of this discussion will focus on what educators can do, with the introduction emphasizing the importance of teachers taking an active role.
Instead, educators should collaborate with communities, safeguard students, and champion more secure school settings. This is significant because it emphasizes the dual responsibility of educators: to provide instruction and to safeguard their students' welfare. Argument Statement The authors argue that ICE and immigration enforcement create an atmosphere of fear and insecurity, which directly impairs students' ability to learn; therefore, educators are compelled to actively cultivate secure, encouraging, and protective school settings.
Connections to Other Texts & Course Themes
This viewpoint aligns closely with the school-to-prison pipeline, as both systems illustrate how students, especially students of color, are subjected to surveillance and control instead of receiving sufficient support.
It also connects to Renkly & Bertolini’s asset-based model, because these ICE situations show what happens when students are seen through a deficit lens instead of being valued for their humanity. This also connects to Lisa Delpit’s “The Silenced Dialogue.” When students feel unsafe, they are less likely to speak, participate, or engage. Their voices become silenced. It also connects to Mellody Hobson’s idea of being color brave, because ignoring issues like immigration and race does not protect students. It actually makes harm invisible.
Personal Reflection
This really resonated with me because it made me think about how students are carrying things into the classroom that we do not always see. In my own experience in school settings, I have seen how quickly students can be labeled without understanding what they are going through. A student might seem disengaged or quiet, but there could be something much deeper happening in their life. Reading this made me realize that for some students, school is not just about learning. It is about safety. If a student is worried about their family being taken or not knowing what is going to happen when they get home, learning becomes secondary. This connects to the idea that as educators, we have to look beyond behavior and really understand students as whole people. It is not enough to just teach. We also have to create environments where students feel safe enough to even be present.
Hyperlink
https://www.rethinkingschools.org/articles/kicking-ice-out-of-our-schools-and-communities/
Students cannot fully learn in environments shaped by fear. Schools must be places of safety and protection.
Closing Thought
The introduction to this issue makes one thing clear: education is not separate from justice. If students do not feel safe, they cannot fully learn. That means educators must take an active role in protecting students and standing against systems that create harm.
Andrea, I was really drawn to this issue too, though ultimately focused on another. I think your point about safety, and not being able to learn if you don't feel safe, is so important. I would argue that that fear is at the heart of the policy, which is why ICE has targeted students and schools to the extent that they have. I love your line about students feeling safe enough to be present, that has to be the foundational goal.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea, thanks for your insight on this article. You said "This fear affects how students show up and participate and even whether they come to school at all." At the beginning of the school year we have meetings with the whole guidance teams from our six target schools. One of the schools head guidance counselor mentioned they always save an extra whole classroom for MLL students they expect to get every school year. This year they saw a severe decline, barely filling this extra class. She was very concerned that these students aren't in school to avoid ICE and knows how awful this will unfold for their futures. Furthermore, at a different public school where ICE was down the road, all the students were prioccupied not paying attention in school, my students messaging me asking if I had seen anything when I left their school. It's so heartbreaking to know these students can't properly learn without fearing for their friends and family.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea, I like your connection to Delpit...so very true. I have a student who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. The oldest of four children, the youngest only months old, I suspect he has a great deal of responsibility at home. He is such an old soul, very sensitive and full of worry. A couple months ago he came to see me with tummy troubles. He is lactose intolerant so not an unusual complaint but something seemed off. I could see that worry in his eyes and wondered if the physical complaint was actually related to anxiety. After speaking with him a few minutes, he became tearful and shared he was afraid of ICE coming to get him and his family". He believed that they were at his house because someone had knocked on the door and his parents told the children to be quiet and did not answer. He said they knocked once more before leaving. I tried to reassure him the best I could and called in the social worker for back up since she already works with this student. She later told me that she was unaware of any specific threat to the family and we discussed how frightening this is especially for the children.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea,
ReplyDeleteI absolutely see many students and families who come to school afraid or simply don't come to school. Most years I have between 3 and 7 students who start the year speaking very little English. This year I had one. My whole school has far fewer newly immigrated students and families this year than in the past, at least in part due to ICE.
While my students don't often think about ICE, I can tell that some of the parents are on edge and it helps them to know that I can communicate with them in Spanish and that their child is at least taken care of and safe while they are at school. While I am used to creating an environment where my students feel safe, since the first few months of Pre-k are spent trying to convince students that they actually will be fine without their family for a little while, I tend to have to focus more on making sure that parents and family members feel supported and safe at school. That's a new challenge for me, especially as I cannot guarantee safety to and from the school building. I know for a fact that someone was taken in by ICE a few minutes up the road from us just two weeks ago.
Hi Andrea, I found your analysis of the article insightful and I could take your claims and easily relate them to my personal life. You clearly presented that social issues extend into the classroom. School is not like a 4 by 4 space that whatever happens outside stays out. So many students come to school carrying much heavier burdens then they may show. Their behavior may change and we are quick to use the deficit model and punish them based upon the actions that they take. Your claim of viewing students as a whole student resinated. I fear that sometimes I am quick to act on a behavior when instead I should be asking more questions.
ReplyDeleteSo many connections across our readings!!
ReplyDelete