#11 | Project 2025, Donald Trump’s next term, and how it will affect your life as an educator - w/ Jason Biehl

Author: Ashanti Branch - Taking Off The Mask
Published: Wed 15 Jan 2025
Episode Link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/branch-speaks/episodes/11--Project-2025--Donald-Trumps-next-term--and-how-it-will-affect-your-life-as-an-educator---w-Jason-Biehl-e2tgk6g

Will the Department of Education really be dissolved with Donald Trump set to take office? It’s been a whirlwind of emotions and struggle for educators these past few years, between distance learning, deteriorating attention spans, Chat GPT, inflation, the politicization of every piece of curriculum… - am I missing anything? This episode is a reflection on the past election and upcoming presidency, with Jason Biehl - history teacher and antiracist educator. What is it all going to mean for your school? Your classroom? Your standing as a teacher/educator in America?

We cover:

Why embracing discomfort is vital to the education of our students and the effectiveness of our teachers

How is Project 2025 going to affect your life as a teacher? And how education is the practice of freedom.

Acts of kindness, belonging, and activism we’re seeing from students that can provide teachers with hope in these difficult times

(0:00) Class in session

(2:00) Some unfiltered grappling with the upcoming Trump presidency - in particular the censoring of education

(11:00) Jason introduces himself

(17:00) Reflecting on our “teaching personas” or “teacher masks”

(21:00) “Being present” with students is more difficult and more complicated than it sounds

(25:00) The financial challenges of being a teacher

(29:30) Project 2025, the Department of Education, and the censorship of curriculum

(34:00) Anything to keep you optimistic about public schools? And helping students feel seen - through a sense of belonging or a sense of purpose via social justice organizing

(43:00) Building a bigger coalition across differences to fight the elite and put the interests of educators and students first

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Connect with Jason Biehl:

changethenarrative.me

www.educatorsforracialjustice.com

Look out for his upcoming book, “Unicorns: A Graphic Memoir for Young White Men”

Join our Skool Community: https://www.skool.com/efc-young-mens-advocates-2345

Email us questions and comments at [email protected]

Create your own mask anonymously at https://millionmask.org/

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Connect with Ashanti Branch:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/branchspeaks/