The Problem with Blind Patriotism!

A few weeks ago, we read Toufic El Rassi’s Arab in America in my Multicultural American Literature course. El Rassi was gracious enough to Zoom in and speak with up about his work, and the conversation covered a myriad of topics from representation to Abrahamic religions. One of the things that stood out was our discussion of El Rassi’s experiences in class during the first Gulf War. This was actually the first question I asked him when we began speaking. Specifically, I asked whether or not the scene where his social studies teacher told the class “to keep our troops in our thoughts as they defend our nation” and the students responded with derogatory language and chants of “U.S.A.!!” was true or embellished some for the book. He told us this was true, and the teacher, instead of correcting the boys, laughed with the boys and said, “Now settle down now boys. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Boys!!”

My classes consist of English education students, students who will one day stand in front of a classroom teaching students of their own. This is a great responsibility, and El Rassi pointed out that this moment, in 1991, was when he started to see the cracks in the authority figure of educators. We expect educators to be knowledgeable, yes, and we expect educators to work for the better of all of their students. However, that is not always the case. Each of these things make a good teacher, and I think about them constantly when I am in the classroom. I think about the fact that students, when they enter a classroom, view educators as founts of knowledge. I’m upfront with students when I tell them, “I don’t know everything. I’m learning right alongside you with some of the things we’ll cover in this course. That is ok.” We are not, as educators, all knowing. We need to be honest about that.

As well, we need to foster inclusive communities in our classrooms. When a teacher tells students to keep the troops in mind as they go to Iraq, there is nothing inherently wrong there. We want individuals to be safe and return. When the students reply, “Yeah!! We’re going to shoot up some towelheads! U.S.A! U.S.A.! U.S.A! U.S.A!!” the teacher needs to step in and say something, not laugh along with the…