My husband is a high school teacher. He’s had more than a decade of students saying Nazi shit in an attempt to be “edgy.” They seem surprised when he calls them out on their bullshit. His response has made a few (probably too few) of them think twice about how people perceive them because of their words.
Last year was the first time he had a student who spouted that crap because he actually believed it. I think he has a couple of students now who actively identify as fascists. Times, they are a-changin’.
Sometimes it’s “being edgy just for the sake of it isn’t cool. Don’t be an idiot; people fought wars over this.” Students generally respect him, so once they realize he doesn’t play that game, they stop doing it in his classes.
If it’s a specific kind of bigotry, he points out that someone important to him is black/gay/trans/an immigrant/etc, and asks the kid if they’ve even met someone in that group. Most of the time the kid hasn’t and they’re just parroting things they’ve heard at home or online.
My husband is a high school teacher. He’s had more than a decade of students saying Nazi shit in an attempt to be “edgy.” They seem surprised when he calls them out on their bullshit. His response has made a few (probably too few) of them think twice about how people perceive them because of their words.
Last year was the first time he had a student who spouted that crap because he actually believed it. I think he has a couple of students now who actively identify as fascists. Times, they are a-changin’.
So what is his go-to response?
Sometimes it’s “being edgy just for the sake of it isn’t cool. Don’t be an idiot; people fought wars over this.” Students generally respect him, so once they realize he doesn’t play that game, they stop doing it in his classes.
If it’s a specific kind of bigotry, he points out that someone important to him is black/gay/trans/an immigrant/etc, and asks the kid if they’ve even met someone in that group. Most of the time the kid hasn’t and they’re just parroting things they’ve heard at home or online.