After a summer break, it is so good to be back writing Free to Teach!

It’s back-to-school season. It’s election season. And it’s weird. 

I have been a political observer my entire life. I started as a childhood news junkie who crushed the other kids in the classroom “news game” that was sponsored by a local TV network. Our teacher would take the winning team out to lunch at Bob’s Big Boy after each 6-week round of trivia competitions—quite a prize for an 11-year-old! Despite mixing up the teams for each of the six rounds, my teacher bought me lunch four times that year! The staff at Bob’s Big Boy knew me by name. (Ok, just kidding about that last part.)

Foreshadowed by my 6th-grade “tour de force” at the news game, I ended up as a political science major, legislative intern, campaign worker, and government affairs director, before finding my place as an AP US History/Civics teacher for 15 years. In my 40-plus years of political engagement, this is by far the most bizarre political season I have ever witnessed. It was already weird before the Trump assassination attempt and the Biden-out/Harris-in switch. Now it’s off-the-charts crazy, and even included a debate about which side was weirder. So weird!

Previously, these political earthquakes would have created a significant amount of anxiety for me. My younger self worried significantly about the outcome of elections, and when I internalized panic lines like, “This is the most important election of our lifetimes,” the anxiety only increased. Of course, I’m not unaware of the consequences of elections, and I will do my best to vote and persuade others to vote in accordance with a Biblical worldview—this is our duty as American citizens and as Christians.

But over the years, as I’ve witnessed God’s power manifested through the Holy Spirit more and more, and allowed His Word to mold and shape my mind and heart, my identity has become more deeply rooted in Christ and His kingdom. God is not anxious over the 2024 election, and neither am I. He is on the throne. America has a purpose in God’s kingdom, but that’s really up to Him. Whether America thrives as a powerful constitutional republic for a hundred more years or continues to decline morally and politically, and then eventually economically and militarily, we can have peace because we walk with Jesus and partner with Him. After all, Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things (the things we need and tend to stress about) will be given to you as well.” Notice it does not say, “Seek first the prosperity of the United States through political action….” Let’s trust the future of our great nation into His capable hands and release our anxiety to Him. If God has called you into political action, great! That is a high calling. Let His Spirit lead you and honor Him with your words, actions, and attitudes. But if election seasons are not seasons of peace for you, consider 2024 an invitation to let go of the fear that drives our anxiety and to ask Jesus to let us see with His eyes. 

Not only is this election season weird, but our back-to-school season is a bit weird as well.

First, the largest teachers union in the nation saw their annual convention collapse (plus President Biden backed out from speaking at the last minute) due to…get this…a strike of NEA staffers! How very ironic that the largest organization dedicated to collective bargaining for educators could not come to an agreement with its own staff. Fortunately for the rest of us, NEA delegates weren’t able to vote on their typical lineup of problematic new business items that, among other things, encourage gender and sexual confusion, recommend the reading of pornographic books, promote police-free schools, or condemn Israel. 

Second, many school districts are going back to school unsure of whether or not they are required to implement transgender policies due to the Biden Administration’s new Title IX rules that went into effect in some states on August 1. I am happy to report that they are now blocked in 26 states, partially as a result of the lawsuit Christian Educators joined against the Biden administration. If you are in one of the states with injunctions, but your school district is implementing the Title IX rules anyway, would you let me know? Of course, many of us live and teach where these policies are already in effect by state law or district policy. 

Thankfully, I believe relief is coming, evidenced by yet another favorable court ruling. Although a final ruling awaits a future jury trial, a federal court in Ohio ruled last week that requiring a teacher to use preferred names and pronouns of gender-confused students is not related to her official duties as an educator and is therefore protected by the First Amendment. Judge Pamela Barker, a Trump appointee, ruled that the Jackson Local School District, which is right next door to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, “compelled [middle school English teacher Vivian] Geraghty to use the students’ preferred names and pronouns,” which was an attempt to force her “to utter what was not in her mind about a question of political and religious significance.” The question of public concern is whether or not the concept of “gender” can be divorced from biological sex, which gets at the very definition of what it means to be human. 

The school district had tried to argue that Geraghty attempted to impose her religious viewpoint on two of her students by refusing to use their preferred names and pronouns. However, Judge Baker correctly points out that:

Geraghty conveying a message about her religious beliefs is not at issue here…this case is about [the school district] compelling Geraghty to recite words with which she disagrees. Geraghty refraining from speaking does not amount to her impermissibly coercing her religious beliefs on her students (p. 30). 

If you find yourself in a situation where you are being asked to use preferred names and pronouns, and you feel you cannot comply and be faithful to Christ, I would suggest framing your objection that way—that the school is attempting to compel you to say things with which you do not agree, and that is an unconstitutional violation of your First Amendment rights. Of course, understand that these heroic educators winning legal battles are often out of a job for a few years, so count the cost and pray…and call Christian Educators for counsel and prayer before taking any action.