When I was in my second year of teaching I learned the meaning of unintended consequences in a most unfortunate way. I had undergone training regarding the district rules for both teachers and students which were said to be hard and fast. One of them insisted that any student found with smoking paraphernalia while on campus was to be reported and punished with time in the Alternative Learning Center. While the rule seemed to be a case of overkill to me I thought little more about it until a number of students came to me one day reporting that they had seen a pack of cigarettes inside a girl’s purse.
Bear in mind that the girl that they told me about was perhaps the most outstanding person in my class. She was polite, followed the rules and made excellent grades. She was a model of what we want our young to be and yet I was faced with a conundrum because all of my students had read and signed the Student Handbook which specifically told then what would happen to anyone bringing cigarettes to school. I had to seek consul with the principal hoping that there would be some leniency in dealing with the situation. In fact, the girl told me while in tears that her teenage brother had put the cigarettes in her purse over the weekend when he did not want his parents to see the evidence that he was smoking. Sadly the two of them forgot to get the offending items out of the purse. It was only once the girl was at school looking for a pen to work on a lesson that she and those around her saw the offending items.
The principal was as concerned about the situation for the young lady as I was so she called the Administration Office to get an official reading of what to do. Much to the disappointment of both of us, the powers that be held firm to the rule, telling us there could be no exceptions for any reason. The sweet child was sent to the Alternative Learning Center of four weeks where she sat in the midst of some of the most hardcore troublemakers in the district. I was terrified for her but also realized that what was supposed to be a rule to protect her and others had actually turned into an unfair nightmare.
Thus it is with many of the plans that Donald Trump insists he will put into place almost immediately. I have outlined the difficulties for so many of his ideas but I will start with only a few of them beginning with mass deportations.
The cost of such a huge endeavor has already been mentioned but I don’t think anyone really has a proportional sense of how truly expensive it will be to hire additional employees for Border Patrol, to send officers on hunts for the illegals, to provide a place to hold the people pending transportation out of the country, to pay for that transportation, to inform the countries where they will be sent to expect their arrival. For that matter there is a big question as to whether or not the various nations will even accept the return of so many people. It will not be nearly as simple as just proclaiming that it will happen.
Another important economic blowback that few have considered is what will happen when the immigrants quit doing jobs that are quite important to each of us. Who will do their work? How much will it cost to hire employees who are not so desperate that they will work for peanuts? What happens when these people leave the homes and apartments that they have been renting? Will the landlords suddenly find themselves with empty properties and a much lowered income flow? How will we make up for the sales taxes that these people have been paying. Where will the additional funding come from? What programs will suffer? What kind of realignment in schools will force districts to lay off teachers, suspend funding for books and supplies?
Then there is Trump’s promise to shut down the Department of Education. Most citizens have little idea how many important programs in schools are funded by the federal government. Many recent strides made in serving our disabled students will be taken away. Programs for autistic children will be on the chopping block. Tutoring and afterschool programs may have to go. Extra money for science labs, classroom books and magazines will be gone. Few understand the extent of extra help our schools get from the Department of Education.
A big push for school choice through vouchers that Trump and other Republicans find attractive is also filled with problems that few consider. The average amount of state funding per student in Texas is about ten thousand dollars. It is probable that vouchers will provide no more than that amount and possibly even less. The cost of most good private schools in Texas begins at $20,000 per year and increases as the quality and reputation of the school goes up. In addition most of those schools require entrance exams and admissions are based on standards that limit who will be invited to attend. Sadly far too may voters think that a voucher program will allow them to send their children to private schools without cost and the truth is that they will find themselves paying tens of thousands of dollars if their children can even meet the admissions standards.
I bring these things up because I hear people talking enthusiastically about the many things that Donald Trump is boasting that he will do that will indeed have many unintended consequences that those who voted for him may or may not have considered. The massive changes that he is espousing will each have their share of impacts that will not be what everyone expected. It’s wise to think things through before jumping off a cliff. I learned that with teaching and I fear that the public will soon learn it with the plans that Trump is vowing to set in motion very soon. My warning is, “Buyer beware!”
All It Takes Is A Little Love 