Jake Seltzer

Because of the impact Harris will have on students of all backgrounds

As I passed the bodega on 160th and Boston Road on my way to Morris High School in the fall of 2008, a familiar vibration, the beat of Lil Wayne’s “A Milli,” rattled out of the speakers of a parked car. Other familiar features included: barking dogs tied up to the street sign; the smell of bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches wafting out of the bodega; greetings in familiar languages that I didn’t speak; and the buzz of dozens of uniformed teenagers spilling out of buses, crosswalks, and corner stores toward the one open door of Morris High School.

What was unfamiliar were the words, “Obama, Obama, Obama” triumphantly dancing along with the thunderous beat of “A Milli,” in place of Lil Wayne’s original lyrics.

This moment, teeming with life, literally big-banging, will never be shown to casually improve test scores, but it reflects something far more difficult to measure: belonging. The energy of our students around Obama’s campaign expressed their sense of belonging in the sea of excitement and hope from his election, that his victory was shared by them and their families; and by extension, their country belonged to them every bit as much as those whose skin reflected every president before Obama.

Of course, representation alone does not address the moral crisis of education in our country, but it matters. I support Kamala Harris for president because I believe she will increase funding for Head Start, support public schools, promote policies that help families in need, and increase funding for low-income schools, special education, and English language learners. All of these are essential deliverables, but none overshadow the potential impact that Kamala Harris, a first-generation, Black, South Asian woman, will have on students from all backgrounds.

When we talk about curriculum design in education, we discuss the importance of providing students with “windows and mirrors”: windows to see stories from a different perspective, and mirrors for students to see themselves reflected in stories. While the role of president plays directly into policy decisions, it also serves as a story of both the present moment and the ongoing story of the United States. In this election, there are two very different stories that we can tell students. Kamala Harris offers a mirror to tens of millions of children who have never had one in the story of the United States. It must be noted that the alternative is a mirror which reflects bigotry and fear. For those currently fearful of the other, Kamala Harris will provide a window to the broader world beyond the limitations of prejudice and homogeneity. Immigrant students, female students, and students of historically underrepresented backgrounds deserve to see themselves reflected in the story of our presidency. There would be no American story without them, and it matters that they see themselves reflected in each part of this ongoing tale.

Jake Seltzer has been a public school educator for seventeen years and is the founder of Ball for Life Oakland.