Teachers union chief: Melania Trump’s robot reveals what this administration really thinks of children

When the Trump administration talks about the future of education, it tells on itself. Beneath the language of “innovation” and “fostering the future together” is a clear agenda: weaken public education, turn it into a revenue stream for billionaires, and create a docile generation unlikely to challenge its blatant authoritarianism. That agenda is evident in every move it makes, from promoting private-school voucher schemes, to whitewashing history, to dismantling the Department of Education. To this administration, education is both a threat and a market opportunity. In a recent tactical blunder, the first lady’s farcical rollout of a teacher robot made unusually clear what this administration really thinks of children, teachers and schools. But what it revealed most was a profound lack of humanity. The robot’s unveiling included nothing about the responsibility of helping a child learn. Nothing about building trust between students and teachers. Nothing about the daily judgment educators use to steady an overwhelmed child, adapt a lesson, stoke critical thinking, de-escalate a conflict or help a student who comes to school hungry. There was no humility about the immense weight public schools are asked to carry, and no respect for the people who carry it. A fair number of educators responded with mirth because the absurdity was impossible to miss, and because humor is a defensive tactic in the face of a threat. Educators are acutely aware of how dangerous it is that this administration consistently dehumanizes children and discounts their needs. Children are seen as neither a treasure nor the future flag bearers of this country’s immense potential and responsibility. They are treated as a market. That was reflected in the first lady’s familiar language of gross domestic product growth and shoutouts to the tech billionaires who stand to reap significant financial rewards. She offered a hollowed-out vision of education