The next four years are going to be dangerous

Leaders of nations around the world, autocratic and/or elected, are all riding varying waves of political and cultural history and momentum.

The United States is no exception, but what Donald Trump has ingeniously done is change the American ethos from one of being an amalgam “Melting Pot” of diverse peoples and cultures to the earlier one of “Manifest Destiny,” the belief that the bounty of New World was God’s gift to enterprising, primarily white immigrants claiming ownership of land and utilizing the newly arriving labor to create personal wealth and build a nation of winners and losers based on capitalist exploitation. Black slavery was eventually abolished, but “people of color” and women have long belonged to a distinctly lesser class to be put to use. In Donald Trump’s view, America has always been a white man’s world.

Those who thought and hoped his semi-coherent rambling was merely political bluster and posturing are today waking up to the realization that America has elected an egomaniac who fully intends to do everything he said he would do in leading the free world into the 21st Century. Those less zealous riding his coattails into the future should be questioning just what exactly they have signed up for. When the unelected million/billionaire Tech titans are seated in the front row with the incoming Cabinet members behind them at the inauguration, it is clear who Trump sees as the best Americans to be rewarded, those making the most money.

His pardon of the Capital rioters indicates his concept of law and order is that criminals supporting him are heroes, not criminals, and he intends to “weaponize the Justice Department” against his perceived enemies. The talk radio spin and doublethink on all this is mind-boggling, but having January 6 made a national holiday looms as an actual possibility.

Further, on the subject of mania and beyond, Elon Musk, the Buck Rogers dreamer of space travel and the colonization of Mars and self-appointed Czar of government efficiency is not the first genius mind in history to go off the rails. His dalliance and embrace of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany is more than sadly disturbing. It is dangerous in our next four-year journey into the future.

Robert Porath, Boulder

Educator preparation org needs your help

Until recently, Colorado had no statewide organization devoted to educator preparation. Such organizations — state affiliates of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) — play valuable roles in sharing best practices with each other, promoting high-quality teacher preparation, and serving as expert resources for policymakers. The Colorado Council of Deans of Education saw this lack and we launched the Rocky Mountain Association for Educator Preparation (RMAEP) to represent our region in AACTE. I am honored to serve as the first President of RMAEP.

Colorado faces a severe shortage of well-prepared educators. In fact, we are in crisis. Last year, 1,753 teaching positions were filled by non-traditional means, including long-term substitute teachers, and those on emergency permits. Most striking, though, is that 635 teaching positions remained unfilled at all. To help meet this challenge, RMAEP will work with legislators, state agencies, and school districts on innovative ways to solve educator shortages and promote the preparation of teachers, counselors, and school administrators. We have already begun. RMAEP members are pioneering teacher residencies, paraprofessional-to-teacher initiatives, “grow your own” future teacher programs, teacher apprenticeships, and other workforce development arrangements. But we need your help. This is an open invitation to leaders and faculty of colleges and universities, PK-12 faculty and administrators, state agency personnel, policymakers, and the general public — really anybody in the region with an interest in the best possible preparation of the school professionals who educate our children and serve our communities.

RMAEP is sponsoring a series of webinars and online discussions of issues during the 2024-25 school year and will hold our first annual meeting in fall 2025. Those interested in joining us should email Dr. Jared Stallones at jared.stallones@unco.edu.

Jared Stallones, Ph.D., Fort Collins