Conducting an ABC on the current GOP: Behavior Analysis from a Special Educator and Political Ethicist
“Do not comply to things which your morality may die.” — Joseph, S.
As a special educator, I sit in a unique position. This unique position can be summarized as such: By trade I am an agent of compliance for state and country-wide legislation, and, by ethics, I am an agent of necessary, and within legal limits, opposition. From our school administration’s email blast asking that we “identify all books on our classroom shelves to ensure they are within state and local compliance” to a school-wide “how-to” manual on, lawful, mitigation for when ICE shows up to our school.
What we, as educators, educate in our classroom is either wildly misunderstood or blatantly disregarded outside of the school walls. What I mean by this is the severely misplaced notion that we are creators of this new-age religion, standing above our wide-eyed pupils from our pew, and preaching sermons of pronouns and white-hatred. They do realize we have grade-level standards, state-wide assessments, lesson planning, Individualized Education Plan development, and vocational training to do, right? I very well could be wrong, but we still have only 24-hours in a day, correct? Because if so, where would we ever find the time to do all of these things? And on a deeper level, how can one compute this at any cognitive level? Regardless what our unequipped political ambassadors may antagonize us Americans with, educators remain steadfast in their ability to (yes) teach parts of speech (which, yes, do include pronouns as they are critical to language) and parts of history that are not always pretty (as even we are not when we roll out of bed first thing in the morning). If White House Press Secretary Ms. Leavitt’s regretful statement that “boys will be boys” is suitable for a White House press conference, why could “history is sometimes messy” not be acceptable for our students?
We, the American people, have reached yet another critical dot on the short timeline that is U.S. history (248 years, to be exact). During times such as this, we rely heavily on community. From shared resources through our whisper networks to transferred knowledge that could, just as easily, begin the erasure process if put into the wrong hands. In communal spaces and empty conference rooms, I have the great fortune of learning about upcoming bills, whispers of raids, and other informal formalities that become, almost, as sacred as worship. Now, I hope I can provide others with their own tools and insight, as is customary during times such as these.
In my constant pursuit of educating, allow me to introduce a behavior analytics tool that is a staple across all sectors of education. This tool is called the ABC, or SRC, Chart. This stands for Antecedent (A), Behavior (B), Consequence (C) chart, or also known as the Stimuli (S), Response (R), Consequence (C) chart. These two acronyms are interchangeable. For the sake of this piece, we will stick with the ABC Chart, or Antecedent, Behavior, and Consequence Chart. An ABC chart is used as a means of tracking and identifying a problem, or undesirable, behavior. The educator or service provider will take note of each event that transpired right before (prior to) the undesirable behavior, the behavior itself (during), and finally the reaction or response to said behavior (after). For example, a student of mine may desire teacher-attention (this would be identified as the ‘function’, or reason why they engage in behavior). So if the antecedent is my lack of engagement with said student, they may behave by throwing a pencil or eraser in my direction. The consequence, or response, will most likely be my turning around to have a restorative conversation with my student. Therefore, reinforcing this behavior by providing them with my full attention. All that to say, every aspect of behavior is interconnected and behavior always comes from somewhere.
One may now be thinking, how on this green and blue earth do behavior analytic tools apply to the current administration? Wonderful question! Every action and reaction we make is considered a behavior. If I choose to roll my eyes at the sight of a certain someone crossing my TV screen for a breaking news segment, that is, in fact, a behavior. If someone, let’s say, chose to sign a certain policy or executive order which warranted said headline to pop-up on my screen, that is undoubtedly, also a behavior. Our actions, comments, responses, and reactions, are behaviors.
Now that we have a foundational understanding of this behavior analytics tool, let’s make the comparison between the ABC and GOP. There is no better place to start, being an educator myself, than the current executive order(s) being signed to dismantle the Department of Education (ie. DOE).
Let’s look at potential antecedents:
- The education system is believed to be seeped in the “woke agenda” which, in return, causes children and young adults to be swayed politically or ideologically. Whether this is from establishing historical context, expanding our students’ socialization, or by introducing the different identities of their fellow peers or educators. Many, who consider themselves both conservative and aligned with President Trump, find the potential progressiveness a threat to the overall developmental security of our next generation(s). The Trump Administration, due to these concerns, directed the DOE to release roughly 1,300 working employees of their duties — which is currently going through litigation.
So, what is the behavior:
- President Trump signed an Executive Order (ie. EO) on March 20, 2025. Thus, creating a chain-reaction throughout the education system. This EO is called “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities”. What this EO demands is that all federally funded schools comply with other EO’s in dismantling all DEI (ie. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs or face the likelihood of being stripped of their resources.
The consequence is:
- Well, there are many. Roughly 90% of U.S. students from Kindergarten through High School are enrolled in the public education system. Through the public education system, federal funding is not only relied on for maintenance of academic and supplemental programs, but it is a primary investment into the future of this country. A way for the government to show-up and unify for the common pursuit of our children’s prosperity — especially for when parts of our students’ safety are not of concern to the government. A lack of federal funding will decrease programs such as Title 1, specifically for low-income schools, to receive fiscal support and equitable opportunities to reach new academic or vocational heights. A decrease in federal funding will strip Special Education services, which impacts roughly 15% of the — diagnosed — students with disabilities across the country. And, yet another consequence of this EO will be the continued belief that President Trump’s administration is “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling”. At least until one’s child is no longer provided reading intervention, decent school lunches, or quality academic and non-academic curriculum, but I digress.
Yet another ABC of the GOP would be Executive Order “Designating English as the Official Language of the United States”.
Let’s look at potential antecedents:
- With a passionate and covert distrust for those of migrant status, one could not be surprised as to why this EO was signed. The following can all be considered antecedents to the signing of this EO: Certain criminal proceedings, televised name-calling towards specific regions or countries, increased attention to security at the borders, and attempts to create unifying characteristics across America through the use of historical examples (ie. Declaration of Independence, etc).
The behavior itself:
- President Trump signed the “Designating English as the Official Language of the United States” EO on March 1, 2025. In doing so, he chose to also revoke — or rescind — EO 13166. EO 13166 was signed to support those with limited English proficiency through federal agency programing.
The consequences:
- While the Trump Administration shared service providers do not need to amend or stop the usage of documentations written in languages other than English, the reversal itself is estimated to slow the progression of English-learners in their language-learning processes and in being provided cohesive and consistent assistance across federal agencies. This EO also creates movement towards maintaining English-only governmental conduct. While this is standard within U.S.-related delegation and communication, other support systems such as ASL projection on televised alerts and language-related programs — such as English as Second Learner (ESL) programs — are put at risk.
Given the frequency of EO’s being signed by President Trump, there are countless ABC-charting opportunities to still be had. When navigating these coming years, changes, and challenges, I urge everyone to take the time to lean into the shared expertise of your community and own selves to seek out concrete, accurate, and digestible answers. We may have a lot of unknown ahead of us, but we are fortunate to share much more knowledge and tenacity between us all.
