“Quite frankly, it’s been quite embarrassing when I have an 11-year-old who is better behaved and more polite than some people who are the potential next leaders of our country,” said Maury Peterson, who runs Parenting Journey, a nonprofit group in Somerville, Mass., that provides support for families. “This name-calling and making fun of people is basically the opposite of what he’s been taught at home and at school.”
Kathy Maher, a sixth-grade teacher in Newton, Mass., said that election years usually presented an excellent opportunity for students to observe the virtues of the American democratic process. But this year, she said, she worries about mock-debate season, when someone will have to play Mr. Trump — a candidate who, if he were a student, would be sent straight to the principal’s office.
Her school has a program encouraging students to speak up if they see someone being mistreated, Ms. Maher said, and for that reason she has felt obliged to address the subject of Mr. Trump.
“I try really hard, when we discuss politics, to take a balanced view,” she said. “But I felt I had to say something this time, because the things Donald Trump says wouldn’t be tolerated in our schools. He bullies people, he name-calls, he makes fun of people because of their race, their ethnicity and the way they look.”
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