The Charlie Kirk effect

Ecclesiastes 3:1 “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”

Charlie Kirk spoke to what mattered to him. Whether or not you believe in his beliefs, we can all applaud his courage to engage with those who disagreed with him. In a time of cancel culture, he took the risk. Sadly, it cost him his life. 

I doubt there is one of us who can’t recall a time when we were hesitant to speak up for fear of retribution. If the “Charlie Kirk Effect” does one thing, I hope each of us will have the courage to engage with whom we may disagree. A few of my own Charlie Kirk Effect moments resurfaced the day that Charlie was assassinated. I hadn’t thought about them in years. I wasn’t a social media follower of Charlie. But, as he did, I witnessed firsthand the indoctrination of students on a college campus. Unlike Charlie, I didn’t speak up. 

Education was a second career for me. After spending almost eighteen years in law enforcement, an injury to my spine resulted in a disability. Public service was a calling. I wanted to make a difference. I entered a college classroom for the first time at age 40. My own daughter was in elementary school at the time. She was our only child and knowing the challenges of public education in Philadelphia, we invested in private school. I spent hours volunteering in her school and came to see the disparity between her education and my own K-12 public schooling. The contrast was remarkable. 

I was the oldest student in most of my undergraduate classes. Younger minds — future teachers — were often told what wasn’t possible, as opposed to being inspired to consider what was. I was new to the university environment and other than my own schooling, lacked experience in public education. I wasn’t willing to risk it. I didn’t speak up. 

I eventually graduated with a master’s degree in education and went on to lead a team of amazing teachers as we created an award-winning school and academic program built upon the ideals that a public school in Philadelphia could, in fact, mirror the learning of private school. We did it! Success! But in the system of education, success isn’t rewarded as it tends to shine a spotlight on failure. We wanted to serve more children, but the system rejected our offer to open a second school in an underserved community. We were advised that challenging this decision would be futile. We didn’t speak up. 

Fast forward to 2017 when I made the decision that the best way to empower the next generation of teachers was to teach them what was possible. Having done it, I now came with over a decade of experience, awards, and academic success. As it turns out, however, to teach future teachers, I needed my doctorate degree. I applied and was accepted to a local university. My first class was taught by a professor who outwardly spoke of his loathing for Donald Trump. So much so that he proudly shared how he and a group of his colleagues were getting together to research how his election to office could have possibly happened so that they could ensure it “never happened again.” He assumed that everyone in the room agreed with his cause. There were nods in agreement yet not one person challenged him, not one person spoke up. 

Charlie Kirk believed in God, in his family and in his faith. He believed in himself and his purpose. He spoke about what mattered to him. He went into the lion’s den of higher education where he challenged young minds to think for themselves. As with Charlie, after my first semester I dropped out of the university program. I couldn’t see spending an additional $50,000.00. After failing generations of children for decades, the one thing the system of education didn’t need was my money. Rather what it needs is a new and better way of teaching and inspiring the next generation of teachers who, in turn, will be charged with teaching the next generation of students. 

My suggestion is for every university that has an education or political science department to have a Charlie Kirk Conservative Professor. Someone who will not only speak up and debate with his/her own peers but will encourage debate among students whose opinions may differ. 

If experience is the best teacher, then Charlie Kirk taught us well. May his legacy live on. 

Jean Wallace spent two decades supporting teachers and students in both the non-profit sector and as the CEO of an award-winning public charter school. She currently writes for various publications highlighting successful strategies for engaging students in environmental science and civic action.