Dumping on Bronx kids, Donald style
By David MacEnulty
For eight glorious years, I had the pleasure of teaching chess to children in grades K-5, in the poorest congressional district in the country and straddling the two highest crime precincts in the Bronx. These years were the toughest, most demanding, draining and difficult time of my life. They were also the most rewarding.
Chess offers students an opportunity to stretch their minds and challenge their social-emotional skills in remarkable ways. Children who have successfully embraced the world of tournament chess — culminating in city, state and national championships — will fear no challenge in the years ahead.
People say chess is an inexpensive program: All you need are a room, tables, chairs and chess sets, and you are ready to go. Yes, but go where?
Our school had a 97 percent poverty rate. The only way we could pay for entry fees, travel expenses and outside coaching was through donations. Patronage has always oiled the wheels of culture; without patronage, our team would go nowhere.
So it was with great anticipation that we looked forward to Donald Trump coming to our school as “Principal for a Day,” a great program from PENCIL, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing business leaders into the world of education.
Trump’s view of our students’ hopes and aspirations was clearly mired in a ghetto stereotype.
Surely this billionaire’s visit would be the catalyst for something special. After all, that was the point of the program. We had heard that an executive from a major computing company had given his school a full computer lab. Our school was buzzing with excitement.
By coincidence, Trump’s visit coincided with a bake sale our chess team held every Tuesday to raise money to play in the local tournaments. On his tour through the building, Trump stopped at our bake sale and, having been told that we were raising money for the chess team, handed the parents running the sale a $1 million bill. It was fake.
Recently, a lot has come out about Trump’s appeals to racist thought. From our interaction that day, I have to say, that part of his character has been in place for a long time.
The parents were dumbfounded. It was one of those horribly awkward moments. Mr. Trump then gave the parents two $100 bills.
Later, he met with our fifth-graders in the auditorium. We had 10 classes on a grade level. His big contribution to our school was that he would hold a lottery. He would take the winning class to the Nike store in Trump Tower to get new sneakers. His view of our students’ hopes and aspirations was clearly mired in a ghetto stereotype. As our (real) principal sardonically said later: “Why didn’t he just bring the watermelon?”
One would think that before accepting the role of educational leader, Trump would have sent someone out for a little background research. Clearly that did not happen. He was winging it all the way, and he was in an environment he simply did not understand. Nor, it appeared, did he care to.
There was a major disconnect between the person, the mission and the place. Recently, a lot has come out about Trump’s appeals to racist thought. From our interaction that day, I have to say, that part of his character has been in place for a long time. The amazing thing is, he thought he put on a great performance. The man is truly clueless.
Editor’s note: Read the Washington Post’s article on Trump’s charity giving, which mentions his visit to MacEnulty’s school.
David MacEnulty is an award-winning chess teacher and coach whose chess teams have won numerous city, state and national championships. He currently teaches at The Dalton School in New York.
