In today’s classrooms, third graders are talking about immigration raids, transgender rights, and Supreme Court decisions. Not because teachers are pushing politics — but because kids are living in the world adults have made, and they’re absorbing it all through YouTube, social media, and even Roblox. The fight over public education isn’t just about policy — it’s about the emotional and civic fabric of childhood itself.
But Maya started this conversation with the amazing Frazz with a rare win: A unanimous Supreme Court ruling affirming that people with disabilities can sue for discrimination under the ADA. It’s important to call out the victories.
But there’s a lot of darkness we simply can’t turn our eyes away from—states now allowed to ban gender-affirming care, ICE agents outside elementary schools, and the disorienting void of leadership at the federal level. It can feel like too much.
But on Punching Up, we always go back to hope. Hope in the power of public comments. Hope in local school boards. Hope in community protests where kids and parents chant side by side. It might not feel like it sometimes, but we’ve got this.
Because if children are learning how the world works from us, we better show them that democracy isn’t just something you believe in — it’s something you do.
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