On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
The decision has sparked controversy among world leaders and journalism organizations. Others wondered if renaming the gulf was possible. But where do educators fall on this issue?
Teachers—especially geography teachers—are not sure how they should refer to the Gulf in class as the curriculum is decided by the state, not at the federal level. And some are worried about the feelings the name change could bring up among students.
Patrick Greene, the principal of Green Central High School in North Carolina, told Education Week that some of his students had an emotional reaction to the news.
“We have a lot of Latino students in our school, and for them this doesn’t feel like it was done for nationalism—it feels like an attack on their culture,” said Greene. “For Latino students, community [members, and] educators it’s helping them navigate through something that’s happening to them, whether it was intentional or not.”
While Greene has not received guidance on whether to implement the name change in classrooms at his school, he said he’ll be instructing teachers to follow the curriculum adopted by the state.
What educators are saying online
On social media, educators had a range of reactions regarding the name change. Some were opposed to incorporating the change into their classrooms, and others weren’t willing to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Gulf of America.
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However, there were a few educators that were more receptive—or at the very least, indifferent—to the idea.
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Some states push to require teachers to use the new name
Some GOP state lawmakers are taking steps to formally implement the name change in the classroom.
In Tennessee, a state senator introduced a resolution that encourages teachers to use the name Gulf of America when speaking to students, whereas a bill in Iowa would mandate educators to update classroom materials to align with Trump’s executive order. The Florida legislature will also consider a directive for schools to refer to the Gulf as the Gulf of America.
In Oklahoma, State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced that the state history standards have been updated to include the term Gulf of America.
Organizations like Google and Apple have incorporated the change by updating their maps, but Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo has threatened Google with a lawsuit if the company does not restore the Gulf’s original name.
