An Activist Educator Says That Teaching Is Political

If you ever wondered if our children’s educational system was politically biased, then look no further than the NEA. It is unashamedly leftist, aggressively for abortion, decidedly pro-LGBT and unapologetically hostile to those who dare challenge the status quo. (Most recently, see here for the NEA’s abortion advocacy.)

Still, we are sometimes blissfully (and even willfully) ignorant of just how politicized our children’s schools can be. But this email, sent to me by a schoolteacher, the wife of a Facebook friend, will help shock us back to reality. (We’ll call her Sarah.)

Sadly, I have heard an endless stream of similar stories for years now. This is just the freshest in my mind.

Sarah copied a tweet from another teacher, then wrote:

Hello Dr. Brown. This is what has happened to my profession. Please note the rainbow flag and how many likes this received. I can tell you that this not isolated. I’m a K-6 teacher who has taught public school in Florida, Nevada and California. It is pervasive. I now teach through a public virtual charter school which allows parents more voice. At my last teaching position before I moved to the charter, the principal called a staff meeting where he told us that we would teach LGBTQ “inclusion” beginning in kindergarten, that he believed one of our Pre-K students may be LGBTQ because for “Dress like a prince or princess day” she wanted to be a prince. Also in this staff meeting, he let us know that if a student or a parent had a problem with us teaching LGBTQ that we should send them to the principal’s office so he could “tell them how they are wrong.” Can you imagine being a Christian kindergartner being sent to the principal’s office to be bullied into LGBTQ submission? This is why I encourage everyone I speak with to homeschool, or choose an alternative form of schooling if they can.

Yes, this is the kind of pressure Sarah was under teaching in an elementary school. (One first-grade teacher talked to me about the pro-LGBT pressure she was under, explaining that to resist it was to lose her job—teaching first grade!) Can you imagine what the atmosphere is like in high-schools?

The tweet Sarah was referring to was posted by Jed Dearbury and read:

“New teachers, I’m sorry if we veteran educators have misguided you about the profession. It’s not about cute classrooms & trendy ideas. It’s political. It’s advocacy. It’s the front line of battle for the future of our nation. Go no further if you’re not ready.”

Related Dearbury tweets included: “If your definition of teacher leadership doesn’t include actively being a voice for marginalized students, it’s past time to rewrite your philosophy.”

And, “If the reason you don’t like to speak up on social justice issues on social media is because this account is your ‘professional educator’ account, Guess what … professional educators should be advocating for social justice because students are counting you to do so.”

Now, I fully understand that, from Dearbury’s perspective, he is doing the right thing. The noble thing. The courageous thing.

He believes it is his duty, along with the duty of other educators, to get political and to advocate for social justice causes, not just in the classroom but on social media and elsewhere.

And I imagine that if he and I ever sat down together, he would explain to me why teachers must stand up for perceived LGBT rights and other socially divisive causes. In his words, “It’s the front line of battle for the future of our nation.”

I understand he feels that way, and I have no desire to demonize him as a person.

I simply reject his premises, categorically and from the heart.

First, parents are not sending their children to school to be indoctrinated by politically correct teachers. They’re not sending their kids to discover the definition of “gender queer.” Or to hear a revisionist retelling of American history. Or to understand the evils of toxic masculinity. Or to master the intricacies of intersectionality.

They’re sending their kids to learn to read and write and do math. To get a grasp of geography and science and world literature. To learn about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln (without speculating on their sexuality—yes, there are gay activists who want to claim both of them as gay!).

Second, the educational industry has no business pressuring teachers or students or parents to conform to its leftist ideologies.

Really now, why on earth should the NEA take a public stance on abortion, for example? What does this have to do with the so-called three R’s?

The NEA even has a LGBTQ+ caucus, which, “in order to eliminate institutional discrimination and homophobia, monitors and participates in the development of NEA policies and activities, provides resources and fosters better communication among educators, students and communities.”

NEA insiders have told me that, for many years now, groups like this have been so deeply entrenched in the NEA that any who dare resist their goals are quickly blocked and marginalized. (You can be assured that it doesn’t take much to be branded “homophobic” or “transphobic” in these circles.)

Third, we see just how destructive and ugly today’s sex-ed curricula have become, pushing virtually pornographic filth on our children. (For recent developments in California, see here.)

This is what happens when schools get political, and it’s just one example of many. They are not just teaching our children. They are going to indoctrinate them.

The left understands that the schools are the “front line of battle for the future of our nation.” The question is: Do we?

If so, then what are we going to do about it?

At the least, we need to continue to come up with alternative solutions (from homeschooling to private schools and charter schools). We need to continue to get involved in the public school system, from administration to teaching to parental meetings with educators. And we need to say to the left in no uncertain terms, “You will not use our children as political pawns!”

Let the righteous pushback continue. This is the front lines of the battle for the future of our nation.