On the list of professions that inspire the most respect among Americans, teachers rank very high. According to Gallup, only nurses scored higher than educators in its annual poll concerning opinions about the professions. Unsurprisingly, only politicians and lobbyists rank lower than journalists, but most people love teachers for good reasons. After all, they perform one of society’s most important tasks, and yet are generally poorly compensated for their efforts.
That’s why it may have come as a surprise to most casual observers when they heard the news that the National Education Association—the nation’s largest teachers’ union—had cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League because of its insistence on opposing antisemitism. The same might have been true for a number of other instances in which such unions have taken stands that promote prejudiced curricula or opposed action against Jew-hatred.
Captured by the Left
No one should be surprised.
America’s teachers’ unions—the national organizations like the NEA and its rival, the American Federation of Teachers—and most local associations that represent educators have long been captured by leftist ideologues. That has put them at the forefront of partisan politics, making them among the largest donors to Democratic Party candidates, as well as liberal and leftist advocacy groups. In addition to their role as a partisan interest group, these unions have become an integral part of the culture war roiling American society as so-called progressives have sought to topple the Western canon in the U.S. education system and replace it with a new woke secular faith based on a neo-Marxist obsession with race.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member