Teach your children well

This Washington Post op-ed piece by NYU education professor Jeffrey Zimmerman criticizes major teachers’ unions for opposing war with Iraq. Zimmerman contends that teachers’ unions should avoid taking a position on the war, just as teachers should not advocate any position in class. I agree. The problem I have with the column is its claim that both the right and the left are pressuring teachers to abandon neutrality. The left clearly is — Zimmerman points us to the unions that are doing so. However, his claim that “the right” expects teachers to cheer-lead for the war goes unsupported. Most conservatives I know would be happy if America’s teachers would keep their opinions about foreign policy to themselves and focus on teaching their students how to find Iraq on a map.