Why Facists Fear Teachers (adult nonfiction)

     Remember we recently looked at a book that described all the ways oligarchies put almost all of us in serious peril? Why Facists Hate Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy looks at the crisis from another angle, offering a ray of hope in the form of public schools and teachers. Author Randi Weingarten, former teacher and elected president of the 1.8 million member American Federation of Teachers, speaking from history and the personal experience of herself and colleagues, makes a cogent case why we all have a stake in public education. 

     As I think you're aware, public schools and teachers are under attack on many different fronts. There are book banners gunning for unprecedented numbers of volumes, especially those having to do with LGBTQ+ issues and the lived experience of people of color, and historical revisionists diligently whitewashing curricula. There is the taking away of needed resources as in the dismantling of the Department of Education. There are the voucher and charter schools trying to dismantle and replace public schools. 

     It's nothing new. Facist regimes have always early on targeted schools and teachers. Weingarten starts the book off with a description of the courageous resistance of teachers and students to the Nazi occupation of Norway in 1940. So why do they do this? She goes into great detail on four reasons:

*Teachers teach critical thinking, a skill abhored by authoritarians and dictators;

*Teachers create safe, affirming, and welcoming communities for all children and provide the resources that will enable all to thrive;

*Teachers provide opportunities for all which is anathema to those who want to perpetuate a very unequal status quo.

*Teachers build strong unions. Unions are a very strong force against facism.

     In her conclusion Weingarten gives readers a path forward and reasons for optimism but not complacency. I see Why Facists Fear Teachers as a must read for all who care about the future of public education and participatory democracy. 

On a purrrsonal note, I think it's so important to show up for our beleaguered teachers and school librarians. Talk to them. Find out what they need whether it's supplies or advocacy. Let them know you're there for them. Attend school committee meetings and town council budget meetings and don't be afraid to speak up. And if you have the time and inclination run for school committee/board. All too often conservatives try to pack committees with banners, censorers, and other similar minded people. From my eleven years on the Veazie School Committee I can tell you that you do have power and can make a real difference.  

A great big shout out goes out to public school teachers and librarians and their allies. 

Jules Hathaway 

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