The teachers’ union National Education Association (NEA), “the nation’s largest professional employee organization,” is encouraging teachers to include Black Lives Matter (BLM) and LGBTQ posters and flags in their classrooms. Forget reading, writing, and arithmetic — the only division these teachers’ students will learn is the political kind.
NEA describes its mission: “We are as diverse as the students we represent, but united in our purpose: championing justice and excellence in public education.” If you’re worried about the woke-sounding tenor of that statement, you should be.
The NEA website encourages teachers to think of themselves as “political” and “activist.” “Feel confident about your rights as an activist,” NEA tells teachers. It admits that teachers might not be able to do much “advocacy” in the classroom, depending on the school or school district but encourages the teachers on various areas they can try to push their agendas in the classroom. For instance, there’s the section “Supporting Student Activism,” headed by a picture of students holding a sign that has the Black Lives Matter black power fist next to “No Racism.”
Another section about creating an “Inclusive Classroom,” is headed by a picture showing a student painting a rainbow with the word “Love.” NEA quotes Denver high school teacher Samuel Long, “When someone doesn’t learn about LGBTQ topics in school, they’re not going to think of this community as a common, expected part of society — and this goes on to form their ideas of what’s socially acceptable.” You mean kids might not hear praise for sexual perversion and biological impossibilities? Oh, the horror!
One of the quotes NEA features, from Idaho 4th grade teacher Karen Lauritzen, says, “A lot of teachers say, ‘I’m not political,’ but from our local school boards to the state legislature, that’s who’s deciding the content we teach, the days we have to teach it, the books we’ll use, the state of the buildings we will teach in, to how many children are in our classroom.”
Yes, and you’re also an employee of taxpayers and thus parents. You have the right to vote how you want or join movements outside of work, but you have absolutely no right to indoctrinate children with your radical political views in the classroom. Furthermore, teachers should be interested in educating kids, not in building up their skills as “activists.”
Even a music teacher (of all subjects) from Texas, whose picture shows her posing in front of various leftist posters including one saying, “Anti-Trans Violence,” is quoted pontificating, “I do more good work in creating a mindful student who looks at the world through equity, justice, and love, than if I censor myself.” NEA then links to resources helping teachers handle “backlash from the school or community” for their woke activism.
Libs of TikTok also shared a post from the Illinois Education Association (IEA) — the Illinois branch of NEA — linking to the above NEA resources and including a video of a woman, presumably an NEA or IEA representative. The woman tells teachers what to consider when hanging up Pride flags and BLM posters in their classrooms and how to challenge school restrictions on such objects. She explicitly supports LGBTQ ideology.
“[Teachers] across the country want to support their students by displaying inclusive symbols in their classroom. But what are your rights when you want to display a Pride flag or a Black Lives Matter poster?”
The NEA- the largest teacher’s union in the US, really wants your kids’ classrooms to display the progress pride flag and BLM flag and they’re gonna help teachers fight to make that happen. pic.twitter.com/QaJHzpyKpT
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 28, 2023
The woman goes on to explain that schools can make rules but cannot show viewpoint “discrimination.” Next, posing beside an image that is a combination of the power fist symbol and a rainbow flag, she continues, “Many districts have policies in place that control what you can display in your classroom or in your school.” She advises checking the policies and also reaching out to a “union representative” if there are doubts or questions. “If your administrator objects, talk to the union about how best to proceed. You could face discipline if you violate a school rule.” She concludes:
Finally, if you disagree with your school district’s policy, challenge it. In Connecticut, a local education association joined with parents and students to challenge a school district policy that prohibited the display of Pride flags in schools. And they won! Now, in that school district, Pride flags can be displayed, and all students know that they are accepted for who they are.
Except for students who don’t want to call a boy “she/her”. Also, since evidence from 2022 shows a recent sharp rise in LGBTQ-identifying young Americans, it seems reasonable to conclude that most kids and teens would never consider whether they’re “transgender” or homosexual unless a teacher asked them if they were or their classes included LGBTQ ideology. Then there’s the issue of promoting the radical Marxist organization BLM, which openly pushes racist, anti-American views.
NEA isn’t just a teachers’ union; it’s a Democrat political activist organization. These teachers aren’t interested in educating our children; they’re interested in indoctrinating them. That’s dangerous and unacceptable and needs to be called out.
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