Affirming the Profession and Dignity of Teachers

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As we continue to highlight this year’s policy priority areas, we want to focus our attention on teachers. We firmly support ALL policies that affirm the profession of teaching and the dignity of teachers.

When it comes to the classroom, teachers are well-suited to offer students what they need for nurture and development – and to do so in the most ideal and strategic ways. That is because teachers are skilled and trained through hard work and dedication both in academic spaces (where they are taught pedagogy and method) and in their classrooms (where they gain a breadth of experience through teaching year after year).

Teaching is a craft and an art form that the best of teachers are most apt to wield for the benefit of our children and a future that impacts us all. This is why we are affirming policies that not only allow teachers to teach and teach well but that support and affirm them as they do. These policies:

  • allow teachers to teach accurate history,
  • provide teachers with COVID testing and medical consideration,
  • plan ahead for crises so teachers don’t carry the entire burden when there’s an emergency,
  • enhance teacher pay,
  • and support teachers’ unions

As we prepared last year for the launch of our Truth Matters for Students campaign and took a hard look at the initial data regarding the devastating impacts of the anti-truth movement, I was reminded anew how critical it is to explicitly and practically affirm teachers and their profession.

As part of this campaign, I had the privilege and pleasure of sitting down for a conversation with Renee Moore – an amazing, award-winning teacher (now retired) – as she discussed the impacts of the anti-truth moment on teachers and students, reflected on organizing as an educator, and offered a few words of wisdom and encouragement to teachers and those who wish to affirm and support them. If you missed the interview, we hope you’ll take a moment to read it here.

If you have something to add on the importance of teachers or a teacher that influenced you, we encourage you to let us know in the comments.

September 13, 2022
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Cami King
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