The Teacher Wars: A History of America's Most Embattled Profession

Abstract

In 1918 Mary McDowell, an outstanding teacher by all accounts, was fired after 13 years of teaching for her private views regarding U.S. government policy. As a war-resister, McDowell had refused to pledge loyalty to the "President and Congress of the United States" and to agree that her role as a NYC teacher was to "inculcate in our pupils by work and deed love of flag and unquestioning loyalty to the political policy of the government ..." (Goldstein, 2014, p. 93). At a public Department of Education meeting, a trial examiner found McDowell "guilty of 'conduct unbecoming a teacher' " (p. 94). This vignette about McDowell along with many other details of teachers and teacher movements in the last 180 years make Goldstein's book a wonderful complement to academic scholarship on the history of teaching and teacher education, as well as a helpful companion to educators who strive to reshape policy in the United States. McDowell's vignette resonates in today's political climate characterized by culture wars that unavoidably overlap with teacher wars. The vignette also provides an example of how Goldstein writes the story of American public school teachers from the time of the Common School movement until today. Goldstein is an insightful writer who contributes to current education policy discussions for Slate and publishes articles and book reviews related to education for periodicals such as The Nation and New York Times. For The Teacher Wars, Goldstein researched specific stories, or vignettes, about both familiar and unfamiliar American educators to present the recursive narrative of teachers and teaching. While NYC teacher Mary McDowell is likely unknown to most readers of Goldstein's book, other former teachers whose classroom experiences--or whose activism against established educational practices--Goldstein uses to unfold her narrative are more familiar: Henry David Thoreau, Catherine Beecher--sister of Harriet Beecher Stowe, Susan B. Anthony, W.E.B Du Bois, Lyndon Johnson, Amiri Baraka, and Michelle Rhee. The Teacher Wars is a fascinating result of Goldstein's careful research and her knitting of vignettes of the famous and not so famous to the backdrop of ongoing social concerns around immigration, poverty, racial inequality, and accountability for public services. As Goldstein pieces together her history of teacher wars, readers quickly notice parallels between historical and contemporary debates about qualities teachers should possess, about teacher evaluation, about roles of teacher unions, and about teacher accountability. The Teacher Wars offers insight into why debates about teacher quality and accountability continue. Goldstein finds little agreement among policymakers and education leaders about the purpose of public education in the United States; nor is there agreement about established approaches, or methods, for teaching children and for organizing classrooms. A very brief anecdote, or vignette, from the book illustrates the tension around educational philosophies quite well. …