Today, the National Education Association (NEA) issued a press release on behalf of a dozen civics, history, and social studies teachers (and presumably NEA members). It calls on the U.S. Senate to hold confirmation hearings for Merrick Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and President Obama’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee.
But something else caught my attention. The press release included the following passage:
As educators in the classroom, we believe it is our responsibility to help students learn about—and appreciate—the role citizens play in our democracy. We teach that being a good citizen requires cooperation, mutual respect, and the ability to compromise. When our students work in groups, they work together and do their jobs, even when they are not friends or have disagreements.
I agree. The truth, however, is that NEA members in North Carolina and elsewhere have shown little interest in cooperation, mutual respect, and compromise with Republican-controlled legislators and governors. I suppose that makes them bad citizens.