Conservative Teacher: It’s Not an Oxymoron-Part I

The Internet is full of sites where readers can vent over issues big and small. Try a search for the terms “republican teacher” or “conservative teacher” like I did recently and you will see what I mean. You will discover the depth of toxic discourse directed towards teachers who do not fall in line with the accepted liberal doctrine laid out for educators in our public schools. It was as if being a conservative teacher is an oxymoron.

A well-known liberal blog came up in my search. They had hosted a discussion that speculated on whether there currently exist any teachers who vote republican. The thread went on, in varying degrees, to berate educators who would vote for the GOP. Those who commented were incredulous that any public school teacher would cast a ballot for a conservative candidate, with the consensus being that those who did must be either a) self-hating or b) ardently anti-abortion. While social issues are a strong reason for anyone to vote republican, the “self-hatred” accusation is an old tactic used by liberals to close the ranks and deflect from the issue at hand. (Having once been a liberal myself, I am aware of how this accusation is used to stymie debate.) An educator’s self-interest does not automatically lie with the Democratic Party, as many might assume. Like any other voter, it is those twin pillars of the conservative movement, smaller government and lower taxes, that attract teachers to the Republican Party. In this post smaller government will be explored.

The U.S. was founded as a republic, but keeping our government a republic, about which Benjamin Franklin once cautioned, is becoming more and more difficult in the era of big government. According to dictionary.com, a republic is “a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.” It is this “supreme power” that is getting lost in an age of institutions being too big to fail. The larger the government, the smaller the individual, and it is this belief in the supreme power of the individual that set the thirteen original colonies on a path of independence from the big, impersonal government of a British monarchy. To be American is to be skeptical of the government. It is part of our history and ingrained in our national psyche.
 

The heroes of the American Revolution made their case for independence citing the philosophy of Natural Rights. Natural Rights argues that each individual is born with the God-given rights of life, liberty, and property. This is echoed in the Declaration of Independence: We are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is at the heart of our constitution and we ignore it at our own peril. John Locke, the British philosopher who inspired our founders, postulated that living in a state of nature, before there was any form of government, most people would behave rationally and conduct themselves accordingly. Others would not, and those individuals would murder, rob and oppress at every opportunity. Thus, government was created to protect the good people from the bad. The government’s job is not to give us rights but to protect the rights that we are born with.

The liberal perspective inverts this idea, with their argument being that the government grants people their rights. At the 2012 Democratic Convention it was said that the only thing Americans have in common is the government. On the contrary, we have our rights, we have our humanity, we have our freedom, we have our individuality, we have our history, we have our core beliefs as a people, we have our aspirations, we have our love of liberty, we have our founding documents, we have our heroes. The list is endless. To put it in perspective, government exists at the consent of the governed, not the other way around, or as I explain to my students, we are the boss of them.

As educators, we are overly regulated in this era of big government. Politicians, persuaded by liberal talking points, pass mandated programs that abrogate the good sense and judgment of seasoned professionals in the classroom. Teachers and students alike live under the tyranny of the standardized test, with little wiggle room for those children who express their knowledge in ways that don’t fit neatly onto a scantron form. Common Core group think has damped down the creative impulse that brings that spontaneous spark to learning that inspires students. Federal “Race to the Top” money provides job security for the bureaucrats at the state level while hamstringing those of us at the local level. APPR, designed to rate teacher effectiveness, has choked off large parts of the day for teachers and administrators alike whose time would be better spent in the company of our students. The more government regulation there is in our schools, the less likely teachers are to be inventive. More and more often, new ideas, creative problem-solving, truly individualized education for students needs to pass the approval of departmental chairs, colleagues, and administrators before implementation. Big government works against the best interest of educators and not for us.

Let teachers teach! We are educated experts who yearn to implement what we know, see, and feel is best for our students. We all don’t have to teach in the same way in order to educate children well. Let us play to our individual strengths. Government regulations, while well meaning, put each teacher in the same box, forcing us to teach in lock-step with our colleagues. This is part and parcel of progressive liberalism. Instead, let districts focus on the handful of teachers who are in need of improvement. Everyone knows who they are. If you don’t, talk to your neighbors, attend a PTA meeting, go to your child’s soccer game or orchestra concert and ask around. For the rest of the teachers, let them be creative! Let them take personal control for their decisions and let them answer for it! Less government means more freedom for everyone, educators included.

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