Teachers: Watch Your Language?

Interesting piece by Jonathan Zimmerman in the New York Times about the need for teachers to better police their remarks about students in the public sphere, whether in a coffee shop or online. He writes:

A similar sense of restraint is needed in class as well: although I would fully support a teacher’s right to voice an anti-war view, I would not want her to tell the class that it is the only appropriate view. That’s indoctrination, not education, and it inhibits the critical thinking skills that democracy demands.

Outside school, meanwhile, teachers must also avoid public language that mocks, demeans or disparages the children they instruct. Cruel blog posts about lazy or disobedient students echo the snarky smackdown culture of cable TV talk shows. And they’re anathema to a truly democratic dialogue.

Zimmerman’s argument really resonates with me. Surrounded by students and other teachers all day, it’s understandable that teachers spend time talking about their students—and at times, those conversations probably do become too personal and too specific. Moving forward, it’s certainly something I need to reflect on for myself.

While some commenters seemed upset, believing that Zimmerman was singling out teachers for criticism, his broad argument, that while the rights of teachers are under assault across the country we can’t afford clearly unprofessional speech and behavior is an important one.

Effective instruction depends on free discussion between teachers and students and to protect our rights in the classroom, we’d be well-advised to watch our discourse outside.