August 8, 2023 Update: Melissa Tempel has set up a GoFundMe page to help support her struggle with the Waukesha School District. Please support her if you can. Melissa's fight is the fight of every person who believes in education as preparation for living in a democratic society. Here's the link: https://gofund.me/20955f73 -TP
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Melissa Tempel has been an elementary school teacher for more than 20 years. She's won a number of teaching awards, been praised by students and their families, and never been the subject of any disciplinary proceedings. Until now. In July she was fired from her first-grade teaching job at Heyer Elementary School in Waukesha, WI after she tweeted her opinion on the school district administration's decision to prevent her first graders from singing the Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus song "Rainbowland" at a school sponsored spring concert.
What is happening to Melissa Tempel must be seen as part of an ongoing backlash, promoted by right wing forces, against diversity, inclusion, and equity in education. The state of Florida under governor DeSantis is ground zero for such efforts, but Wisconsin is not too far behind. Ms. Tempel, who is half-Korean, was not even allowed to have an "Anti-Racist Classroom" sign in her room, as that too would somehow violate the district's "Controversial Issues in the Classroom" policy.
If we take them at their word, in firing Ms. Tempel the board was merely upholding district policy. In media coverage, board members claimed to object to "Rainbowland" not because of the lyrics celebrating tolerance and inclusion, but because some of the children might google "Miley Cyrus" and be confronted by her sometimes raunchy image. Memo to the Waukesha School Board: Someday in the not too distant future those first graders will google "Waukesha School Board" and the search results will not assure them that you acted in their best interests. They will come to understand that you projected your own fears, insecurities, and partisan preferences onto their teacher and classroom. They will come to understand that you tried to hide your intolerance behind a mask of "protecting children." They will come to understand that when cold bureaucrats accuse conscientious educators like Ms.Tempel of "indoctrinating" students, that they are engaging in the worst kind of hypocrisy and gaslighting.
At the root of the controversy in Waukesha is the district's "Controversial Issues in the Classroom" policy, a document that--when enforced strictly--reduces educators to nothing more than bland information dispensers. Take a look at the policy, and ask yourself how any teacher--especially in areas like social studies and history that by definition require the introduction of controversial issues into the classroom--could possibly do their job effectively when being micromanaged by it:
CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES IN THE CLASSROOM
The Board believes that the consideration of controversial issues has a legitimate place in the instructional program of the District.
Properly introduced and conducted, the consideration of such issues can help students learn to identify important issues, explore fully and fairly all sides of an issue, weigh carefully the values and factors involved, and develop techniques for formulating and evaluating positions.
For purposes of this policy, a controversial issue is a topic
on which opposing points of view have been promulgated by responsible opinion.
Which may be the subject of intense public argument, disagreement or disapproval
Which may have political, social or personal impacts on students and/or the community, and
which is likely to arouse both support and opposition in the community.
The Board will permit the introduction of controversial issues when use in the instructional program:
is related to the instructional goals of the course of study
is appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students engaged in the discussion.
does not tend to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view;
encourages open-mindedness and is conducted in a spirit of scholarly inquiry;
does not cause a substantial disruption in the school environment.
does not create a hostile school environment.
Issues pertaining to human growth and development, as defined by statute, are subject to 118.019, Wis. Stats.
When controversial issues have not been specified in the course of study, the Board will permit the instructional use of only those issues which have received prior approval by the principal.
A teacher may express a personal opinion, only after all student discussion on the topic has concluded. A teacher shall identify his/her personal opinion as such, and must not express such an opinion for the purpose of persuading students to adopt the point of view. The classroom shall not be used as a forum for the discussion of District employment issues.
The Board recognizes that a course of study or certain instructional materials may contain content and/or activities that some parents find objectionable. Teachers shall provide effective advance notice to parents of controversial issues that are part of the planned instruction in the classroom.
If a parent indicates to the school that either content or activities conflicts with his/her religious beliefs or value system, the school will honor a written request for his/her child to be excused from particular classes. The student, however, will not be excused from participating in the course or activities mandated by the State of Wisconsin and will be provided alternative learning activities during times of parent requested absences.
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If I were to rewrite the policy, it would simply say this:
The Board believes that the consideration of controversial issues has a legitimate place in the instructional program of the District.
Properly introduced and conducted, the consideration of such issues can help students learn to identify important issues, explore fully and fairly all sides of an issue, weigh carefully the values and factors involved, and develop techniques for formulating and evaluating positions.
In our district we respect our teachers as professionals and public intellectuals. We respect the right of parents and/or guardians to raise questions and concerns about the issues that a teacher brings into the classroom, and we are happy to facilitate parent/guardian meetings to address such questions and concerns. However, we will never micromanage our teachers in a way that will make them afraid to do their jobs properly or engage in self-censorship.
The policy as espoused by the Waukesha School Board, like similar policies in school districts across the country, reflect what education scholar Henry Giroux refers to as the "teacher proof" curriculum. In such a curriculum, all the teacher does is dispense pre-approved content, most of it designed to prepare students to be not much more than obedient workers. In its place, Giroux proposes a curriculum designed to create space for teachers and students to learn about their responsibility as citizens in a democratic culture. Such education would respect teachers as public intellectuals and encourage them to spark their students to recognize that they have agency in such a culture.
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| Henry Giroux is a prolific writer on the politics of education. He has written over 70 books and hundreds of articles. My favorite is probably his 2011 "Education and the Crisis of Public Values: Challenging the Assault on Teachers, Students, and Public Education." The book addresses themes that are at the heart of the controversy involving Melissa Tempel |
What does it mean for a teacher to be a public intellectual? Giroux quotes progressive educator Israel Scheffler, who argued that teachers should be seen not merely as a "performer professional equipped to realize effectively any goals that may be set for them. Rather [they should] be viewed as free men and women with a special dedication to the values of the intellect and the enhancement of the critical powers of the young." That's exactly what Melissa Tempel has been doing for more than 20 years. To remove her from her job over a tweet is deeply wrong on moral and probably legal grounds.
Melissa Tempel deserves our support. Her situation is about more than the First Amendment rights of teachers, though it is pretty clear that hers were violated. Her situation really is about US as citizens. Are we going to let reactionary school boards micromanage teachers and reduce them to nothing more than information dispensers carrying out a "teacher proof" curriculum? You can email the Waukesha School Board HERE and let them know that you support Melissa Tempel and ask them to reconsider their decision.
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