Activists in the Classroom

The California Teacher's Association is wrong to enter the gay marriage debate.

By Lucy Morrow Caldwell,  November 1, 2008

On Election Day, California voters will consider a constitutional amendment that would eliminate gay marriage in the state. Proposition 8 pits the progressive political establishment against those who believe that marriage should be reserved for unions between a man and a woman.

Polls suggest the measure has a good chance of passing, which would be a setback for progressive politics in the state. Even so, a recent donation by a powerful California union to the anti-Prop 8 efforts should alarm voters of all persuasions.

Earlier this autumn, the California Teachers Association donated one million dollars to No on 8. The source of this money is union dues paid by teachers around the state to advance their interests. As a group, of course, the public school teachers of California do not have a stake in the gay marriage debate. Consider the publicity materials laying out their union's approach to political advocacy: "Monitoring the legislative process and advocating for laws that achieve gains for students, teachers and public education are among the cornerstones of CTA's mission," the organization states.

Are there some cornerstones they forgot to mention?

There is nothing about the gay marriage debate, however important it may be, that is tied up in matters of public education. "For us, it's a civil rights issue," CTA President David Sanchez said, reflecting on his group's donation. In that case, Sanchez and like-minded members could have easily thrown their weight behind No on 8 by making individual donations to one of California's many civil rights advocacy groups, without presuming to speak for other teachers who don't share their assessment.

This is not to say that the CTA should always avoid enmeshing itself in politics. In 2005, the union helped fund ads against California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, because Schwarzenegger had refused to pay back the two billion dollars his office had borrowed from the state's education budget. According to the union, this lack of cash had led to sharply decreased educational programs. In the 2005 case, taking a union stance on the issue was completely appropriate, because what goes on in a teacher's workday and whether or not students are being adequately served are relevant union issues.

Whom a teacher makes his bed with at night is not.

Even if CTA members believe that opposing the right to same-sex marriage is a bigoted position—which, incidentally, is a bit extreme—this does not make the donation any more acceptable. As statewide polls indicate, many parents and families of California schoolchildren are uncomfortable with gay marriage, whether for moral, religious, or other reasons. Regrettable as some might find this may be, the classroom is not the place to resolve that discomfort. By forgoing any semblance of sensitivity to these families, the union sends the message that it doesn't care about keeping classrooms free from political controversy.

The CTA also sends the message that it doesn’t care about many of its members. Although membership is voluntary—educators are technically free to quit—teachers who do not support this donation now find themselves in a bind. While the organization may help them advance their professional career, it may also force them to lend support for political causes they oppose.

Here are some criteria the CTA's leaders should have used before they wrote that fat check to their friends at No on 8: Does a teacher's marital status affect his ability to perform well in the classroom? No. Excepting courses in gender studies or sociology, does the same-sex marriage debate come up in the span of a class hour? Probably not.

The 1969 landmark case, Tinker v. Des Moines, ruled that neither students nor teachers must shed their right to free speech when they walk onto school grounds. Still, we reasonably maintain an unspoken contract with our teachers that they will act in a way that avoids conflating their political beliefs with their professional responsibilities.

Whether or not one agrees with the CTA’s stance on Proposition 8, there is no guarantee of agreeing with the next cause it takes up. Should the union continue mounting the soap boxes of miscellany, it will inevitably alienate many of its own members and the public at large, undermining what should be its only activity: advancing the professional interests of teachers.