Why Fascists Fear Teachers

A rousing defense of public education as the cornerstone of American democracy, by the woman attacked by the far right as “the most dangerous person in the world”

Attacks on schools and teachers have long been a hallmark of fascist regimes: Throughout history, as many dictators rose to power they began banning books and controlling curriculum. Fascists fear teachers because teachers foster an educated and empowered population that can see past propaganda and scare tactics. Fascists fear teachers because they teach young people how to think for themselves.

As the head of one of the largest teachers’ unions in America, Randi Weingarten is among the last lines of defense for American public education. For decades, she has sounded the alarm that attacks on teachers are part of a larger, darker agenda—to undermine democracy, opportunity, and public education as we know it. After the Trump administration declared its intention to dismantle the Department of Education, that alarm became undeniable. This book tells the story of what teachers do and why those who are afraid of freedom and opportunity try to stop them. It explains why all Americans should care about attacks on schools and teachers—whether they have school-aged children or not. In the past as today, the fate of the United States is inexorably intertwined with the fate of public education.

Drawing on history, stories from teachers on the front lines, and decades of experience with America’s public schools, Weingarten argues that teaching students to think critically is the key to defeating would-be dictators. She encourages teachers to continue focusing on their vital mission to help young people thrive—creating opportunity in safe and welcoming classrooms, promoting tolerance, and teaching problem solving, critical thinking, and healthy debate. She cautions against censorship and complacency, looking to the past to warn us all about what can happen if we devalue teachers and public schools.

A manifesto for our time, Why Fascists Fear Teachers is necessary reading for every American worried about the future of our democracy.

Since 2008, Randi Weingarten has served as the elected president of the AFT, a union of 1.8 million educators, health care professionals, and public-service workers. For ten years prior, she headed the United Federation of Teachers, the union representing educators in New York City’s public schools, and before that taught social studies at Clara Barton High School in Brooklyn, New York. She has degrees from the Cardozo School of Law and the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations.