The Oakland Unified School District is reminding teachers to keep their personal political beliefs out of the classroom during an unauthorized “teach-in” planned for this week focused on the war in Gaza.
The teach-in, scheduled for Wednesday, is being promoted in a social media video posted Nov. 26 that urges teachers to help students understand how “the forces of imperialism and capitalism motivate the decisions of global leaders.”
In the video, an unidentified teacher says educators can “apply their labor power to show solidarity with the Palestinian people” by encouraging students to think critically, by introducing them to new ideas and by having positive conversations about what’s happening.
“I am deeply disappointed by the harmful and divisive materials being circulated and promoted as factual. We have remained unwavering in our stance against antisemitic, anti-Israeli, Islamophobic, or anti-Palestinian prejudice or discrimination within our District.” OUSD Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell
OUSD Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell sent out an email Monday saying the teach-in is not authorized and that the planned curriculum doesn’t align with the district’s approved materials on the topic.
“I am deeply disappointed by the harmful and divisive materials being circulated and promoted as factual,” Johnson-Trammell said.
“We have remained unwavering in our stance against antisemitic, anti-Israeli, Islamophobic, or anti-Palestinian prejudice or discrimination within our District,” she said.
It is unclear who is organizing the teach-in, how many teachers and OUSD campuses might be involved and what, if any, disciplinary actions the district might take against participating teachers.
Spokespeople for the district and the teachers’ union did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Many local school boards, city councils and other governing bodies have weighed in on the war since it started Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel from the Gaza Strip, followed by an Israeli siege and invasion of Gaza.