No Teacher Neutrality

Why Unbiased Education Is Impossible

With each passing year in the classroom, I become more convinced that there is no such thing as neutral teaching. When I began my teaching career, I tried to be impartial and sit on the fence on controversial issues that arose in my history classes. That is, after all, what most teacher training programs in colleges across the country tell their students to do. Aspiring teachers are encouraged not to be a "sage on the stage," as their own teachers probably were, but instead a "guide on the side." This slogan first appeared in the 1980s and was meant for teachers of gifted students,¹ but it is now ubiquitous, being quoted everywhere from professional development meetings to job interviews as a sort of...