• UK Election: A Lesson for the U.S.

    Our guest author is Stan Litow, professor, Columbia University; vice president emeritus, IBM's Global Corporate Citizenship Program; president emeritus, IBM International Foundation and a member of the Albert Shanker Institute Board of Directors.

    What a month of news! While July is ending with a renewed concern about political violence and a different presidential match-up than the one it started with, before July ends, I’d like to bring us back to a lesson across the Atlantic I’d like to make sure we learn.

    Looking back, for many the joy of this year's July 4th celebration was muted, largely because of a continued controversy after the U.S. Presidential debate.  July 4th in the UK saw game-changing election results, where the newly elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his party achieved an unprecedented victory. In his victory speech Prime Minister Starmer sincerely sought to unite and not divide his nation, moving his party more toward the center, praising his predecessor and making it clear he intended to bring the nation together by ending divisive rhetoric and seeking agreement behind an agenda that would benefit not some, but all, and supporting the vital role public service and government action can play. Sounds like the sentiments embedded in the U.S. Constitution.

  • New Hampshire’s Divisive Concepts Law Was Ruled Unconstitutional, Sending a Message to the Nation

    Our guest author is Deb Howes, President of AFT-NH. A version of the article originally appeared in the Concord Monitor on June 14, 2024.

    A funny thing happened on New Hampshire’s way to threatening to fire teachers for teaching so-called divisive concepts involving gender, race, history and identity. U.S. District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro ruled late in May that the law was so unconstitutionally vague that teachers would be “incentivized to steer well clear of anything that could be construed as violating” the law, thus inhibiting them from doing their best work—exactly the kind of work public school students deserve to help them learn and succeed—and forcing students “to bear the costs” of the law’s ambiguity.

    The federal judge’s ruling sends a strong message to other states, such as Florida, Georgia, Texas, Idaho, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and South Dakota, that have passed variations of diversity, equity and inclusion laws restricting instruction on aspects of American history, sexual orientation, gender identity, race or racism.