There’s no such thing as objective history, just as there’s no such thing as objective journalism. Simply deciding what aspects of history to teach, or what stories to put on the front page, indicates one’s values and priorities. The important thing is to ensure balance, clear analysis and appropriate discussion.
Those strictures apply to educational institutions, as well. Teachers in a classroom, particularly those teaching politically sensitive topics about which they themselves might have strong opinions, must constantly strive to present students with a fair and balanced view of the facts, preserving intellectual integrity and promoting critical thinking skills.
That is why it is right that the University of California prohibits graduate student instructors from using their classroom positions to promote politically charged causes such as the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement (BDS).
This is not new policy. But it bears remembering, particularly when others — for example, the union representing those instructors — forget.
That is why we applaud this week’s letter from U.C. Provost Aimée Dorr to the U.C. chancellors. As described in our story on page 4a, it affirms in no uncertain terms that this policy exists, and for good reason. Poisoning the classroom with this kind of biased instruction is wrong and dangerous.
In August, the leadership of the union that oversees some 13,000 teaching assistants, tutors and student workers throughout the U.C. system announced its support of the BDS movement, and its intention of seeking a full membership vote to make that position the union’s policy.
In response, a number of Jewish groups wrote to U.C. President Janet Napolitano expressing concern that classrooms not become hotbeds of political incitement against Israel, in violation of both university policy and academic norms. Dorr wrote her letter on Napolitano’s behalf.
A union seeking to enact a BDS policy — however misguided — is one thing. So is the right of union members to express their freedom of speech in the public square.
But a classroom is not the public square. It is a place of learning, a place where young people are nurtured and given the information and the skills they need to succeed in life and contribute to the betterment of society.
You want to support BDS? Step outside. That’s where political speech belongs. Both forums — the public square and the classroom — must be protected.