Newly elected National Education Association (NEA) President Princess Moss has endorsed a new book that argues teacher activism should be considered a central part of the teaching profession.
Moss, who takes office as NEA president on Sept. 1, wrote an endorsement for “The Critical Importance of Teacher Advocacy: Empowered Educators on the Front Lines” while serving as the union’s vice president. The endorsement was recently flagged by the North American Values Institute (NAVI), a conservative education policy organization that tracks K-12 issues and teachers’ unions.
In her blurb, Moss praises the book for telling the stories of “educators who refuse to separate teaching from their fight for justice” and who “organize” and “challenge power.”
Moss’s willingness to put her name behind a book focused on teacher activism isn’t official NEA policy, but it is a telling preview of where her priorities lie heading into her new role. The NEA has long been active in political and social issues, and Moss has made it clear she wants to push further in that direction. In a recent Education Week interview, she summed up her campaign approach in three words: “organize, organize, organize.” The union, she said, has already been doing plenty of that, but she wants to become even more intentional in those efforts.
According to the foreword, the book is meant to serve as a “roadmap” for educators “who are interested in understanding the connection between teaching, education, and activism.” Its essays offer “models of resistance,” as teacher activism should be viewed not as an exception, but as “the path forward.”
One contributor, a math teacher, writes that “activism is my pedagogy,” according to NAVI’s report, and argues that “being a teacher without being political is dangerous for students.” The same teacher drew national attention in 2023 after describing “indoctrinating students” with Marxism.
Another essay, written by a self-described Democratic Socialist, calls 9/11 an “awakening” for her, saying she hoped the attack would force the United States to confront its own “imperialism.” The same essay discusses “Zionists,” including a claim that the author has been hacked “numerous times by Zionists,” along with pointed language criticizing colleagues who, in the author’s view, misunderstand the term.
Where Minnesota comes in
Education Minnesota, the state’s teachers’ union, is an NEA affiliate. A portion of members’ dues goes to the national organization.
Minnesota teachers who do not want their money used for political or ideological advocacy have a once-a-year-only opportunity to stop funding those activities. The annual opt-out window runs from Sept. 1 through Sept. 30. More information about the process is available here.
