First published 2025
Randi Weingarten leads one of America's largest teachers' unions and watches educators face attacks from book bans, culture wars, and parent groups demanding control over curricula. She traces this pattern back to 1940 Norway, where teachers became the first to openly resist Nazi puppet rule. When recruitment failed, fascists invaded schools and beat teachers and students. Schools closed, but teachers taught in secret. The government sent 1,300 teachers to concentration camps and 500 to forced labor camps. Even there, they continued teaching students to think independently. Weingarten argues that critical thinking instruction threatens authoritarian power, which explains why fascists target educators first. She draws from decades in American public schools to show how teachers now guard democracy against similar threats. The book combines historical analysis with a direct call for teachers to promote debate and resist censorship. Weingarten warns against undervaluing public education and encourages continued resistance to those who would control what students learn.
Genres: history, political-science, education, non-fiction, activism, american-history
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: resistance, teachers
Setting: America, Norway
Period: 1940, 20th-century, 21st-century
256 pages · Hardcover · Thesis
Content warnings: abuse, violence