As she campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren frequently mentions a past job that takes up just one year on her resume.
鈥淵ou know, I think I鈥檓 the only person on this stage who has been a public school teacher,鈥� Warren declared during a discussion of education policy at last month鈥檚 debate among 10 of the Democratic candidates.
She surfaces her time as a K-12 teacher in stump speeches, often before reiterating her pledge to applause from gathered supporters.
But recent reports have fueled critics of Warren who question her statements in past speeches that she left the classroom because she was 鈥渧isibly pregnant鈥� and that her principal 鈥渟howed me the door.鈥� In response, Warren has stood by her story, saying that it was an experience that 鈥渕illions of women will recognize.鈥�
And the candidate who mentions her time in the classroom and brands herself as one who 鈥渉as a plan for that鈥� on every subject has not yet released a broad K-12 education plan.
In a crowded primary that finds candidates making bold education pledges, putting teachers at the center of their campaign commercials, and jockeying for endorsements from powerful teachers鈥� unions, it remains to be seen how much Warren鈥檚 brief K-12 teaching experience will matter to actual teachers鈥攁nd to voters in general.
Reasons for Leaving
If she wins both her party鈥檚 nomination and the general election, Warren would be the first president since Lyndon B. Johnson to have K-12 classroom teaching experience.
After studying speech pathology in college, Warren worked as a speech pathologist under an 鈥渆mergency certificate鈥� at an elementary school in Riverdale, N.J., fulfilling a childhood dream of becoming an educator, she has said. On the campaign trail and in her 2013 book, A Fighting Chance, she has told the story of being forced out of that job as a pregnant woman.
In a , Warren doesn鈥檛 mention her principal when she discusses leaving K-12 schools to become a mother and, eventually, a professor at Harvard Law School.
And in a Monday story, the Washington Free Beacon, a conservative newspaper, shared minutes from an April 1971 meeting of the Riverdale school board showing that for the following year. Minutes from a June 1971 meeting of the board showed that Warren鈥檚 resignation was 鈥渁ccepted with regret.鈥�
The Free Beacon characterized this as a contradiction of Warren鈥檚 own story that she was forced out.
Some political commentators have used these recent news stories to question Warren鈥檚 credentials and to revive previous concerns about how she presents her personal history to the public. Conservatives including President Donald Trump, for example, have long criticized Warren for during her time as a law professor, a claim she has since apologized for.
鈥淓verybody can work in a school, but if you give it up after a few years, you don鈥檛 get to say, 鈥榃ell, I was a teacher,鈥欌�� said Michele Kerr, a Republican who teaches at a high school in Fremont, Calif. 鈥淚 think she says she鈥檚 a teacher just like she said she鈥檚 a Native American. It doesn鈥檛 matter much to me.鈥�
Among progressives, some supporters of Warren鈥檚 primary opponents have circulated the recent stories about her time as a teacher on social media.
However, others quickly jumped to Warren鈥檚 defense, saying that the New Jersey school board鈥檚 minutes did not disprove Warren鈥檚 statement that her principal forced her out. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, for example, , saying that 鈥淭his happened to women ALL the time,鈥� and that women would leave their jobs 鈥渒nowing that they would be fired.鈥�
On Tuesday, Warren doubled down.
鈥淲hen I was 22 and finishing my first year of teaching, I had an experience millions of women will recognize. By June I was visibly pregnant鈥攁nd the principal told me the job I鈥檇 already been promised for the next year would go to someone else,鈥� . 鈥淭his was 1971, years before Congress outlawed pregnancy discrimination鈥攂ut we know it still happens in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. We can fight back by telling our stories. I tell mine on the campaign trail, and I hope to hear yours.鈥�
Issues of Bias
Allegations of pregnancy discrimination鈥攁nd discrimination in general鈥攎ay be a more frequent topic of discussion on the presidential campaign trail as more women and people of color pursue the presidency.
Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in 1978, amending Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of 鈥減regnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.鈥� And it passed the Family and Medical Leave Act, requiring employers to provide unpaid leave for maternity and other conditions, in 1993.
Even today, laws, policies, and evaluation systems don鈥檛 necessarily tell the whole story in these situations, said Ryan Balch, a senior lecturer in education policy at Vanderbilt University鈥檚 Peabody College of 91制片厂视频 and Human Development.
When it comes to pregnancy or a variety of other issues, Balch said, 鈥淧rincipals do have the ability to influence whether a teacher comes back or not in ways that are outside the formal system.鈥�
Megan DiSciscio, who teaches elementary school music in Waltham, Mass., said she鈥檚 not troubled by the recent stories about why Warren left her teaching job.
鈥淚t was the 鈥�70s and women were often pressured to leave their jobs for myriad reasons,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not surprising to me that on paper it said she resigned.鈥�
Some teachers in today鈥檚 classrooms still struggle to keep up with their workload after having a child, and some principals are less accommodating of the needs of new parents, teachers told 91制片厂视频 Week.
Just a few states, including Washington state and New Jersey, as well as the District of Columbia, provide paid parental leave for teachers. And the combination of a packed schedule, unsupportive school leaders, and aging school facilities can make it difficult for new mothers to pump breast milk after they return to the classroom.
Teachers in 2020 Campaigns
Warren鈥檚 references to her education career come after waves of activism on the state and local levels have driven public attention, and sympathy, to the concerns of teachers. In a , 60 percent of respondents said they had 鈥渉igh or very high鈥� levels of confidence in the honesty and ethics of high school teachers, among the highest of any profession in the poll.
Other 2020 Democratic contenders have also sought to tie themselves to teachers. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, for example, released a video linking his campaign . South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg released , a divisive figure among teachers who question her support for public education. And former Vice President Joe Biden has also with teaching experience.
Warren鈥檚 appeals to teachers are personal. In an April interview, she recalled the moment after helping her 2nd-grade classmates sound out words during reading time, watching 鈥渢hat flash, that spark,鈥� when it finally made sense.
鈥淚t鈥檚 enormously intimate,鈥� she said.
I wanted to be a teacher since 2nd grade. Here I am with my doll collection鈥擨 used to line them up and play 鈥渟chool.鈥� Later, I had the chance to be a special education teacher and a law professor because America invested in kids like me. We need to invest in kids again.
鈥� Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren)
For DiSciscio, Warren鈥檚 frequent mentions of her K-12 teaching past are meaningful.
鈥淭eaching is one of those weird things where everybody thinks they understand it because everybody was a student at some point, but actually doing it is different,鈥� DiScicio said. 鈥淚 am really tired of having people making all of the decisions in education reform and education funding who just fundamentally don鈥檛 understand what we do every day.鈥�
While one year in the classroom might not give Warren enough experience to guide her education policy, DiSciscio is heartened by the senator鈥檚 pledge to appoint a teacher as U.S. education secretary. 鈥淚t is enough experience to know the importance of choosing the right person to make those [education policy] decisions,鈥� she said.
Yet Balch, the Vanderbilt professor, questioned whether any attempt by Warren to turn the story about teaching and her pregnancy to her advantage would have a major impact on teachers. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like a secondary justification,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think they鈥檙e going to form their opinion based on a lot of other things.鈥�
A Missed Opportunity?
Warren鈥檚 lack of a bullet-point vision for K-12 education has caused consternation in some left-of-center quarters. But it鈥檚 by no means certain that Warren鈥檚 lack of a sweeping plan is hurting her candidacy, which is riding high in the polls. (Warren鈥檚 campaign did not respond to a question about any such comprehensive plan.) As a senator, Warren has spoken out against policies such as private school vouchers and for-profit charter schools.
President Barack Obama鈥檚 proactive K-12 policy, which focused on struggling schools, charters, teacher evaluations, and content standards, created sharp divisions among Democrats. In 2015, a Pew Research Center survey found that just a bare majority of Democrats and those who lean Democrat . Both national teachers鈥� unions called on Arne Duncan to resign as Obama鈥檚 education secretary.
And ultimately, this dissatisfaction helped drive liberals and conservatives to work together to recast the main federal K-12 law that in several ways rebuked the Obama administration鈥檚 work.
As a result, many Democratic base voters might be at least uninterested or even wary of candidates promising big things from Washington about public schools. This may be why other 2020 contenders are pledging boosts in federal education funding but steering clear of more controversial education issues among Democrats.
鈥淥n a more philosophical level, I feel like when politicians tinker too much with education, it resets things, and that can do more harm than good,鈥� said Jared Beloff, who teaches AP English at a New York City public high school. 鈥淲hat I鈥檓 looking for with education is less meddling.鈥�
Teacher Views
DiSciscio, the Massachusetts teacher, says she wants a candidate to address the inequity between wealthy school districts and the poorer ones next door, which is tied largely to disparities in local property taxes. But she鈥檚 not itching for Warren to unveil proposals related to issues like accountability or testing.
鈥淚 think our education system is kind of an exquisite corpse of people coming in for a few years and trying the newest fad then leaving us to pick up the pieces of the damage it causes,鈥� she said.
Even before the recent discussions about why she left the classroom, Warren鈥檚 teaching experience didn鈥檛 matter a great deal to teachers like Chris Green, an English/language arts teacher in the San Antonio Independent district. He said that while it might mean something for a candidate to have that background, being a teacher today 鈥渉as never been more demanding.鈥� What matters more than a basic background in teaching or how she left teaching, Green said, is what expertise or leadership Warren can demonstrate that鈥檚 rooted in her classroom experience.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a different game now,鈥� said Green, who said the 2020 candidates who interest him the most are Warren, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Juli谩n Castro, and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. 鈥淔or anyone to say, 鈥業 taught one year,鈥� I question how much you understand my current day-to-day experience.鈥�
