Group of Oakland teachers hold ‘teach-in' on war in Gaza

A tense dispute over how to teach children about the Israel-Hamas war came to a head in some Oakland classrooms Wednesday.

An estimated 100 teachers across the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) vowed to take part in a "teach-in," using lessons organizers said included a Palestinian perspective – a move the district and numerous Jewish organizations opposed.

A focus on the war was something the district wanted, but some teachers said they didn’t like the material OUSD provided, calling it biased. They came up with their own curriculum from sources that included Howard’s End project, Teaching While Muslim and PBS.

"We believe that OUSD’s curriculum was one-sided as many of the sources were literally funded by Israeli lobbying groups," teacher Jacob Fowler said. "We believe this is an opportunity to have discussions. We hope we’ve taken feedback from the Jewish community about resources, and we pulled some and edited some so we are doing this in good faith."

Sanai Sutton, a student at Oakland Tech High School, said she felt older students could handle it.

"My school is very diverse and we have a lot of different opinions and feelings," she said. "I do feel like it’s very diverse, and I feel like we should touch on all the bases."

Sutton's mom, Kim Jones, agreed but said she’d feel better if teachers and the district agreed on the curriculum.

"This district, they know their students, they know their community, and they’ve already kind of built the relationships, so I think that they should kind of take heed to what they’re putting out there already," Jones said.

The district superintendent stood by an earlier statement saying, "Our schools are sanctuaries for learning and I am deeply disappointed by the harmful and divisive materials being circulated and promoted as factual…we have remained unwavering in our stance against antisemitic, anti-Israel, Islamophobic, or anti-Palestinian prejudice or discrimination within our district."

At the end of the school day, two organizers of the "teach-in" said they were satisfied with the outcome.

"I’ve been texting and talking to many teachers who participated today," teacher Judy Greenspan said. "They’re very excited. They said what blew them away were the questions and the discussion that happened in the classroom."

A number of Jewish organizations expressed concern and disapproval about the "teach-in." One group, the Deborah Project, has already notified the district it intends to seek cease and desist orders to keep events like the "teach-in" from happening again.