Teachers and Police Officers: A Comparison

The first thing you, the reader, should know is that I am a teacher. The second thing you should know is that I respect police officers and appreciate their service to the community. The purpose of this essay is not to disrespect law enforcement but rather to evaluate why our society treats teachers and police officers so differently and how this disparate treatment impacts the health of our society.

There are bad, corrupt, and racist people in every profession. There are bad, corrupt, and racist doctors, preachers, accountants, politicians, plumbers, entertainers, teachers, and cops. Why is it so controversial to admit that there are bad, corrupt, and racist cops? Why does saying that out loud provoke such a strong reaction? Why do we have “Blue Lives Matter” flags and stickers? To my knowledge, nobody has ever said that blue lives don’t matter. In some respects, blue lives apparently matter more.

It is as if we are simply not allowed to criticize law enforcement. Why? Why do they get a special pass? Is it because what they do is dangerous? Is it because they can die protecting the community? I mean, that must explain a lot of it, right? The respect shown toward cops is like that shown toward soldiers. We respect the selflessness and sacrifice on behalf of others, right? And I guess that sort of explains a lot of people’s attitudes about holding soldiers accountable for atrocities overseas. We hear a story about a soldier who killed some civilians indiscriminately or “accidentally” and a lot of us say “well, war is complicated and those situations must be stressful and they are serving their country so why come down hard on them?” And the subtext also includes the fact that the people they killed were not Americans. Is it wrong to value the lives of Iraqis less than the lives of Americans? Yes, but you can see how plenty of people (in any country) could prioritize their own fellow citizens in such a moral calculus.

It seems like a lot of Americans reason the same way about cops. A police officer shoots and kills an unarmed civilian and a lot of Americans say, “well, their job is dangerous and stressful and innocent people usually don’t run from the cops so why come down hard on them?” What is the subtext, though? The people getting killed are also Americans. They are typically Black Americans. The subtext is racism. The subtext is that Black lives matter “less” than others so it’s not something we need to worry about or fix. That is exactly why the slogan “Black Lives Matter” is so on point (in general) and triggering (for White Americans specifically) because it goes directly to the heart of the matter. People start to criticize the police for the killing of unarmed Black Americans, and a lot of Americans respond by defending the police with chants of “Blue Lives Matter’? Why? Why are cops uniquely permitted to harm other Americans? Is it just an ingrained respect for law enforcement? Is it racism?

Here is where I want to start comparing cops and teachers. Guess what? Teaching is stressful and hard too. Teachers get pissed off at work. Teachers get pissed off at the students they are teaching. But guess what? If a teacher punches a teenager in the face they get fired (probably handcuffed). If a teacher yells at a student and cusses them out they get fired. If a cop punches someone or screams at them nothing happens to them. Why? Cops and teachers are both serving the public. They are both paid by the taxpayers to serve the community. Why is it completely unacceptable for one group to harm, disrespect, or intimidate those they serve but it is considered totally normal and taken for granted that the other group can and will do so?

Again, is it because law enforcement is a dangerous job? Because a cop could die serving the community? How many teachers have been shot and killed in the classroom defending their students from a gunman? In fact, I wonder how many cops and teachers are killed each year. I assume more cops are killed, but teachers are dying too. If a police officer is killed in the line of duty, the state of Texas pays the spouse $500,000. How much does the spouse of a dead teacher get? What is the difference? That one carries a gun to work? Both are under-paid, over-worked, and generally under-appreciated by society. Each has their loyal base of support, but I would argue that society at large doesn’t respect either profession properly. But, again, what is so special about law enforcement?

Why do some people get super emotional defending cops and say things like “well, they’ll appreciate the police when they need to be saved from a criminal” but also criticize teachers as being lazy, greedy, or incompetent? I think it’s at least debatable which group is more important to the functioning of society. In reality, both are vital. But, why do so many people automatically respect law enforcement and disregard teachers? It’s not like cops are more intelligent. I would bet that the average IQ and academic performance of both cops and teachers is average. Again, is it the gun? Why do we revere people who carry guns? Why do we have to have the capacity to kill others to warrant respect and admiration? More to the point, why do we seem to hold teachers to a higher standard than cops? Why is it commonplace to identify the failures and weaknesses of teachers and question how they do their job, but it is taboo to do the same thing in regards to law enforcement?

Teachers are constantly attacked for not serving the public well enough. The test scores are too low. “What are those teachers doing?” “They’re a waste of taxpayer money.” Parents will try to put a teacher in their place by saying “I pay for your salary.” Can you imagine what a cop would do if you said that to them during a traffic stop? Why are teachers’ unions bad, but police officers’ unions good? Why I am already scared to publish this essay? Why are we so afraid to criticize law enforcement, but it’s so common to criticize teachers? Why is an objection to the killing of unarmed civilians seen as an attack on law enforcement itself? It’s almost as if the right to kill people without accountability is foundational to law enforcement and if that is going to be attacked then the idea of law enforcement itself is under attack. Does that make any sense, though?

If teachers were found to be mistreating students disproportionately based on their skin color, could you imagine a “Teachers Lives Matter” movement in response? No. A bunch of teachers would be fired. There would be reforms. But, it may be helpful to define “mistreatment” in the context of education because the graduation rates for Black and Latino students are, in fact, much lower. Maybe the education system, like the criminal justice system, could do a better job serving communities of color? Obviously. The point is this: almost everyone in education is aware of the gaps between students based on race and almost everyone is trying new things every year to close those gaps and bridge those divides. At least within education teachers are honest about the system’s failure to provide equality. Figuring out how to achieve that equality and equity is one of the main goals. Why can’t law enforcement do the same thing? Why can’t they just admit that Black Americans are treated differently and worse and that reforms are needed? Imagine how much progress could be made if we simply evaluated cops and law enforcement the same way we do teachers and education.

There are great teachers and great cops. There are mediocre teachers and mediocre cops. There are racist teachers and racist cops. Why is that so hard for some people to comprehend? Defenders of the police might say in response to this, “yeah, and imagine if people said all teachers were racist because the graduation rates for Black students were lower than others?” But, that’s the point: every teacher knows that, and is committed to changing it. The sentiment that “cops are racist” can only be maintained if law enforcement refuses to admit that there is inequity that needs to be remedied and that there are problems that must be fixed. The sentiment that “America is racist” can only be maintained if Americans refuse to admit that American society devalues Black lives in many different contexts.

So, it must be said: “Black lives matter.” And if your only response is to say “Blue lives matter” then you are choosing to say that law enforcement deserves respect regardless of their actions toward those they are trained and paid to protect. If your only response is to say “Blue lives matter” then you are supporting unaccountable power. And there is nothing more American than protesting, reigning in, and reforming unaccountable power. Those who serve the public should be held accountable, whether they are a teacher or a police officer. Life matters. That is why we have laws. Why we create and maintain government. Why we finance law enforcement. But, if the law enforcement apparatus that was created to protect our lives, so that we may enjoy our liberty and pursue our happiness, is instead taking the lives of our fellow Americans, then we should speak up and reform it.

America is a place where people believe that all men and women are equal and should be treated with equal dignity and respect. Any movement or sentiment at odds with that idea is at odds with America itself. American history is filled with battles between Americans who believed in the idea of America and Americans who didn’t. We are presently engaged in another battle for the idea of America. The battle can be won peacefully, persuasively, and passionately. It will be won. Be a force for peace. Be a source of persuasive argument. Be a passionate American standing up for your brothers and sisters.