Chicago Teachers Union, NEA Host Webinar on May Day Lessons for Students
The Chicago Teachers Union and National Education Association collaborated with the Zinn Education Project on an April 2 webinar focused on integrating social justice into classrooms. The event provided guidance for educators on activism with students as young as three years old. Speakers discussed May Day protests and workers' rights.
Unknown photographer / Wikimedia (Public domain)# Chicago Teachers Union Webinar Focuses on Social Justice in Classrooms The Chicago Teachers Union and the National Education Association collaborated with the Zinn Education Project on an April 2 webinar referred to as a curriculum build. The webinar focused on bringing social justice into the classroom ahead of May Day on May 1.
It included guidance on how educators could bring activism into the classroom with students as young as three years old.
Dave Stieber, a history teacher in Chicago Public Schools, said during the presentation: "There’s probably gonna be a lot worse things that Trump does, and so May Day is a dress rehearsal for maybe there’s a random day in, you know, June that we all are, like, no work, no school, no shopping, because of something Pete just did, right?
" One lesson in the seminar focused on introducing the idea of marches and protests on May Day to children and sharing images of protests that highlight the beauty and humanity of the people involved. Kirstin Roberts, a pre-school teacher in Chicago Public Schools, said in the seminar: "In this lesson, we really want to introduce the idea that there’s going to be marches and protests on Mayday.
Teachers Encourage Social Justice Topics for Young Students Kirstin Roberts said in the seminar: "I did want to say I really encourage teachers of young children not to feel like this is stuff that’s way beyond their students, not to be afraid of raising up social justice issues, including workers’ rights, anti-racism, pro LGBT, LGBTQIA plus issues, immigration and immigrants rights.
" The Chicago Teachers Union has been pushing for schools to be closed on May Day. The North American Values Institute first posted the seminar online.
Union Activities and Financial Disclosures Fox News Digital reported that the Chicago Teachers Union appears poised to spend $3.
1 million on political activities. In January, Chicago Teachers Union members filmed themselves protesting federal immigration enforcement and anti-DEI measures at a local Target. Federal labor filings in January showed the National Education Association funneling millions to far-left activist groups, ballot initiatives, and social justice organizations.
Ryan Walters, CEO of Teacher Freedom Alliance, told Fox News Digital: "Ryan Walters of Teacher Freedom Alliance criticized the webinar, calling it 'anti-American propaganda' aimed at young children; union representatives described it as age-appropriate lessons on workers' rights and empathy.
Story Timeline
5 events- 2026-04-02
Chicago Teachers Union and National Education Association collaborate with Zinn Education Project on webinar focused on social justice curriculum ahead of May Day.
1 sourceFox News - 2026-01-01
Federal labor filings show National Education Association funneling millions to activist groups, ballot initiatives, and social justice organizations.
1 sourceFox News - 2026-01-01
Chicago Teachers Union members protest federal immigration enforcement and anti-DEI measures at a local Target.
1 sourceFox News - Undated
Chicago Teachers Union pushes for schools to be closed on May Day.
1 sourceFox News - Undated
North American Values Institute posts the seminar online.
1 sourceFox News
Potential Impact
- 01
$3.1 million in political spending by Chicago Teachers Union may support related advocacy efforts.
- 02
NEA's funding to activist groups could expand social justice initiatives in additional districts.
- 03
Increased integration of social justice topics in early education may influence student awareness of workers' rights and protests.
- 04
Chicago Teachers Union's push for May Day school closures could lead to debates over holiday recognition in public schools.
- 05
Criticism from groups like Teacher Freedom Alliance may prompt scrutiny of union classroom activities.
Multi-source corroboration verifies facts, not framing. This panel scores the Substrate rewrite you just read (top score) and the raw source bundle it came from. A positive delta means the rewrite stripped framing from the sources; a negative or zero delta means our neutralizer let some through.
The webinar equips educators with tools to teach students about labor history and civic engagement, fostering awareness of social justice issues from an early age.
- Lede misdirectionnotable“TITLE: Chicago Teachers Union and NEA Webinar Guides Educators on May Day Lessons for Students”Leads with webinar event instead of core social justice activism contentThe headline leads with who shared, posted, or reacted to the event rather than the substantive event itself — burying the actual news behind the messenger.
- Valence skewminor“union funneling millions to far-left activist groups; anti-American propaganda”Negative adjectives target unions while lessons framed positivelyAdjectives and adverbs systematically slant toward one interpretation even though the underlying facts are neutral.
- Selective sourcingminor“Only Ryan Walters criticizes; union response brief and defensive”Single critical expert dominates opposition viewpointEvery quoted expert shares one viewpoint; no counter-expert is given meaningful space.
Transparency Panel
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