By Amanda Szulc, Opinion Contributor
As an early childhood educator with over eleven years in Illinois classrooms – and a proud resident of Joliet – I entered this profession to teach children how to read, think critically, solve problems, and develop character.
What happened in Chicago on May 1, 2026, was not education. It was a betrayal.
On May Day, the Chicago Teachers Union, with the full cooperation of Chicago Public Schools, bused students from dozens of elementary, middle, and high schools to an anti-Trump, anti-ICE rally in Union Park.
Teachers held special “civics” lessons in the morning, then transported students – complete with district-provided bag lunches – to march alongside adult activists.
At Edward K. “Duke” Ellington Elementary School, a sign openly declared: “Organize, agitate, educate must be our war cry.”
Even more disturbing, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson actively participated in and publicly supported these widespread May Day protests. The mayor of one of America’s largest cities not only allowed this to happen during school hours – he endorsed it.
This is not leadership. This is using the authority of city government to turn public schools into political mobilization centers. This is not education. This is indoctrination.
Illinois already ranks near the bottom in academic performance. In 2025, only about 53 percent of students in grades 3-8 were proficient in reading, and just 38-39 percent were proficient in math.
In Chicago Public Schools the numbers are even worse. And here in Joliet, where I live and teach, the failure is downright embarrassing. According to the 2024 Illinois Report Card, Joliet Public Schools District 86 (PK-8) shows only 10.9 percent proficiency in math and 23 percent in English Language Arts.
Reading proficiency hovers around 14-16 percent, and math proficiency is as low as 8-10 percent. At the high school level, Joliet West reports 17.1 percent math and 22.9 percent ELA proficiency, while Central High School is even lower at 7.9 percent math and 11.8 percent ELA.
Yet instead of addressing these dire academic realities, many teachers, union leaders, and now the mayor himself chose to use school time and taxpayer resources to mobilize students for a political protest.
The tactic is unmistakable – and it is not new. In the 1930s, the Nazi regime created the Hitler Youth to systematically indoctrinate an entire generation. Schools were required to teach a state-approved curriculum. Teachers joined the party. After-school programs replaced church, family, and independent thought. Children were taught loyalty to the Führer above all else, drilled in propaganda, and prepared to serve the regime.
We are not living in 1930s Germany. But the strategy is the same: use the authority of the school and the trust of children to shape their worldview before they have the tools to question it.
In Mao’s Cultural Revolution, Chinese students were pulled from class and encouraged to publicly denounce teachers and parents as “counter-revolutionaries.” In the Soviet Union, the Young Pioneers and Komsomol turned after-school hours into mandatory ideological training, teaching children that loyalty to the Party came before family or independent thought.
Today we see a softer but still troubling version: teachers presenting highly partisan narratives about immigration, Trump, or “systemic oppression” as undisputed fact, while framing any disagreement as bigotry.
When teachers bus students to rallies, feed them one-sided narratives about “ICE terror” or “Trump the dictator,” and treat dissent as hatred, they are not educating – they are recruiting.
These ICE agents are not targeting random citizens. They are enforcing the law by removing criminal illegal immigrants, gang members, and individuals who are draining public resources.
The left-wing media and activist teachers have spent years pushing false and inflammatory claims about President Trump – calling him a king, a dictator, a rapist, and worse – claims that have been repeatedly debunked. Yet these narratives are being presented to children as unquestioned truth.
Our children deserve better. They deserve teachers and elected leaders who prioritize literacy, math proficiency, and the ability to research and think independently – not adults who treat them as political pawns.
Illinois families are already fleeing the state because of high taxes, rising crime, and failing schools. Continuing to trade real education for activism will only accelerate that exodus.
Parents, taxpayers, and concerned citizens must demand accountability. School is for learning, not for recruiting the next generation of protesters. The future of our children – and the future of Illinois – depends on it.
