Letters to the Editor

The Einstein theory

Sep 17, 2009 3:11 PM

To the Editor:

In your May 21 issue, UFT Vice President Leo Casey neatly demolishes Time magazine’s canard that “the teachers’ union wouldn’t let Einstein teach physics to high school students,” as if it could have done such a thing.

But had Einstein wished to teach in the New York City public school system, it wouldn’t have been the union that kept him out. He would have been blocked by the government’s right-wing apparatus that was then in effect.

Indeed, legislative operations like the Rapp-Coudert Committee, the Feinberg Law and the Timone Resolution prevented people from entering the teaching profession and even caused many already-tenured teachers to be fired, usually because they would not sign loyalty oaths to the government or answer questions about their political beliefs.

Not only did Einstein refuse to cooperate with such unconstitutional policies, he often spoke out forcefully in defense of individual victims of political repression, as when he sent letters to The New York Times and signed advertisements printed in that paper, supporting teachers whose civil rights and liberties were under attack, including many in New York City.

Einstein’s life-long dedication to intellectual freedom led to his being hated by the reactionary elements in this country, while at the same time endearing him to teachers everywhere and in his being honored by the New York City Teachers Union, the first union of teachers in the city and a forerunner of the UFT.

Bernard Gordon, retired