Woody Allen’s 1973 science fiction comedy Sleeper depicted teacher union leader Albert Shanker as a madman who destroyed the world, but a new biography finds Shanker to have been a complex and visionary figure whose life story offers timely lessons for contemporary debates over education, labor, civil rights, foreign policy, and the future of liberalism. Shanker, the legendary president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) from 1974 to 1997, was a founding father of modern teacher unionism and a leading advocate of education reform. Although a militant unionist, he was also a strong proponent of standards-based reform, teacher-led charter schools, and the professionalization of teaching. Shanker had an unusual ability to work with both liberals and conservatives and a unique world view--what might be called “tough liberalism”--that stood firmly for public schools and trade unionism on the one hand but departed from traditional liberal orthodoxies on issues like affirmative action, bilingual education, and national security on the other.

Shanker is the subject of a new biography, Tough Liberal: Albert Shanker and the Battles over Schools, Unions, Race, and Democracy (Columbia University Press, 2007) by the Century Foundation’s Richard D. Kahlenberg. The book raises several important questions relevant to today’s education debates: Can a teacher union leader simultaneously be an innovative education reformer? Is it possible, in today’s polarized environment, for union leaders to work with the business community and conservatives to find common ground on some issues while disagreeing on others? What is Al Shanker’s legacy for teacher unionism today, both at the AFT and the National Education Association?

Please join us for a discussion with the author hosted by AEI and cosponsored by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and the Center for American Progress.