Imagine a holiday that celebrates you – but only to cover up the fact that you’re being undermined the rest of the year.
Sounds absurd, right?
Yet that’s exactly how many educators feel every time politicians shower them with praise on National Teacher Day, then turn around and dictate what they can and can’t say in the classroom.
It’s like being served a gourmet dinner while the kitchen’s on fire. Is this appreciation, or one big gaslight?
As a California millennial who writes about decision-making, I can’t help seeing the cognitive dissonance.
We hail teachers as heroes shaping the future, then some officials treat them like they can’t be trusted with a library book or a lesson plan. National gaslighting day isn’t on the calendar – but it might as well be. Why do we publicly honor educators while quietly stripping away their voice?
Honored in public, silenced in practice
Every spring, leaders line up to thank teachers. They issue proclamations, tweet accolades, and businesses offer free coffee.
During Teacher Appreciation Week, you’ll hear plenty of “Teachers are the backbone of America.”
But behind the applause, another story plays out.
Consider a recent example: Before National Teacher Day, the Trump administration quietly slashed several professional development programs and grants – the kind that help educators improve their craft – because they were deemed “divisive” to its agenda.
Public praise came hand-in-hand with cuts that teachers say hit their profession in a “huge way”.
The irony wasn’t lost on teachers. Melissa Collins, a former Teacher of the Year, noted that these budget cuts “are affecting the experiences that empower teachers to serve their schools and communities effectively”.
In other words, even as officials thanked teachers, they were pulling the rug out from under the very programs that help teachers thrive.
One former educator liaison at the U.S. Department of Education went so far as to write, “It pains me deeply” not to be there ensuring teachers actually have a voice in the policies that affect their students.
Appreciation rings hollow when those same teachers are shut out of decision-making.
This contradiction isn’t just top-down; it trickles into everyday school life.
Sarah, a sixth-grade teacher in Idaho, recently had a rainbow-colored poster in her classroom that simply read, “Everyone is welcome here.”
Harmless, right?
It had been up for years without issue.
Suddenly, the principal ordered her to take it down, calling it too “personal or political” – no parent had even complained.
Sarah was stunned. They praise us for being inclusive mentors, then ban a poster about inclusion? She put it back up out of principle (and yes, got in trouble for it). The message to teachers is loud and clear: “We appreciate you, just don’t express your opinions or expertise.”
Praising educators, policing curricula
In public, officials gush about “dedicated teachers” imparting knowledge.
In private, they pass rules to dictate which knowledge is acceptable. Over the last few years, classroom censorship laws have spread like wildfire.
By mid-2022, 17 states had passed legislation banning educators from teaching certain concepts about systemic racism (the infamous “anti-CRT” bills), and soon after, similar laws began muzzling any discussion of LGBTQ+ issues.
In Florida, for example, the “Don’t Say Gay” law forbids teachers from even mentioning sexual orientation or gender identity in early grades – under threat of lawsuits.
Educational leaders are alarmed. NEA President Becky Pringle calls these trends “dangerous attempts to stoke fears and rewrite history” that “prevent educators from challenging our students to achieve a more equitable future”nea.org. Teachers who simply tell the truth about our history or acknowledge their diverse students now risk being painted as political enemies.
During his tenure, President Trump went so far as to accuse schools of spreading a “twisted web of lies” about racism – even labeling such teaching “a form of child abuse”. (Yes, the same administration that proclaimed respect for teachers also floated the idea that teaching honest history is abusive.)
Meanwhile, those same “appreciated” teachers are watching beloved books get yanked off reading lists and library shelves. Imagine being told to inspire kids to love reading, only to find whole swaths of literature off-limits.
According to PEN America, there were 4,349 school book bans in just the last six months of 2023 – more bans in half a year than in the entire previous school year. Many targeted titles deal with race or LGBTQ themes, subjects now deemed untouchable.
As one Pennsylvania librarian, Samantha Hull, put it, “Any discomfort that arises from what we read is outweighed by the possibility of learning. If the book makes you uncomfortable, it’s time to consider what it might be trying to teach you”.
The gaslighting here is almost surreal: we lionize teachers for opening young minds, but we handcuff those same teachers from exploring real-world topics and truthfully answering students’ questions. In effect, society says, “We trust you to educate our children – but here’s a list of things you can’t teach or say.”
Celebrated, but not allowed a say
Being an “honored hero” means little if you’re expected to quietly accept whatever comes your way.
Teachers are often treated as saints on a pedestal – until they speak up for themselves.
When educators advocate for better pay, safer schools, or simply a seat at the table, they frequently meet resistance or retaliation. In fact, in 37 U.S. states, teacher strikes are outright illegal, with penalties ranging from fines to loss of teaching licenses.
Imagine devoting your life to teaching, only to be told that using your collective voice is a fireable offense.
The push to suppress teacher advocacy has been especially stark in recent years.
Take Florida, where in 2023 a new law (SB 256) imposed strict hurdles on teachers’ unions. It requires unions to maintain an unusually high 60% membership rate or face decertification, and it bans automatic payroll deduction of dues.
The kicker?
The law explicitly exempts unions for police and firefighters – professions the governor favors politically.
The message is clear: Some public servants get a megaphone, others get a muzzle.
It’s hard not to see the hypocrisy when, on Teacher Appreciation Day, the state hands out apples and thank-you notes, and by the next week hands teachers’ unions an anvil to swim with.
We saw this dynamic during the COVID-19 pandemic, when public sentiment swung from praising teachers as selfless innovators to blaming them for school closures.
One education analyst observed that many stories transformed “teachers from heroes into villains,” largely because so few teachers were actually given a voice in school decisions.
Educators who raised concerns about safety or resources were often sidelined – then scapegoated. It’s a classic gaslight: You’re amazing for doing whatever we ask; if you ask for anything, you’re the problem.
Not surprisingly, teacher morale has plummeted. A national survey in early 2022 found that 55% of educators were considering leaving the profession earlier than planned.
The reasons?
Overwork, stress, and feeling “unloved” and “disrespected” by the public and policymakers.
We call them heroes, but we don’t listen to them. We celebrate their “dedication,” but then dismiss their expertise on what students need. This kind of constant mixed message isn’t just insulting – it’s driving some of our best teachers away.
Putting it all together
It’s easy to say “We love our teachers.” It’s harder to prove it.
When praise for educators comes packaged with book bans, gag orders, and union-busting, it’s not appreciation at all – it’s manipulation.
Call it out for what it is: gaslighting on a national scale.
And like any gaslighting, it can make the targets start doubting themselves. Teachers begin to wonder, Am I really valued, or am I just being placated so I’ll keep quiet?
No healthy relationship – whether between partners, or between leaders and educators – can thrive on mixed messages.
In the world of marketing, brands build loyalty by aligning what they say and what they do.
The same goes for education. If we truly believe teachers are the lifeblood of our community, our policies and school cultures should reflect that.
Appreciation can’t be a one-day hashtag; it has to be a year-round commitment to trust teachers with honest curricula, support their professional growth, and include them in shaping the policies that affect their classrooms.
In the end, this isn’t a partisan issue – it’s a human one.
Every teacher deserves to feel respected and heard, not just patronized.
Students, too, deserve adults who aren’t afraid to tell them the truth about the world and model intellectual courage.
Let’s stop the gaslighting. Instead of National Gaslighting Day, how about we strive for a national culture that actually values educators and their voices?
That would be something to truly celebrate.
