Lessons from Hungary and History: People Power is How We Prevail
AFT-ASI President Randi Weingarten (L) and AFT Massachusetts President and Shanker Institute Board Member Jessica Tang (R) examine some of the classroom resources of Hungarian History teacher János Bősze (C).
As a social studies teacher and leader of the AFT’s Resistance Committee, I know we stand to learn a great deal from Hungary – by looking at both its past and present.
However, nothing could have prepared me for hearing firsthand what Hungarian union educators, activists and community leaders had to say about their own experiences over the past 16 years and beyond. It galvanized a deeper understanding of both how our democratic backsliding can get much worse, but also how it can be overcome.
As we heard local Hungarians recount their experiences as part of their resistance movement, it was impossible to ignore the eerie and all too familiar undercurrent that accompanied each discussion we had with them. Connecting with our union siblings and democracy activists made it clear that the experience of authoritarianism is global, as are the challenges we face in public education. The similarities between their experiences and what we are seeing as Project 2025 is being implemented throughout the nation became abundantly clear.