USC: Museum of Education

The Bill Ayers Problem The Museum of Education patrons’ reflective statements describing their “personal reconciliations” with “the Bill Ayers Problem.” Education for Life: William Ayers' Gallery Talk by Terrill Wilkins(August 24, 2008)



Outside the academic world, the name Bill Ayers holds notoriety for certain antiwar activities during the Vietnam Era that are considered by many to have been revolutionary. Some would even consider him to be a violent criminal. In fact, upon discovering that his memoir To Teach had been assigned to our EDFN 749 class this past fall, a coworker of mine described him as an “anti-American terrorist who publicly rejoiced to the media after the attacks of 9/11.” Despite my own predisposition to be skeptical of this person’s claims, I was both puzzled and wildly curious as to why this person held such vitriol toward a scholar who so eloquently laid out the importance of education in the book I was reading at the time. I was never able to extricate a genuine answer, a substantive reason for this person’s opinion of Dr. Ayers. At the conclusion of his gallery talk titled “Education for Life,” however, I got the opportunity to ask about his career as it relates to the general public’s perception of him.



	Referencing the closing thoughts of To Teach, I asked Dr. Ayers how he felt teaching had given him a second chance. To say that I was surprised by his answer is an understatement. Teaching, he explained, had never been an idea that he fully left behind as his primary identity; and, as for second chances, he told the audience that throughout the course of his life he has received multiple chances. In his answer, I found myself racing back to a previous point in the lecture when Ayers discussed the “vocabulary of deficit” in American schools. “There’s always more to be, more to become,” Ayers contended, “than to sum up a person by one set of actions.” This certainly put the set of actions described in the Wikipedia file on Bill Ayers into perspective. Why is it that our society has such an inclination to label people based on one deed or misdeed? I suppose it is easier to label someone who once cheated on a spouse a cheater, or to label someone who stole a car while in a state of financial and emotional despair a thief. For once that person is labeled, they cease to exist in our minds as an actual human being. They instead become a representation of an action or set of actions our society regards as “bad.” To this end, Existential philosopher Soren Kierkegaard’s infamous admonition “If you label me, you negate me” can most certainly be applied to those who have utterly disregarded Ayers’ work as a progressive educator due to set of actions they found to be reprehensible.

		Whether one likes Bill Ayers or not, what causes people to disregard the positive work he has done in the field of education can also be pointed to as a potential source for the “vocabulary of deficit” with regard to the children in our schools. In all too many instances, children are defined by a test score, a bad behavior, a socio-economic status, or some other sort of trait that can be utilized to lump them into a category. Instead of being viewed as works in progress, students are labeled as “at risk” or “ADHD” or “doesn’t work well with others.” If our society has gotten to the point where we aren’t even affording our children the opportunities to rise above and become more than just one or two characteristics, then how can we ever progress? Part of the answer, Ayers argued, is that in order to see students as “works in progress,” teachers must begin to think of themselves as “works in progress,” constantly trying to become a better teacher. This way, the educator strays from the traditional role of the authoritarian and moves more towards the role of a good shepherd that is moving along with the students on a parallel journey. Because the teacher is improving him or herself, it can then become easier to relate to students that are being encouraged to do the same thing. This more hopeful image of education, of the teacher as a “pilgrim with students on a voyage” makes it okay for the teacher not to know everything. Ayers argued that this, getting a different image of ourselves, is the key to improving education in this country.


			In addition to talking about access and equity being integral aspects of education in a democratic society, Ayers focused greatly on what makes education in a democratic society unique compared to education systems in other types of government. The underlying theme that kept surfacing in this portion of the discussion was the idea of who asks the question. As democratic educators, Ayers discussed, we should be constantly moving towards the next question. I felt that this concept connected with the point he made towards the end when he said “one can always do something tomorrow that one didn’t do today.” This quote, above all else, resonated with me the most. As someone who strives to one day fight for social justice in the courtroom and in the political arena, the very idea of “education for LIFE” frees me from the confines of viewing education as a career, a profession with some sort of finite end goal in mind. Without that restriction, we can all journey together in whatever career path we choose to continuously work towards progress. This, most certainly, is a world I wish to be part of; and, I consider myself honored to have been part of such a humbling and uplifting discussion. Here’s to a society that will one day re-embrace and celebrate the idea of redemption. to return to The Bill Ayers Problem to return to personal reconciliations

an affiliate of McKissick Museum, a financially-supported research unit of the College of Education,
and an institutional member of the International Coalition of Historic Site Museums of Conscience

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