It was 1984. There was an election between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale. My History teacher would not divulge her policial affiliations to the class until after the election. She said it was her duty as a public servant to stay neutral and give her students the chance to form their own opinions.
I’ve always remembered that.
She voted for Reagan, which she told the class after the election in case anyone wanted to have an open discussion. I always felt like this was the best way for a teacher to handler her political beliefs and I have appreciated this ever since.
Politics should be discussed in certain classes is schools, that’s how you learn. However, there should be ZERO indoctrination by the teacher. A quality teacher will present both sides of the issue and allow the students to decide where they stand. When a student asks the teacher, “what do you think?” the teacher’s response should be, “It doesn’t matter what I think.”
In New Jersey, a student’s mom accused a high school teacher of trying to influence the class with their brand of political thinking by displaying an anti-Trump T-shirt.
How political should public school teachers be allowed to get in their classrooms? https://t.co/6PhNRN4gUV
— New Jersey 101.5 (@nj1015) March 5, 2019
The shirt resembled Barack Obama’s hope and change but replaced those words with “Nope” and “Vive la résistance” underneath a picture of the current president, the local Morristown Daily Record reports.
This is not just about the teacher being anti-Trump.
Teachers are in a position of power and are supposed to be looked up to and respected, so they need to keep their political beliefs out of the classroom. Students also need to learn to respect each other’s opinion and learn how to debate in a respectful way to each other.
I managed to get through high school without knowing my teacher’s political views. Why is it so difficult today for teachers not to bring their opinions into a classroom? I think they should be allowed to wear t-shirts and hats that they want to wear without being beaten up or suspended as long as it is in good taste. They need to realize that there are different opinions from theirs, but that they can all still live together as one student body.
Based on required filings with the federal government, it is estimated that between 1990 and 2002, eighty percent of the NEA’s substantial political contributions went to Democratic Party candidates and ninety-five percent of donations went to Democrats in 2012.
How about just teaching the Constitution? People may come to realize that it isn’t about Trump.
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