One of those problems is the issue of politics. I keep seeing and hearing about parents outraged because kids are being taught to favor socialism, or liberal agendas are being heavily taught in school and pushed on to young impressionable minds. On the other hand some parents and even people who don't have children are pissed because there isn't enough of a liberal agenda being taught in schools. This ranges from colleges clear down to preschool.
PRESCHOOL! Really? Our education system has become very sick and very twisted. What are we turning into? One of Hitler's propaganda schools, dead set on brainwashing our kids? And what about the parent's wishes? What if the parent is conservative or liberal? What if the parents aren't either but independent? I'm sorry, most people send their kids to school to learn reading, writing, science, and math, not to color communist flags in class or have liberal or conservative agendas woven into their lessons.
School boards and teachers should be teaching neutral lessons, even when it comes to political classes. Their political bias or the school's or even the school board's political bias' should never ever enter a student's learning time. And if something comes up in class from the students, teachers should create a safe, neutral discussion zone, and make damned sure that the students know if they don't agree with each other, then that's okay. Then, teachers should encourage students to do their own research, learn on their own time outside of school, and most importantly, decide for themselves.
Also, no teacher should ever be pushed into teaching along the lines of a political agenda, ever! Nor should they risk losing their job because they refuse to teach that political agenda.
But then what the hell do I know? I'm just a girl from Kansas, I couldn't possibly know anything or have anything of value to bring a conversation much less any kind of intelligence. Ehm. Yeah. -.-
The best thing to say in situations like this is that teachers are supposed to show us HOW to think not WHAT to think. I was lucky enough in my high school to have teachers would could approach both politics and religion with neutrality and fairness. I think the 'go research and decide for yourself' is essential when it comes to things like this. When you start teaching with an agenda you risk becoming Derrida and turning writing into a communistic loophole that circumvents all copyright. Which is to say - teach kids to be proud of their work and proud of their own conclusions, and also teach them to be flexible and adaptive to new conclusions as they grow. And, yeah, Kansas?! Shit do you even have running water in that state? >_^
ReplyDeleteDerrida is a dirty word, don't say it to me.
ReplyDeleteAnd kids who insist on thinking for themselves are pegged as troublemakers and put in detention, given bad marks and a whole host of other /dangerous/ bullshit. Public school is dangerous for anyone who would be a freethinker, especially children in their formative years, the most vulnerable years. I remember my son had words with the vice-principle because he was being targeted for bullying by a group of kids and he retaliated. The 'real' troublemakers are always clever enough to do it and not get caught, but the one being picked on almost always gets caught defending themselves. This was the case for my son. I was called to the school about the mess and my son was in the office yelling at the staff and he said, "You people are the problem, that's what's wrong with this place." I wanted so badly to applaud him but I lacked that sort of courage at the time. I was mostly concerned with keeping him out of detention at the time because his grades were suffering.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, I'd just like to say I'm glad I don't have a kid to raise anymore. I don't have the patience to home school and I'd definitely want to home school any kids I had. Tried it with my son and it didn't fly.
ReplyDeleteI think if Skoora and I can afford it, if we have any kids, we would like to send them to private school, and even then I think I would do a surprise visits to the school and sit in classes with them. And I will actively look at their text books and homework.
ReplyDeleteOh and I had a couple of instances in school where I was the one who got in trouble for things others did to me. I happened to go to the bathroom and some girls who were fighting brought the fight in there and while I was trying to get out, I got hit wit a hair brush and a teacher who came in decided I was part of it. She wouldn't listen to me with I told her that I wasn't.
And then there was the time that a girl kept smacking the chalkboard erasers in my face. I kept telling her to stop because I am allergic to chalk dust. She kept doing it and I pushed her. She happened to get her foot caught on a desk as she fell and she had to go home and to the doctor. Apparently her ankle bone got bruised so I had in school suspension. She didn't get anything. I was so pissed, and this was all in grade school.