The following is republished (with permission) from the Conservative Teacher. As most of you know, education is one of my significant concerns. With indoctrination at an all-time high, it is good to see a Conservative out there in the teaching profession.
Last week as part of my mandated professional development I observed another teacher teaching their students. I use the term ‘teaching’ loosely- indoctrinating is a more accurate description of what that teacher does every day in her classroom.
The class began with students being given an article by a very liberal slanted New York Times columnist named Garry Wills. The topic of the article was about how George Bush has destroyed our economy and country, and that the best hope for America is to support the Democrats agenda without question or thought.
At no other time were any other articles assigned on this issue, and at no time was any other viewpoint presented by the teacher to the students. In the self-contained world of that classroom, there was one agenda presented and information and views presented from that one liberal direction alone.
After reading the article, the teacher then asked the class to talk about the arguments put forth by the author and discuss why they were true and what implications they have for the future of America. Yup- once the class of innocent high school students was provided with information from one point of view only the next step for that teacher was to have the students validate that information and internalize it so that it wasn’t just something that they read, but something they would really believe. She had the students practice lines from the article, and pretend to debate ‘conservatives’ by offering up straw men arguments and then having the students act out how to be a super liberal. Once students became comfortable with the ideas, the thoughts, and the arguments, the teacher made them comfortable playing the part and believing in those things. With a sick feeling in my stomach, I watched the indoctrination occur, knowing that every day this is what this teacher did.
Afterwards, I asked the teacher what her goals were with this lesson. “I want to teach students to think critically about issues that they face in the world and talk about how they can change the world,” she said. I did not point out to her that taking data and validating it and talking about why that data was true is not critical thinking; in fact, it was the opposite of critical thinking. Teaching students critical thinking is what we do in my classroom- we taken arguments from liberals and conservatives and attack them and tear them apart, looking for weaknesses, holes, or flaws in their theories and arguments. This teacher did the opposite- she made students read and then buy into liberal views.
I tried to point this out to her in a very cautious and roundabout manner, and her defenses went up. She told me “In order for these kids to become good students, it is important that they know that George Bush and the Republicans are wrong and that their views are not acceptable in our society. They hear otherwise on trashy talk shows and Fox News and from their parents, so it is my job to teach them that those people are wrong and that I am right and that they should always follow President Obama.”
To this teacher, and to thousands of teachers around the nation, their job is not to teach math, science, reading, writing, or history. Their job, as they believe it to be, is to indoctrinate the youth of our nation into accepting and fighting for tyranny. Their jobs are to teach students to disobey their parents and throw down man so that he can be raised up again as a new man, more progressive and communist. This teacher had dozens of lesson plans created for this purpose (I went through her folders and piles on her desks when she wasn’t looking) and every day she was dedicated in her mission.
As I went back to my classroom, I was conflicted. In my room, I present both views and work hard to not indoctrinate students one way or the other. And I am one of the more conservative teachers in all of my district. If I’m being moderate, how warped are students going to be when the moderates lean left and the leftists dedicate their lives to moving students left. What sort of students are our education system going to produce? It is a scary thought indeed.
Original Source: Watching a Liberal Teacher Indoctrinate Youth
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Matt, it sounds like we need new teachers with a different train of thought. I taught for a number of years and I must confess to doing the same thing. I’ve always thought that those who profess to be objective are lying to themselves as well as to others. The only completely objective thing I know is math. Everything else is subject to interpretation. Your teacher should have at least presented both sides, but her comments would still reflect her values and her understanding of that particular matter. When I taught, I seldom followed the textbooks provided by the state, but rather presented those things I thought to me important. Fortunately the community I lived in reflected my values. A school should always do that. It should be a reflect of the local area, for it is they who pay for the bulk of the education. Teachers who do not do that should be fired by the local school board for its their children who are being taught. In the Bay area one thing may be taught and in southwest Mississippi something entirely different would be in order. Now thats diversity I can live with. God forbid the day that all schools teach the same thing in the name of national unity.
I did write on teacher education a few weeks ago. It is, sadly, moving towards a universal-PC-Social Justice-White Privilege- pro feminist-pro gay profession. In fact there are educational program that future teachers not only teach this, but pass the litmus test of actual belief.
Teach kids to think, which is what I imagine you did, as would I if I were in that situation, would be preferable. Teach them to take information, and use logic to come to a conclusion. Under the Dems, that will never happen. Too many people would choose freedom.
That is indeed, a scary article. It reminds me once again why we chose to homeschool our daughters. I could stomach it if both sides of the spectrum were being offered, but it is clear they are not.
It is, and the author is quite good. You ought to visit his blog (on the blogroll here). I’ve heard worse, but some are hesitant to come forward.
Matt, as a teacher, this doesn’t surprise me in the least. My area is social studies, and I can tell you that most of the social(ist) studies teachers I know were taught by their left-wing, Birkenstocked university professors to basically be activists.
I was in a graduate-level education program during the last election, and guess who most of my classmates voted for?
Well, I’m 100% sure it wasn’t for Bob Barr!
It’s all about Cultural Marxism and the “long march through the institutions.” They said they would do it, they did it, and now we’re just beginning to see the results. It’s only going to get worse, unless we take actions to stop it.
Very very scary indeed. While I did not sit in all my childrens’ classes, I have found teachers around here to be more conservative than teachers from other certain areas of the U.S.
But even so, my sister homeschools my kids now that they are making As and Bs again and their attitudes have improved.
That school and I’m sure a lot of others are glad, I’m sure, that my kids are not in their class. My kids are very vocal politically because I’m vocal. I don’t think they would just sit by and let that teacher go un-challenged and I probably would spend a lot of time at the school defending them.
Many universities in the U.S. have been progressive, socialists indoctrinators for well over a century. It is no shock that they are now down at the public school level in higher numbers.
That’s waht I’ve been hearing, Jackie. There are areas that are better than others. However, with the universities turning more and more to the left, the more that the graduates will be leftist. It’ll creep all across the country in the end. Sorry to seem so negative on this, but education is always one of the first institutions co opted by the left.
…yeah, we had a case like this in Denver several years ago. A young teacher was “teaching” Social Geography with the usual Bush slams. My grandson, in the third grade, is showing the left wing teaching. He told me, when seeing a steam cloud from a local business, that a bird flying through that cloud would die. I asked him where he had heard that. He said his teacher told him. And he wouldn’t believe me when I told this was not so.
Thanks Wendell. I’ve hear of that kind of stuff as well. It’s a shame that thy see the need to manipulate the children into believing their nonsense, but since they have no facts…
Matt…I’m a retired university prof and I can say for sure that the socialization of our children in the public schools is a very important part of the communist attack on the United States of America. By the time a kid has reached high school he/she is an America hater of the first order. Just put the term “social” in front of each subject taught in our schools and eventually our country will fall into the communist web. Just maybe, just maybe the havoc of Obama presidency will stir this country into action to stop the Commies.
I share that hope as well, Wendell. Education was the first stop on the “long march through the institutions.” In addition, the indoctrination aspect of education is likely the reason the left wants universal preschool as well. It’s all part of the separating children from their parents as early as possible. I imagine there are stories you could tell.