Hey, I want to know what you guys thing about this. I have this teacher, who teaches Human Physiology. I am currently in his class. Every once in a while he will bring politics into the curriculum, even when it has nothing to do with it. One example would be as such:
I was sitting in my chair. He was in the front left of the room writing some things down on paper(it was work time). He suddenly burst out saying "Did you know that CEO's made 26 times more than the average worker when Bush was president." A few students were blah blah, giggle giggle, grunt grunt, but no real debate. After he loudly mumbled so that we could hear "That is what republicans do, take from the poor and give to the rich."
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Another example would be that he is a strong advocate for universal health care. So about every two weeks he will declare to the class how "Obama is trying to make this nation a better place, and healthcare will do that."
So anyways, my question is that do you think this is appropriate or not. I am a senior, which I can hold my own opinions. However there are as low as sophomores and while I don't doubt they have there own opinions they are only 13-15 years old. And that is really quite young.
To protect myself, I would like to say I am not against Obama. I am sure he has great intentions. So please no "You are so ignorant." Since obviously (1) you do not know what that means, and (2) you are insulting without a basis to do so.
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Completely inappropriate. Unfortunately schools teach the liberal agenda on purpose. Politics are a part of who we are. It is very difficult for an instructor at any level to divorce him or herself from strong personal beliefs. But there is a difference between teaching in a way that is consistent with your beliefs and using your power and influence to manipulate the unformed minds of students. And this guy has crossed it.
You may or may not get satisfaction if you report this to the "powers that be."
Contacting the local news would probably be fruitless. Since they, too, are usually only interested in the liberal agenda. They would be more likely to be interested if your teacher was saying things like, "Obama is trying to ruin this great nation."
No. You'd likely have to go national. Fox News might like some smuggled cell phone video. Then more than half of the news watching Americans would see. That could be quite an embarrassment for your school district. Although, in the long run it won't change your teacher's behavior. Once an overly political, pulpit preacher always an overly political, pulpit preacher.
Um ok first of all troll, you have no idea what you're talking about. How do you know that isn't your sons opinion? History teachers try to show both sides. A proper history class should be talking about all of these subjects. If you didn't mention Reagan's scandal, you'd be an idiot for a teacher. If you didn't mention Kent State you would be an idiot. They have to follow the text book too. If you have problem, it's with the curriculum the school department plans, not the teacher. And you are just stupid. Just because the teacher says something doesn't mean the teacher believes it. And they have to go off of fact. Global warming is a theory. There is evidence, but it might not be true. Enjoy the rest of your life sheltering your kid though and trying to ruin others lives. I don't know if you're the mother or father but you are a RUDE person!!! How dare you call some a lefty leftist for messing up on the gender of your kid. That's slander, illegal, and uncalled for. I'm surprised you haven't been reported already.
I personally don't think that it is appropriate for a teacher to express his or her opinions on things like politics or religion quite so forcefully, since I do think it is tends to stifle discussion. I have less trouble with positive statements, such as your second example, than I do with the negative ones, such as your first case, since I think that it is the negatives which tend to make students concerned that they will be penalized if they don't agree with the teacher. However, I know that many of my colleagues feel that only by understanding how people really feel about the issues can students learn to form their own arguments.
The other argument I often hear, and there is some validity to this, is that if faculty express themselves, students will hear a broad variety of opinions over time. Teachers and professors range from very liberal to very conservative, so it is very likely that their opinions will be all over the map.
I had professors in college with both biases. In fact, my speech teacher was a conservative state senator. (very conservative) And none of my professors kept their political opinions secret. But, that was college. You're in high school. So, if you're not comfortable with an academic parlay with him, ask him to stick to his curriculum because he's making you uncomfortable. Unless, of course you're willing to argue with him every day about politics, which ultimately should improve both your and his ability to communicate... This assuming he won't use this as a reason to lower grades, which would be entirely unethical.
Personally, if it doesn't effect your grade, I think it's good for him to have an opinion, one that varies with yours, and for you two to argue about it once in a while. There's a lot more to a true education than just facts and figures. Animals are Trained, Humans are Educated. Read some Milton Friedman (an academic conservative author) to back up some of your opinions. A good teacher will be impressed with your ability to find academic sources to back your opinion. I know I would.
Totally inappropriate, contact the school board, and the news media. By contacting both they will be forced to act. Education is about educating, if the subject were political science then ok, but just as religion is out of the classroom so is biased propaganda of any other kind. He is being sneaky by posing it as a question but not that clever that he should be allowed to continue. Just the facts ma'am.
To each his own, but the classroom shouldn't be a pulpit but rather a means of discussing the pros and cons of those issues.