Copper--Regarding the following:
I had stated:
That being said, I have observed time and time again that those teachers who espouse right-wing views in the classroom are not called to task, since their views are frequently interpreted as being "patriotic", rather than unbalanced. Isn't that curious? If one verbalizes views that are considered to be "left of center", then that person is not presenting a balanced view. But, the person who presents only a "right of center" view is considered to be within his rights and is rarely criticized. Where is the justice (or balance) in that practice? You responded:
I'm not sure what examples you are citing, pretty general or anecdotal to me. No prayer in school? That got lots of attention. Taking "under God" out of the pledge of allegiance? I seem to recall that in the media and continues here and there. As far as what teachers espouse in class, how ya gonna know iffen they can't be taped? To the question you posed I would reply, "balance is in the eye of the beholder" heh heh Yes, there is no question that what I cited is anecdotal, or to be more specific, based on personal observations. While you may not have shared my experiences, I can tell you honestly what I observed over a 34 year career as an educator. My first Social Studies supervisor was a member of
The John Birch Society. This far right-wing group was sort of a continuation of the shameful McCarthy era (see
Good Night & Good Luck for a graphic representation of this period in our history if you did not live through that horror), and they honestly believed that almost the entire U.S. Government, including Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy & Johnson, most of Congress and most of the Supreme Court were avowed Communists.
This supervisor used to disseminate materials that were (to be kind) looney and incredibly skewed views of the world and of our country. Most of the teachers saw fit to ignore her memorandums on what to teach, since she was too addled to really know most of what was going on around her. But, the real right-wingers in the Social Studies Department were spouting her John Birch Society press releases as if they were the gospel. And were they criticized? Absolutely not!
On the other hand, a few young teachers who dared to occasionally reveal their opposition to the Vietnam War were castigated, and in a few cases, not rehired. Bear in mind that they were not proselytizing, but merely showing their underlying principles on a few occasions, when pressed for a statement on their feelings on the war. Perhaps they were less than competent, but believe me, many of the right-wing teachers were less than competent also. (The one who swore that he had sandbagged his attic and fortified it with automatic weapons in anticipation of "The Commies Marching Down Main Street" was later promoted to an administrative position, despite his trumpeting of his views in the classroom!)
Anecdotal? Yes!
True? Absolutely!
Fair? I will let each of you judge that question for yourselves.
As I said, frequently, far right-wing statements in the classroom are considered to be somehow patriotic, despite the fact that any political extreme puts us on a slippery slope, and the fact that this is another example of lack of balance.
