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Old 02-25-2012, 07:36 AM
 
Location: Eastern NC
20,868 posts, read 23,479,246 times
Reputation: 18813

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Quote:
Originally Posted by roysoldboy View Post
I guess you would say about the same thing if you got the e-mail I got today about WHEN Obama did a number of things the media told us that it made no difference. Yep, I bet you would have a ball with that one. If you want to see it I will take up a pile of bandwidth to show you since I don't know your e-mail address. I think there are many here that would really like to read that one.
So you believe every e-mail you get as long as it is anti-Obama?
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Old 02-25-2012, 08:00 AM
 
Location: St. Joseph Area
6,233 posts, read 9,467,279 times
Reputation: 3133
Quote:
Originally Posted by michiganmoon View Post
As a teacher I will offer a few insights.

1) Most, not all, teachers are liberal by nature.

2) The Teacher Unions overwhelmingly support Democrats.

3) Colleges teach soon to be teachers to teach with what might be called a liberal persuasion. I had a class at the University of Michigan where the entire semester we were indoctrinated to teach social studies for "Social Justice" so that the students will become citizens that advocate change for social justice. All of our readings were from liberal points of view: Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, and even Michael Moore.

4) Can you ever completely remove one's bias from teaching? That doesn't mean you shouldn't try. And when teaching social studies values will always come up. In example, basic values that virtually all sane people can agree to: rape is wrong...to more judgment calls was Ike a good president. It can be hard to know where the line should be drawn sometimes while you are actively teaching and kids are asking you questions.

5) I have witnessed teachers in multiple school districts act/teach in a way that I thought was unfair....all of the instances were pro-liberal. I have seen parents complain to the school about some of the teachers in these particular instances.

6) In 2007 and 2008, our principal had to constantly send out emails that parents were coming to him with concerns that the teachers were too forceful with their pro-Obama views to the students. He also reminded us that students were more impressionable.

7) I and many other teachers try to be as neutral as possible. I actually poll my students to see if I am being fair and have them guess where I lean to see if I am effective, I always try to present an honest 2 sides of the story...honest meaning a fair representation. I take pride in having my students not know where I stand. I take pride that I have Democrat AND Republican students that come up to me and talk about how they like and dislike certain candidates and all of them think I am fair.

8) I am sure there are teachers that have infractions to the pro-conservative side, it is just that there are more liberal teachers and the culture of every school that I have taught at, subbed at, student taught/observed at has been liberal -- even in conservative towns.

Disclosure: I tend to vote Republican, but have many liberal stances like I am pro-gay marriage, environment and etc.
Very interesting post. As a liberal teacher with some conservative tendencies, I'm almost walking on eggshells trying not to be biased. Sometimes I even talk about the GOP TOO much in my government class to compensate, but occaisionally an opinion will slip out. But I have a lot of smart conservative students, and I tell them to let me know if I'm not presenting their side fairly. I've never had anyone tell me I wasn't fair so far.

Funny story: Back when my students were speculating whether I was a Republican or Democrat, I was teaching about the history of the Republican Party, and I was telling them what the GOP stood for back in the 19th century (The homestead act, civil rights, anti-slavery, land grant colleges, etc..) I said "Yep, they stood for good things in those days. (sigh)" I didn't mean it to come out the way it did, and I quickly backtracked, but after that everyone pretty much figured out that I wasn't a conservative. My Republican kids weren't too upset, since they suspected it all along.
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Old 02-25-2012, 08:25 AM
 
25,619 posts, read 36,604,458 times
Reputation: 23293
Quote:
Originally Posted by mackinac81 View Post
Very interesting post. As a liberal teacher with some conservative tendencies, I'm almost walking on eggshells trying not to be biased. Sometimes I even talk about the GOP TOO much in my government class to compensate, but occaisionally an opinion will slip out. But I have a lot of smart conservative students, and I tell them to let me know if I'm not presenting their side fairly. I've never had anyone tell me I wasn't fair so far.

Funny story: Back when my students were speculating whether I was a Republican or Democrat, I was teaching about the history of the Republican Party, and I was telling them what the GOP stood for back in the 19th century (The homestead act, civil rights, anti-slavery, land grant colleges, etc..) I said "Yep, they stood for good things in those days. (sigh)" I didn't mean it to come out the way it did, and I quickly backtracked, but after that everyone pretty much figured out that I wasn't a conservative. My Republican kids weren't too upset, since they suspected it all along.
I have often found that some of the best lessons I have learned in life were from people who were some of the worst teachers.
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Old 02-25-2012, 08:40 AM
 
Location: Tennessee
37,769 posts, read 40,902,683 times
Reputation: 62071
Quote:
Originally Posted by Savoir Faire View Post
Right wing mantra

"Schools suck, teachers suck!!"
Well, they do. Even the lefties say so.

"The United States received a stark wake-up call this week with the release of international test results showing students in other countries are surpassing American students when it comes to math, science and reading. China and Australia outperformed the U.S. in each of the three subject areas tested. “The United States came in 23rd or 24th in most subjects. We can quibble, or we can face the brutal truth that we’re being out-educated,†said U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan."

NewsHour Extra: Math, Science, Reading Scores Show U.S. Schools Slipping Behind | Dec. 10, 2010 | PBS

2009



Programme for International Student Assessment (2009)

Top 30 countries for Pisa 2009 results in Maths, Sciences and Reading. For a complete list, see reference.



Top 10 countries from the last test given every 3 years (last one given in 2009, next one given this year, results will be out probably next year):

MATH

1) Shanghai, China
2) Singapore
3) Hong Kong, China
4) South Korea
5) Taiwan
6) Finland
7) Lichtenstein
8) Switzerland
9) Japan
10) Canada

US Ranking: NUMBER 30

SCIENCE

1) Shanghai, China
2) Finland
3) Hong Kong, China
4) Singapore
5) Japan
6) South Korea
7) New Zealand
8) Canada
9) Estonia
10) Australia

US Ranking: NUMBER 23

READING

1) Shanghai, China
2) South Korea
3) Finland
4) Hong Kong, China
5) Singapore
6) Canada
7) New Zealand
8) Japan
9) Australia
10) Netherlands

US Ranking: Number 17

Programme for International Student Assessment (2009)

Scroll down for 2009, the last test given and for the Top 30 in each of Reading, Math and Science.

Programme for International Student Assessment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


If you need a little perspective Poland beats us in all 3 categories. Looking at the Top 10, I think you can see why China is kicking our butt in business.
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Old 02-25-2012, 08:44 AM
 
Location: #
9,598 posts, read 16,534,369 times
Reputation: 6323
If you are afraid that a poem like this is "indoctrinating" our children despite the fact that Obama is our president, you really are left with one option.

You need to get the hell out of the country.
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Old 02-25-2012, 09:04 AM
 
Location: Orange County, CA
3,727 posts, read 6,209,816 times
Reputation: 4257
Quote:
Originally Posted by Reactionary View Post
"Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted."
"Give us the child for 8 years and it will be a Bolshevik forever."

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
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Old 02-25-2012, 09:05 AM
 
Location: Miami, Florida
391 posts, read 512,795 times
Reputation: 251
I have often had children in my classes ask me what my political leanings are (I teach history and civics) and I love it when they do. It only goes to prove that I am being neutral on the subject. I am neutral on many areas. I also have been asked about my ethnicity and religion. I am so obtuse that they don't know if I'm Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Hispanic, or anything. I guess not all educators are indoctinators that the GOP would like to stigmatize them as. But, I do tell them not to vote because I know what's best for the country! A little reverse psychology goes a long way.
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Old 02-25-2012, 09:10 AM
 
Location: St. Joseph Area
6,233 posts, read 9,467,279 times
Reputation: 3133
Quote:
Originally Posted by miamiteacher View Post
I have often had children in my classes ask me what my political leanings are (I teach history and civics) and I love it when they do. It only goes to prove that I am being neutral on the subject. I also have been asked about my ethnicity and religion. I am so obtuse that they don't know if I'm Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Hispanic, or anything. I guess not all educators are indoctinators that the GOP would like to stigmatize them as. But, I do tell them not to vote because I know what's best for the country! A little reverse psychology goes a long way.
It's a fun game, isn't it? It drove them crazy because I was so evasive. I loved watching that! I held out as long as I could, but they kept pestering me and I finally relented after three months--right after that accidental remark about the GOP. But I instructed them not to tell next year's students so they can guess too. And since many of my students go to my church, they already know that I'm quite religious. Wasn't going to avoid that one my small midwestern town.

Last edited by mackinac81; 02-25-2012 at 09:33 AM..
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Old 02-25-2012, 09:13 AM
 
9,848 posts, read 8,268,003 times
Reputation: 3296
Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Gringo View Post
... and relax.

One kindergarten class isn't an indicator of America's imminent downfall.
Was this a dominantly black class room? If so their parents could watch a video of Obama screaming Allah Akbar while cutting a US citizens head off and their parents would still vote for him.

Last edited by RCCCB; 02-25-2012 at 09:32 AM..
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Old 02-25-2012, 09:16 AM
 
Location: St. Joseph Area
6,233 posts, read 9,467,279 times
Reputation: 3133
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackShoe View Post
"Give us the child for 8 years and it will be a Bolshevik forever."

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
This is nothing new. Give anyone a child for any period of time and they'll be what you mold them to be. That's why we should be giving them an education and not indoctrinate them. Let's face it--conservatives want to indocrinate children just as much as the liberals they hate. They just call it "critical thinking" "sound economics" "common sense" and, in science, "intelligent design". In my economics class, my students read passages by Adam Smith and Karl Marx, I guide them through the passages, and I try my best to stay out of it while we analyze the pros and cons. Usually they realize that Adam Smith makes more economic sense and I don't have to say a thing. It's amazing what kids will realize when you just leave them to examine the stuff themselves.
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