Do the public schools in Franklin and Brentwood lean more conservative or liberal? (Hendersonville: horse, teachers)

[N.Cal]

Originally Posted by Holly1989

Being openly liberal in many areas of Tennessee (Williamson County being one of the most notable among them) is asking for serious trouble.

You'll love it here.

I will be sure to warn my Franklin dwelling legally married in California co-worker and his husband and their two children.

[Holly1989]

Originally Posted by N.Cal

I will be sure to warn my Franklin dwelling legally married in California co-worker and his husband and their two children.

You probably should've warned my friend Eric, back in Murfreesboro. Some guys on the MTSU campus beat the hell out of him because they could tell that he was gay.

I won't deny that some LGBT people can get by here, but I sure as hell think it's necessary to point out that there are serious issues with mutual respect locally.

[nashvols]

I think the most serious trouble most folks would get is perhaps a few people talking or cracking jokes behind your back. There are liberals in the suburbs, and there are conservatives in the city. While each of those groups may be in the minority, they don't have to live in fear of physical harm over their political views.

[BirdieBelle]

There are serious issues with mutual disrespect all over the country for all types of people.

The question addressed the schools. Anything to offer there??

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by Wmsn4Life

There are serious issues with mutual disrespect all over the country for all types of people.

The question addressed the schools. Anything to offer there??

Yeah...it has gotten off subject....again.


And kids in schools, whether in conservative or liberal areas, can be cruel to kids that aren't like them/don't share their or their parent's beliefs. That's true almost anywhere.

But I never remember anyone getting physically assaulted over their beliefs. Maybe I didn't hang with the right crowd, though.

[Holly1989]

Originally Posted by Wmsn4Life

There are serious issues with mutual disrespect all over the country for all types of people.

The question addressed the schools. Anything to offer there??

Yes, actually.

I would offer that in Sumner County, where I am from, there was a controversy a few years back concerning supposed religious indoctrination within the local school systems. Having grown up in Sumner County schools, I can personally attest that this was actually happening.

The case between the ACLU and the BOE was settled a while back:

ACLU and Sumner County Schools Settle Religion Lawsuit | WMOT

As for the ACLU's allegations, you can read them here:

ACLU-TN Lawsuit Charges Widespread Religious Activities In Sumner County Schools | American Civil Liberties Union

If wanted, I can provide other links.

Other topics pontificated upon by teachers during my own time in the Sumner County school system included Islam, gay rights, and abortion. While I feel like a limited, neutral discussion of these topics can be appropriate, the teachers' endorsement of religiously-based positions on these matters was far from appropriate.

Students should be allowed to form their own opinions on these matters. It would be no different from a teacher stating that anyone who disbelieved in the current policies American welfare system was "a complete idiot". That is not their position to take in the classroom.

[Holly1989]

Originally Posted by nashvols

Yeah...it has gotten off subject....again.


And kids in schools, whether in conservative or liberal areas, can be cruel to kids that aren't like them/don't share their or their parent's beliefs. That's true almost anywhere.

But I never remember anyone getting physically assaulted over their beliefs. Maybe I didn't hang with the right crowd, though.

Did you grow up in Nashville-Davidson County? Or somewhere in the surrounding area?

I grew up in Sumner, so that might be why I have personally seen more hostility surrounding these topics.

[BirdieBelle]

That was a huge ordeal in Sumner County.

Here in Williamson, in our nearly 13 years in the public schools, I have not had a problem with lessons or curricula being "too" this or that, but I am a moderate Republican so I can't judge what it's like from a more liberal person's perspective.

Our current controversy involves a Tea Party protest of a passage in a textbook used in an AP Human Geography class. But one of my sons who took the class said it was one of his favorite classes yet.

"Too liberal or conservative" is going to depend on the person.

[Holly1989]

Originally Posted by Wmsn4Life

That was a huge ordeal in Sumner County.

Here in Williamson, in our nearly 13 years in the public schools, I have not had a problem with lessons or curricula being "too" this or that, but I am a moderate Republican so I can't judge what it's like from a more liberal person's perspective.

Our current controversy involves a Tea Party protest of a passage in a textbook used in an AP Human Geography class. But one of my sons who took the class said it was one of his favorite classes yet.

"Too liberal or conservative" is going to depend on the person.

I have seen a greater diversity of opinions during my time at VSCC and MTSU, but perhaps that is allowed because college students are assumed to be able to accept differences of opinion.

Nevertheless, what I saw at both institutions has mostly been the voluntary explanation of the professor's personal opinions, and not an attempt at indoctrination. This has come from both liberal and conservative-leaning teachers.

I feel like the question that many have been concerned about in the textbook (concerning suicide bombing in Israel being justifiable) is inappropriate by itself. I would feel slightly differently about it if the converse were asked, ex. "If IDF soldiers shell a building housing a daycare center because Hamas rebels are meeting on the 5th floor, is this morally justifiable?" Both questions, while controversial, would be acceptable if presented together.

I think that teachers should be in the business of creating a conversation, not in steering it one way or the other in the vast majority of cases.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by Holly1989

Did you grow up in Nashville-Davidson County? Or somewhere in the surrounding area?

I grew up in Sumner, so that might be why I have personally seen more hostility surrounding these topics.

Nashville, but close to Williamson County...so I'm quite familiar with both.