I'm pretty sure I remember that there are some teachers (current or former) in here. I hope I'm right, because I really want an answer for this question:
Do you think it's important (or possible) to keep personal opinion out of your lessons?
(Sorry for those who have already had to hear this rant in my blog.) My daughter came home yesterday telling me how she'd been learning about presidents, and what a HERO George Bush is, and how he's risking his life and fighting this war that's going to save the WHOLE WORLD!!!
It didn't occur to me at first to be upset with her teacher, but...no matter WHAT I personally feel about current events, I would NOT be ok with someone in that position influencing my children this way. If I found out that the teacher had been telling the class all about how Obama was going to save the country, and how he was the best pick for the election, I'd STILL be pissed. Personal opinion has its time and place, but mixed in with a "factual" history lesson for my six year old is NOT that time and place!
I'd really be interested in hearing about this from a teacher's point of view, and I just have no idea how to bring it up to hers.
I try to keep my personal opinions out of my classroom and I teach college students, who (I assume) have the mental capacity to distinguish the facts I'm presenting in lecture from my op-ed. I think it's inappropriate with schoolchildren, especially because they're so impressionable. At this age, children don't yet have the capacity to question but rather to accept everything they hear from an authority figure like a teacher.
The next time it happens, I think I'd bring it up to your daughter's teacher in a calm but straightforward manner. You could broach the matter by perhaps saying something like, "(Insert your daughter's name here) mentioned to us last night that she learned in school yesterday that George Bush has declared himself emperor of the world. Is that right?" Or some such thing. I'd be livid too.
Jess- I'm not a teacher, but I know how you feel. On election day 2004, O's teacher had on a huge Bush/Cheney button on the whole day at school. It really bugged me. I understand that election day is a big deal and that getting kids into the excitement is fine with me. But wearing a campaign button did not seem right to me. (I still would have thought it out of place not matter who's name was on the button.)
It does not bother me when the cashier at a store has on a button, or a receptionist, or most other jobs. But a teacher - hmm. It just did not sit right.
Todd and I did not bring it up to the teacher since the button was a one time deal. But I would love to hear how to deal with this since we disagree with a lot of opinions O has been exposed to. For now, we realize that unless we home school, he'll be exposed to a lot of opinions we don't agree with. We are then giving him our opinion and why we feel that way and asking him what he thinks.
Other ideas on how to handle this type of stuff?
as far as your question is concerned then I think yes lesson should be kept to a factual basis. however, teachers are also trying to teach respect for the leaders of this country. No matter what we personally think of Bush(yes he is a dingleberry lol) being president is a hard job, be it democrat~republican, whatever. Now if he is expressing that some presidents were not so great, then others are magnificent and trying to sway the kids to one side or the other, that would be different.
Quoting Rachael:
as far as your question is concerned then I think yes lesson should be kept to a factual basis. however, teachers are also trying to teach respect for the leaders of this country. No matter what we personally think of Bush(yes he is a dingleberry lol) being president is a hard job, be it democrat~republican, whatever. Now if he is expressing that some presidents were not so great, then others are magnificent and trying to sway the kids to one side or the other, that would be different.
You're absolutely right. The office of president DOES command respect. I've always said "He may be screwing it all up, but I know I wouldn't do any better." I'm not saying I want her to say "GWB screwed everything up." I just want her to state the facts...what happened, and let the kids decide for THEMSELVES if that's good or bad!
But...it got worse. When I was explaining to her last night that NO president is all bad or all good, and that even the bad ones do good things (though, in some cases (Andrew Jackson, thankyouverymuch) I can't think of any) and the goods ones do bad things sometimes, because they're humans, and they mess up. I told her no one is all good or all bad. She said "I know ONE person who was all bad." "Who?" "Santa Ana!"
My husband was all over this one.
We tried explaining that Santa Ana was just trying to protect his land from intruders, just like her "hero" George is doing now.
I hate that there's such a Ameri-centric spin being put on history. I knew they did this when my parents were in school, but I thought today's kids were just getting the facts.
Her teacher is a flag-waving, freedom-loving red-blooded American, and that is A-OK with me. But her personal politics do NOT need to be influencing my child when I'm trying SO HARD to teach her to be open-minded and objective. (For the record, I try really hard not to let MY personal politics influence her too much, either. I'll say "I believe this, but some people say this, so everyone has to decide for themselves what's right.")
10 Insulting Things Kids Innocently Say
- BigMommaJesca
on Jan. 8, 2009 at 1:18 PM