Political Bias in the Classroom

[belleoftheball414]

I am a fifteen year old girl in Southern California, the land of raging liberals. I've given up being shocked by anything having to do with politics, especially when they are discussed in the classroom, but the amount of political bias and intolerance is appalling.

Take, for instance, an incident that happened one year ago, when I was in eighth grade. On the first day of school, my U.S. History teacher (a twenty-five year old anit-American PETA member) told us that we were not in his class to learn about "dead white men." Not until later did I find out that these "dead white men" were our Founding Fathers. He was true to his word. The only thing we learned about Thomas Jefferson, Benjiman Franklin, or George Washington was that they were all white, rich, landowning men. Who had slaves.

This same teacher humiliated me in front of my classmates by telling me that I was "cruel" because I own a horse. And that I was rascist and homophobic because I had more white/caucasian and straight friends than black or gay friends.

Just a few weeks ago, when I wrote a Letter to the Editor to the school paper, I was told by my Journalism teacher that the words "God" and "Christianity" must be omitted from my letter, as they might be offensive to atheists, Jews, or Muslims. The letter was never published, even with the omissions.

Last semester in English, we had to write a journal entry on "Something good that happened was when..." Being voluntarily politically incorrect, my response was "A good thing that happened was when Al Gore lost the election." When it was time to share our responses, half the class had no idea what I was talking about, and the other half looked at me like I was a peice of cow dung, and whispered things like "She's a REPUBLICAN!" Sheesh. I thanked them for being so tolerant.

My AP World History teacher told us that we should be vegans and support reparations. I was reminded of the German "Hitler Juggend," or Hitler Youth, but thought it wise not to say anything.

I've been told that teachers are the worst advocates for the Democratic Party, and I now agree. I'm still quite shocked, but get through the days by assuming the role of a spectator: quietly observing the world from the outside, and being equally amused and disturbed by it.

I will have an article in this months school newspaper. It will be an Opinions article against the "condom club," which distributes condoms to the student population during lunch.

[gcruse]

Geez, I don't know if I envy you being so politically aware at such a tender age. But, I'm proud of you, kidooo. You may go far.

[LonePalm]

I wish my son were older and you lived on the right coast. You are the sort of girl I would want him to meet.

Hang in there. You're not alone. Better still, you're right and they're not.

Let me know is there is any way I can help you with your school work.

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

[Semper911]

Ms. Belle, I can say only one thing: BRAVO! This piece speaks volumes about the nature of our education system and of our society as a whole. This post needs to be submitted to conservative opinion outlets until someone picks it up. It needs to go national, if for no other reason than to show that American teens are intelligent, insightful, and offer great hope for our country.

I am a middle school teacher, and I often go head to head with just the sort of teachers you have described. (I wish you were in my school -- I need the help!) You might try to be on the lookout for teachers who are not so vocal about their political views. You might find some closet Republicans that way. They are out there.

Your writing style is brilliant and the content is of professional quality. Your future is very promising, as is the future of our great country with young thinkers who can express clear thoughts as well as you.

Post here on Free Republic more often.

FReegards, Semper911

[Great Dane]

Having a mind to call your own, is a great thing, congratulations.

[Maceman]

The only thing we learned about Thomas Jefferson, Benjiman Franklin, or George Washington was that they were all white, rich, landowning men. Who had slaves.

Have a little fun with your teacher. Ask him why slavery is ethically wrong. Then ask him if he can answer that question without drawing on the concepts laid out by Thomas Jefferson in the opening language of the Declaration of Independence?

Then ask him whether he agrees whether the idea that human writes come from the creator, and not from government, is not the single most important political insight of the last 18 years, and whether the whole world does not owe America's founders a debt of gratitude for those insights.

If he says no, ask him why he is a freedomphobe, and why he thinks slavery is a good thing?

That is how you handle a liberal scum sucking professor.

[Great Dane]

#29....... From the horses mouth, great advice.

[jude24]

Wow....

Brings back memories of my high school. It's hard to believe that I've been in college for three years now; high school seems but a recent memory.

You'll learn more here than you will in high school social studies. A lot of what's discussed here carried over to AP American History, for me. (I was a FReeper under another name then). This is a good source of information; Freepers tend to be pretty well-educated.

[quitwhining]

When she was little, we visited the mills in Lowell, and other MA mill towns. We have discussed the 'moral superiority' of the North, yet how brutal the mill life was, and how the mills virtually owned their workers. She has studied history from many perspectives. She heard the racist jokes in MA. Her best friend in NC was black, and they were two little peas in a pod. She is very self possessed, in such a gentle way. She wont fight, but she wont back down. If someone gets ugly, she walks away. She doesnt look for trouble, but sticks up for the underdog. Quite a good mix, and I think she'll make good decisions in her life. I am very grateful.

[ConservativeTeen]

Hearing about radical leftist teachers make me happy that I attend a private high school.

[quitwhining]

This was what I tried to post the first time: Imagine my surprise..an article by my own Belle. Thanks for all the nice comments. She is really beaming. She's a very kind and self possessed kid, and I am proud of her. She is neither strident n or overbearing, so wins people over by her common sense and friendly manner. And I am a writer/editor by trade, and my mother was a career public school teacher, so by Gosh her English and spelling had *better* be good >;-> Shes tall and blonde, very pretty, and hip, so the other kids really cant blackball her like they might. All her friends are little soccer mommettes and she just laughs at them gently and gives them things to read. She has been a lurker on FR for a while now. I am a lurker of many years. We are looking forward to a SoCal freepathon. Thanks again for all the kind words. Belles Mom

[Dick Bachert]

Belle,

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[lowbridge]

California bump

[supercat]

We have discussed the 'moral superiority' of the North, yet how brutal the mill life was, and how the mills virtually owned their workers.

The price of a slave was far greater than a year's wages for many factory and mill workers. Further, a slave owner had to feed and care for his slaves well enough that they could work effectively. If a slave were injured or got sick, and was unable to work for a year, the owner would have to treat him or lose what in today's currency would be a many-thousand-dollar investment. By contrast, if a factory or mill worker in the North was injured or got sick, he could simply be sent on his way and a new immigrant taken for free off the boat to take his place.

This is hardly to suggest that slavery was not evil, but rather that its evils were limitted by the necessity of getting useful work done.

[gc4nra]

Dee, is this you?

[TxBec]

Welcome to FR :)

[E.G.C.]

Welcome to FR. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. I've been a member here since August 01. You learn a lot more about what's going on in the world around you here than you will anyplace else.

[wbill]

I have a little more time to reply, now.....

First, I said in my original post to 'not let them grind you down'. The hardest thing in the world is hold your ground and stick to your convictions. Integrity is something that every person is born with, but is easy to lose and once lost, impossible to regain. Remember that any idiot can say 'OK' and go along with the crowd, but it takes real strength of character to be the lone voice that says 'No. This isn't right.'

Second, at the risk of sounding patronizing, wait 'til you get out in the real world! In high school and college, you'll be exposed to all manner of single-issue people.... animal/vegan/Palestinian/gay/white/feminist/Asian/Hispanic/African-American-rights...blah blah blah. You're lucky in that you see these charlatans for what they are already and how they distort the facts and the truth to suit their own agenda. You'll also see how trivial some of these concerns are in the greater scheme of things. You rarely see CEO's of major corporations get arrested at animal rights demonstrations. There's a reason for that.

Finally, I know it's hard. I, too, grew up conservative in a liberal state (Maine...the locals refer to it as 'Boston North'). I married into a liberal democrat Southern family, and, even after four years, my mother-in-law still introduces me as the 'Republican from Maine'. It never stops, but it does get easier.

Non illigitamus carborundum. :)

[oc-flyfish]

Glad to have you on board Free Republic. You and I share a common heritage as I did the same things in high school. I was proud to rub stupidity in the face of the liberals.

Continue being strong and standing up for what you believe in! Freep on!

[Loc123]

Hmm, its seems like my post was deleted for some reason. I checked the posting guidelines and am still baffled as to why. I only hope my advice was read in time...

[Great Dane]

Don't know why it would be deleted, you did not speak out of terms, sorry.