I Haven’t Always Been a Conservative
I haven’t always been a conservative. I haven’t always been a free thinker or a critical thinker. Like many younger kids, I believed what my teachers told me and went along with many of the views of my peers and the older members of my family. My teachers would tell us about the feminine struggles, the struggles of minorities, and how Islam is a misunderstood, peace-promoting religion. We would learn about the struggles of immigrants coming into the United States and how it was a hard and sometimes impossible process so, many families would resort to crossing the border illegally. We would be told how socialist revolutionaries would overthrow oppressive capitalist dictators.
It was a lot of the typical stuff taught by the public school system teachers, and I believed it because they were my teachers. My peers were educated by the same teachers so they held the same liberal and socialist political views. My older cousins, whom I look up to, went through the same school system and subsequently, are liberals. My thought was that if my teachers, peers, and family believed in this than it has to be right.
So what changed? My transformation began when I became extremely interested in history. I would read about and listen to the history of our country, political parties, foreign policy, etc. I began to realize what I was finding out didn’t match what the teachers were saying. Republicans weren’t racist, Islam wasn’t peaceful, and under capitalism, most countries flourish. Based on my developing understanding of history I began to form my own political opinions, and I began to take everything said by my teachers very critically.
I then began to pay much more attention to the news and began to watch multiple sources, many times from multiple countries. Pairing my new knowledge of current events with my knowledge of history I became able to form my own political opinions that were often polar opposites of the political opinions of my teachers and peers. The final event that secured me as a hardline conservative was the 2015-2016 presidential debates.
From very early on I developed an admiration and a liking for President Trump. I recognized that Trump would talk about issues that no one else would and that he was not afraid to speak what he thought and speak what he thought was right. I would listen to Trump come to the same conclusions that I had. I would see him give statements that his opponent would have no response to or no intelligent response to. He ripped apart the ideas that my teachers, classmates, and family believed and spread. After watching this I was secured in my ideas and beliefs which were not in the least supported by my classmates or teachers, but at that point I did not care because I had lost all respect for their thoughts and opinions.
I haven’t always been a conservative. I bought into what my teachers, peers, and family members were saying, but through history, research, thought, and questioning formed my own opinions and beliefs to became a free thinker who no longer took what was being told to me as correct and learned to think critically for myself.
From Cherry Picking Facts and Statistics to Straight Lying, What Will Teachers Do to Propagate Their Distorted Views?
Teachers, in my experience, have zero problem tailoring their content and their teachings to fit whatever agenda they are trying to promote. In history class an entire month was spent on basically a “Muslim tolerance course” where the teacher outright lied and used disinformation to tell us that throughout its history Islam had been the most tolerant, peaceful, and benevolent major religion. Despite the fact that the Islamic empires have been some of the largest and bloodiest throughout history. The teacher continued to say that Islam is based in peace, understanding, and tolerance and any Muslim who does not follow this is in the vast minority and that it is our racism, intolerance, and fears as Americans that leads to the stereotype of the violent and radical Muslim.
It does not take much investigation into the religious texts of Islam or the widely practiced Sharia Law to find out that these “facts” and statements are false, historically inaccurate, and are pure propaganda. The religion of Islam is not peaceful and never throughout its history has it been peaceful.
Teachers constantly employ this method of fact alteration and use of pseudohistory to push their agendas and ideas. Teacher love to talk about the right-wing, capitalist, and fascist (a word that no teacher seems to know the definition of) dictatorships that killed, tortured, and committed atrocious violations of human rights. The interesting thing is teachers seem to forget about the brutal totalitarian socialist, Marxist, and communist dictators. Great examples are Mao Zedong in China or Stalin in the USSR. In their teachings teachers always make sure capitalist and right-wing dictators are portrayed as villainous and downright evil, and they make sure that the massive amount of socialist and communist dictators, whose regimes were the stuff of nightmares, are always portrayed as saviors and noble revolutionaries.
Che Guevara, a violent revolutionary who helped to instill some of the most brutal dictators ever to rule, is a favorite topic among history and Spanish teachers, who portray him as a messiah who helped to save and liberate Latin America. Teachers don’t like to mention the concentration camps of Mao Zedong, the extreme poverty and fear the citizens of Cuba lived under during the reign of Castro, or the brutality and inhumanity of Ho Chi Minh. But, teachers are more than eager to talk about the suffering under nationalist leaders such as Chiang Kai-shek, Fulgencio Batista, and Ngo Dinh Diem. (The nationalist and capitalist leaders of China, Cuba, and South Vietnam respectively). Many teachers will not acknowledge that the economy and stability of countries would fall apart after the militant takeover by these communist and socialist dictators.
The teachers are not the only ones that censor content, doctor facts, and cherry-pick information. Textbooks are also notorious for skewing facts and information to promote their leftist agenda. In history books you will find that JFK and Bill Clinton had excellent foreign policy and had strong economic policies that helped to strengthen our economy and create a more prosperous America. However, no concrete facts are provided to back up these broad claims. Textbooks constantly discuss how Democratic presidents promoted civil rights, were champions of minorities and women, and promoted the equality among all classes, races and sexes. Of course, this isn’t true. The Democratic party voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and voted against women suffrage.
So much information in textbooks is complete garbage being fed to children to promote leftist agendas and is an effort to keep the younger generations generally uninformed about the world, history, policy, etc… Because liberalism thrives on ignorance and misinformation. What the books do that may have the most effect on students is the exclusion of information. Many times textbooks will “forget” to mention things such as the fact that during the Civil War the North was Republican or that Frederick Douglass, an incredible black statesman and writer who I personally have a huge admiration for, was Republican.
Textbooks fail to recognize that the periods when the United States was the most prosperous was when our policies were the most capitalistic and conservative. There are never any mentions of the incredible foreign policy and civil rights advocacy by Republican president Richard Nixon because that doesn’t fit their agenda of making every Republican president seem like a warmongering racist. It is facts like these which textbooks choose to omit. Omitting these facts can paint a very different picture of history, policy, culture, and the real workings of economics.
What do you think of when you hear Ronald Reagan? Patriotism? Vision? Tax-cuts? A booming economy? When the writers of the average history or economics textbook hear Ronald Reagan they think of “an economic platform that only benefited the wealthy upper class and did little to help the poor economic conditions of the middle and lower classes” or “policies that later caused an economic collapse” or “massive tax cuts for large businesses and the wealthy that critics called ‘trickle-down economics’ because little money trickled down to the middle class from the wealthy and the large businesses that benefited from the cuts” (The actual definition of trickle-down economics is an economic form that allows tax breaks and decreased regulations for wealthy individuals and corporations in the hopes that the companies and individuals will use the extra profit to expand. This expansion leads to job growth and higher wages for the middle and lower classes.
Eventually, the higher profits obtained by companies and upper-class individuals benefit every working American. Perhaps textbook writers should be informed of this.) As with any Conservative or Republican the textbooks refuse to acknowledge any kind of success or positive characteristics of Reagan. Any positive effects or qualities of right-wing conservative leaders and policies are most often omitted from textbooks and lessons.
The omission of this information is not a coincidence, it is deliberate and it is scary. The fact that the teachers and the textbook writers think that this is ok to do is truly scary. The students are deliberately misleading and misinformed. Unfortunately, there is not much choice when it comes to the schools’ choices in textbooks, but the teachers should provide unbiased lessons and should absolutely not omit, change, or alter facts in any way to push their agenda and beliefs onto the students. Any quality teacher should strive to provide all the positive and negative facts surrounding an issue and allow the students to draw their own opinions and conclusions.
Double Standards and Bias
There is no question that a double standard exists between conservative and liberal students in the public school system. From dress code to the tolerance of ideas there is little question that conservatives must adhere to a very stringent and completely different set of rules than liberal students. An example is the wearing of politicized t-shirts. On campus it is more than common to see t-shirts with I’m with her, the future is female, black lives matter, love trumps hate, gay pride, black pride, etc… printed on them and being worn by students and staff. Firstly, I believe that it is completely inappropriate for staff at a school to wear any piece of clothing, have any posters, stickers, or any other item that contains any kind of political message.
Secondly, these shirts are obviously very politically charged with the left wing and liberal views. School staff and administration are indifferent and will even encourage students to wear this clothing. School staff makes it clear that challenging the views of the students wearing these clothes is absolutely unacceptable. This is completely fine, as long as the same policy is applied to students wearing apparel promoting right wing and conservative views. This same policy is not applied. When wearing a Trump Pence or Blue Lives Matter shirt teachers will look at you with disapproving glares and ask you questions such as “Do you really support him?” In extreme cases, you can be sent to the office for dress code violations, the teachers giving the excuse that you are being insensitive to the feelings or opinions of other students.
I asked students to tell me about indoctrination they’ve experienced in the school system. John Doe wrote in “I witnessed a kid get kicked out of school for wearing a shirt with the Confederate flag on it, it’s a huge double standard because they let people wear BLM shirts and anti-gun shirts every day.” I don’t think I even need to point out the double standard here. It’s absolutely unacceptable to allow kids to wear attire that promotes one political view and not another.
At my school, as is the case in many others, all clubs must have a teacher sponsor. My friends and I wanted to start a young conservatives or a young republicans club so there was somewhere that the few conservative students at the high school could meet and discuss our ideas without being ostracized. Not a single staff member would sponsor the club, despite there being multiple liberal clubs at the high school. One of those is the Genders and Sexualities Alliance Club where students meet to discuss and fight for LGBTQI+ rights and equality, as well as racial and gender rights and equality. The issue with our club was obviously not that it was politically charged, as is evident by the multiple liberal clubs. The issue was that the club was conservative.
Many liberal teachers, which of course is most teachers, will encourage you to share your opinions and challenge what they say, especially in classes such as English or History. In reality, these teachers only want you to share your views or opinions if what your sharing fits their agenda. These teachers absolutely hate it when a student challenges one of their statements or opinions and offers a more conservative counterpoint or counterargument. Although, for the most part, this only applies to liberal teachers.
From my personal experience and the experiences of others, it’s very clear that the few conservative teachers that exist often allow and even encourage respectful discourse. Although, many of these conservative teachers try to keep politics out of the classroom. There are plenty of examples in online videos and news articles of liberal teachers’ intolerance when conservative students attempt to correct them or offer their own opinions. These reactions range from teachers silencing the students to teachers becoming extremely angry and sometimes even aggressive. Teachers will sometimes yell at the students or kick them out of class.
John W, a conservative public high school student, offers a less extreme example, saying that the teacher of his Law II class would avoid calling on him because of his views. John says that his teacher only taught the liberal side of the Supreme Court cases the class examined. When John would ask legitimate questions about the thought process and motives of the conservative Justices the teacher would refuse to answer claiming it “was beyond the scope of the course.” It is my understanding that, typically, when learning history, especially Supreme Court decisions, it is expected that you examine both sides to gain a real understanding. This behavior of refusing to call on conservative students and refusing to teach the side of history they disagree with (or doesn’t promote their cause) is typical of liberal teachers. This kind of behavior and this kind of bias by teachers, although it’s commonplace, should absolutely not be tolerated and should absolutely not be occurring.
Many liberal teachers have a strong bias against conservative students simply for being conservative. This bias extends to grading the students and the teachers’ attitudes towards the students. A conservative student in Minnesota shared her experiences which include being ridiculed by students and staff on campus for her beliefs, being graded much harsher than other students, and not being given extra credit opportunities afforded to other students. She is physically threatened and does not feel safe going to school. Her parents also feel uneasy about and are afraid of her going to school. The principal and other administrators have been no help, all of them being very liberal and siding with the teachers. If this isn’t bias against conservative students, I don’t know what is. Everyone that works at this school should be ashamed and disgusted with themselves.
At my school, there is a very outspoken feminist English teacher. It is well known that she favors female students over male students, lectures about toxic masculinity and the patriarchy, and will fail any student who writes or speaks anything anti-feminist or what she deems misogynistic (Gender equality and misogynism are major topics in the class). To receive a sure A in her class you don’t need to do anything more than write something pro-feminism, anti-masculine, or about the superiority of women. Unfortunately, this kind of bias is in many if not most female-led classes, especially higher level literature and history courses. Any teacher that distorts grades or harasses students based on political views should be fired and should never be allowed to work in the school system again. Unfortunately, these practices are widespread in the Public School System.
What about religion? Are there bias and double standards on campus involving religion? Well, unfortunately, yes. Specifically when talking about Islam and Christianity. Imposed prayer is prohibited in public schools. Somehow many school officials think this only applies to Christian and Jewish Prayer. Schools across the country have forced students to memorize Islamic prayers and pray to Allah, sometimes with lawsuits then being filed against the school, as happened with La Plata Highschool in Maryland. Many textbooks and teachers teach the Islamic faith in detail making students learn Islamic prayer, the five pillars, and Islamic beliefs. However, you learn nothing about Christianity. No Christian prayers, next to nothing about the history of Christianity, and nothing about the beliefs of Christianity. The only things most middle school and entry level high school history classes will cover about Christianity is that Jesus is the founder, it is Abrahamic, and Constantine was the first Christian Emperor.
In higher level history courses students are taught about the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, witch trials and any other atrocities, negative aspects, or events involving Christianity, usually without any mention of the positive aspects. Pertaining to Islam students are taught about the struggles of Muhammad, portrayed as a peace-loving and righteous man by textbooks and teachers. Although, historically, Muhammed led armies to conquer an empire and was a known pedophile. Historically, Jesus was peace loving, but Muhammed certainly was not. Students are educated about Muslim scholars’ role in preserving knowledge during the dark ages and how Islamic culture thrived as Western civilization crumbled and disintegrated after the fall of Rome. Students are taught of the acceptance and peacefulness of Islam throughout its history and how Spain, North Africa, and the Middle East flourished under Muslim rule. Students are even told that Islam means peace. However, the actual meaning of Islam is submission.
There seems to be an obvious double standard with these two religions and the schools’ teaching and handling of them. I think one of the most potent examples of this double standard is an incident that occurred in a public high school in Texas. The school has a “prayer room” that the school claims is open to all students to come and pray. A Christian student brought in his Bible to pray and he was promptly kicked out because as a student recounts the school’s policy for the prayer room was Muslim only. The fact that an incident like this is allowed to occur blows my mind and is a testament to the radical change that needs to be brought to this country’s public school system. Why is there such a double standard with Islam and Christianity in the school System? Both are major religions that have shaped the course of human events. The answer is that teachers believe the false narrative that all Americans are Islamophobic and don’t understand Islam and they have made it their mission to change that. Teachers see that Christianity is the mainstream religion of America and falsely assume that all the students don’t know about the darker past and uglier side of Christianity. These teachers then spread their liberal narrative about Islam and Christianity without truly understanding either religion.
What kind of message does this double standard and bias against conservative beliefs and the religion of Christianity send to students? It makes students feel like conservatism and Christianity are unacceptable, improper, terrible, and wrong. No teacher or staff member should be influencing students’ political opinions. They should not be making students feel as if their opinion or stance is wrong whatever it is. No teacher or staff of a public school has the right to bias the teaching of one religion over another. It is a teacher’s job to provide unbiased facts to the students, not promote their own agenda by biasing the information given to students and promoting a double standard between students and religions. Actions like this are disgusting, and it is so incredibly alarming that this is happening at such high rates.
Leading and Politically Charged Questions
Leading Questions are typical in textbooks, on worksheets, and in class discussions. After a Jim Crow lesson, it is not uncommon to find a question such as “how does racism today affect minorities and how does that compare to the Jim Crow era?” Educationally this question would be considered a good question because it assesses the student’s understanding of the text and relates it to the student’s world. However, the book has just asserted that there is racism affecting minorities today and that it could be comparable to the Jim Crow era.
At the end of a “In the Workplace Lesson,” a Spanish textbook asks students to pretend they are a female employee and to write to the company they work for about the pay gap, unfair treatment of women in the workforce, and the necessity for civil rights and equality between men and women in the workplace. There are plenty of ways to test if the students understood the vernacular and vocabulary covered in the lesson without getting political. Again, this book is forcing certain liberal narratives onto students. A book should not be commenting on these issues and should not be influencing students one way or the other on these issues.
If, while discussing NFL players kneeling for the National anthem, a student makes the comment, “I think kneeling during the anthem is disrespectful and isn’t appropriate” a teacher will often respond with, “you don’t think that these players have a right to protest these issues?” The teacher has now twisted the words of the students and allowed for only one response, “Well, yes they have the right to protest.” By misrepresenting this issue as an oversimplified ultimatum the teacher has denigrated and defamed the student questioning him/her and has made sure that the student can only give the answer the teacher wants. The students should be forming their own opinions and decisions about these issues not having a certain viewpoint forced on them by textbooks and teachers.
Parents were furious when their children’s vocabulary homework contained these as fill in the blank questions, ”President Trump speaks in a very superior and _________ manner insulting many people. He needs to be more _________ so that the American people respect and admire him. Barack Obama set a _________ when he became the first African American president.” If I were one of these parents I would be absolutely livid. The teacher’s response to the irate parents was, “Firstly, I do not believe I was expressing a political view at all on my vocabulary sheet. My reference to President Trump was about his personality traits rather than his ability as a president.” This teacher is either lying or in denial because her questions are extremely politically loaded and are certainly influencing her students. The most frightening thing about this is that according to the Department of Education this teacher received basically no punishment. Teachers having questions like these and incidents like these are not at all uncommon and there is absolutely no accountability for them. This needs to change because when students are asked questions like this they are having the political agenda of the teachers and textbooks forced onto them and are not being allowed to form their own political opinions.
The Un-Americanism in Public Schools
There is a concerning trend in the Public School System. Schools are becoming un-American and anti-American. Textbooks and teachers will speak passionately about the current problems in America or the historical problems with America. Slavery, child labor, the abuse of Native Americans, police brutality, and the alleged mistreatment of immigrants and illegal immigrants are all popular subjects despite many of them not being state standards. Teachers and books focus on these issues because they want students to have a negative view of America as many of these teachers and authors do. Very rarely will students learn how America has become the strongest and most influential country in the world, how America has defended human rights, and how America has fought for the freedom of the world.
Yes, America has made mistakes, just like every other country in the world, and it would be a mistake not recognize this. It is also a mistake not to recognize the triumphs and innovations of America. A middle school student shared how her teachers routinely comment on racism, police brutality, and any other perceived negatives that exist in America. Teachers will often comment on all of their perceived problems with America in order to create a negative view of America for the students. Students need and deserve an unbiased teaching of the history and the current events of America regardless of the personal opinions of the teacher. Teachers should teach the shortcomings and triumphs of America equally. Teachers should not be commenting on current political issues in order to shape the students’ views of American society, but instead, teach the facts and history required by the curriculum.
Two other concerning trends in American schools are the removal of the American flag and not reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in schools. For decades now there has been a concerning trend of schools and teachers not reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. I think it is reasonable not to force students to stand and say the Pledge, however, every school and classroom should hear the Pledge and the students should have the opportunity to stand and pledge allegiance to their country. What does not reciting the Pledge of Allegiance show kids? That they shouldn’t have allegiance to their country? That having pride in your country is wrong? That America is a terrible country that you should not have allegiance to? Saying that they have allegiance to America is not going to harm the students, it’s not fascism, it won’t inspire fervent nationalism, and it won’t offend a massive amount of students because of the “Under God” line. These are the main arguments against the reciting of the pledge. Anyone who makes these arguments doesn’t understand these issues and cheapens these issues.
Also, for any teachers that complain the Pledge takes too much class time, it takes approximately ten seconds, the same amount of time spent telling a student to turn off the lights. Students should learn allegiance to and how to take pride in their country. A more recent issue in the school system is the removal of the American flag from school campuses. Schools are banning the flag from student vehicles and removing the flag from classrooms. Schools do this primarily to stop the flag from “offending” students. A South Carolina high school banned the flag from football games so it couldn’t be used to “taunt” the opposing team, which had many Hispanic members. This decision was later reversed after the outrage from the surrounding community. The removing of American flags doesn’t send any message except that the American flag is bad and offensive and thus America is bad and offensive. Compared to many of these other issues the removing of the flag isn’t widespread or common, however it demonstrates the concerning direction our school system is taking and what teachers and schools are allowed to get away with.
Teachers are only teaching the negative points of American history and skewing their teaching of current events in order to give students a negative view of America. The removal of American flags from campuses and the stopping of schools and teachers reciting the national anthem shows a disturbing trend in the school system. Teachers have declared war on America and American values and it is the students who are paying the price.
The Blatant Abuse of Position
Although all the practices so far mentioned could be described as teachers abusing their position, there are many instances when teachers blatantly abuse their position to force their own agenda onto the students.
Illegal immigration is a subject that teachers love to talk about despite it not being in the curriculum. A Spanish teacher, who is an immigrant, gives lectures about the trauma an illegal immigrant family faces when crossing the border. He tells the stories of illegal immigrants and their strife and hardship. This teacher tells students of how terrible these immigrants’ countries are and how they have no other way but to cross the border illegally. Trying to sway students into supporting illegal immigration by giving emotional speeches about “the strife” that an illegal immigrant faces, though a blatant abuse of the teacher’s influential position, isn’t that uncommon.
Julie C. has a teacher who takes it a bit further. Her teacher said that “If ICE ever came on campus then we should toss our I.D. cards and switch places not according to our seating chart and refuse to give ICE agents our name.” This teacher is telling his students to protect criminals by refusing to cooperate with a federal law enforcement agency. If this scenario ever happened this teacher could easily be charged with obstruction of justice. This teacher defends illegal immigrants and demonizes United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), something done with increasing regularity by many teachers throughout the nation.
Many teachers will routinely criticize Trump despite it often having nothing to do with the content or class. Classes such as current issues will often turn into an hour of the teacher making crude and abhorrent remarks about Trump and his policies. Connor D. says his teacher will call Trump racist in front of the class. Another student says after the 2016 presidential election her drama teacher told the class that, “this is not good, if you are not straight, if you are not white. If you’re not male then you’re in danger.” This same student’s chemistry teacher told the class that, “they as students should be smarter than the president.” This student says she really likes Trump, but is afraid to say anything.
When teachers go after Trump like this in class they are not only inappropriately influencing students, but they are alienating a large group of students. This doesn’t only apply to teachers talking negatively about Trump, but when teachers get political in the classroom they will inevitably be alienating a portion of the students. Doing this is unfair to all the students, but it is especially hurtful to the students being alienated by the teacher’s comments. So many teachers will openly attack and mock Trump and conservative values in class seeing nothing wrong with what they’re doing. These teachers are creating an incredibly hostile environment for students who support what they are mocking. These teachers have no right to be doing what they’re doing, it is a clear abuse of their position as teachers.
Many English teachers use class discussions and assigned readings to “enlighten” students about the societal issues they perceive. Class discussions of how “the woman was portrayed in the novel” and how their negative portrayal is indicative of our patriarchal society are used to champion women at the expense of men. Students can be assigned to read articles that spew radical feminist rhetoric and propaganda. This does little except divide the students along lines of gender and alienate the male students. These teachers are altering content, teaching the lessons, and structuring discussions to promote their own feelings and ideas. They have come to believe that, usually at the cost of the students, it is crucial for them to pass on their own frustrations and world views.
Study hall is a period designated for students to do homework and study. However many teachers use study hall as a time to give students “necessary information” which usually amounts to liberal propaganda. In Jane Doe’s Study Hall she is shown videos of LGBTQ members telling listeners to respect their pronouns, Social Justice Warriors burning the American flag (As teachers tell the students that this is how you stand up for your rights), police brutality, and black lives matter. Students are “educated” on white privilege and harmful stereotypes. All of this in the name of “teaching kids about tolerance.” The teachers have no right to be subjecting the students to this warped and sickening version of “teaching.”
An extremely common occurrence in Study Hall, and many times in academic classes, is the playing of the news by teachers, as is the case with Connor D.’s teacher. Students are usually forced to sit quietly and watch whatever news station the teacher has chosen. I do believe that schools should encourage students to stay informed, however playing the news during a time designated for students to work or to be learning a particular subject is probably not appropriate. The network that is usually played for the students is CNN. There is an obvious liberal bias in CNN’s reporting and covering of the news, as there is today in every major news network. With the extreme bias in all the major news networks it is inevitable that no matter what network is shown, students will experience bias and indoctrination to one side of the political spectrum. Teachers should allow students to learn and work without attempting to “teach” their versions of tolerance and morality and attempting to “educate” them about things that they have no right to be educating them about.
Many schools will have kids go on school walkouts for causes such as gun violence or feminism in which students are forced to participate. Teachers, such as those of Connor D. and Julie C.’s, will tell students communism is superior to capitalism, reverse racism is a fallacy, and white privilege is a real problem affecting America. It is terrible that teachers are using their position to influence students on these issues. However, the most blatant and disturbing abuse of position by teachers is telling students who to vote for. There are many teachers who, during the 2016 elections, warned students about voting for Trump and encouraged or told them to vote for Hillary. It is truly disturbing that this is happening. Any teacher that sinks to this level in order to promote their own political beliefs and agenda ought to be immediately fired and never allowed to work in the school system again. Unfortunately, that does not happen.
Many teachers are abusing their position as educators and as adults who are given a massive amount of influence on children in order to promote their own political beliefs and agenda. This abuse can go from lecturing students about the unjust hardship illegal immigrants face to showing the students liberal propaganda of flag burning and LGBTQ activists to telling the students how to vote. Teachers are entrusted with one of the most crucial and vital jobs, educating the nation’s youth. Unfortunately, many teachers abuse this responsibility for their own means and to promote their own causes.
How Widespread is This and Why is it Such an Issue?
This issue is extremely widespread. Verdant labs finds that 79% (https://verdantlabs.com/politics_of_professions/) of teachers are Democrats. That means nearly four-fifths of teachers have liberal left-leaning views. When we consider that most teachers believe it to be their job to educate students about morality and the world, the massive amount of liberal bias and indoctrination in schools comes as no surprise. It also seems to be evident that this is not coming from any particular part of the country. When I asked for students to send in their stories about liberal bias in the public school system, results came pouring in from all around the country, I have been able to share a few of those with you in this article. Stories repeatedly come out about teachers having biased tests, lessons, and teachings, but there are countless more incidents that never get any media attention. Textbooks are another major source of liberal bias. Nearly every textbook company used by schools, whether that be McGraw Hill, Pearson, or Scholastic has books that contain biased and liberal-leaning content. The indoctrination of America’s youth by the public school system is a massive trend growing in nearly every American elementary, middle, and high school.
There are many articles, books, and websites dedicated to the indoctrination of college students, but indoctrination begins long before college. By college, the seed has already been planted. Public school teachers have embedded liberal views into the students and college professors can easily secure these beliefs. Students have two major influences, their teachers and their parents. Unfortunately many times parents do not talk about politics with their children, so students’ only major political influence comes from teachers, adults that students have been taught to trust, respect, and obey. This means that teachers have a tremendous responsibility to teach unbiased facts and to leave their own political views out of their teaching. Unfortunately, this rarely happens and teachers are able to easily indoctrinate students.
Teachers use the excuses of political correctness, teaching tolerance, and protecting the feelings of other students in order to propagate their own views and ideas. There is only one word to describe what is happening and that is indoctrination. Teachers, administrators, and the school system as a whole are pushing liberalism and leftism onto the students and alienating students who don’t agree with their views. The school system needs massive reform. Teachers cannot be allowed to push their views onto students. Any textbook that clearly contains biased material must be thrown out. Administrators, teachers, and textbooks must be held to a higher standard because they are responsible for the future of our country. Their job is to educate the incoming generations, not indoctrinate them.
I haven’t always been a conservative. I bought into what my teachers, peers, and family members were saying, but through history, research, thought, and questioning, I formed my own opinions and beliefs to became a free thinker. I no longer took what was being told to me as correct and learned to think critically for myself.
