I've known for several months now that it's time for a new profession for me. I'm not sure how long I can last as a teacher with the indoctrination going on in our schools. I can't take it, can't keep my mouth closed, and this year, I believe, I can't avoid trouble.
President Obama will speak to our nation's children on September 8th. Is this the result of a true concern for America's youth, or is it about promoting his agenda? As a teacher, I'm sure I know--and I'd sure like to hear from Governor Palin via her Facebook page.
On the one hand, it makes sense that the President of the United States would speak to kids to impress upon them the value of education. He holds the highest office in the land, and with that comes a level of respect. Simply because of that perhaps some kid will say, "President Obama wants me to succeed, so I've got to try really hard." If that's what this is really all about, that's fine. But things are never that simple with this administration.
Always there's an agenda.
It seems not only does the president want to take over the car industry, the banking industry, and the health care industry, now he wants to take over the classroom. The reason is simple. The classroom is a good place to take over the minds of our children, to indoctrinate them--as if enough of that is not being done already in our public schools. President Obama's September 8th address is not just about taking on the noble task of encouraging our students to succeed. No, lesson plans and worksheets have actually been prepared for activities before, during, and after the address.
A "Go get 'em, kids. We believe in you" speech is one thing. Full-blown lesson plans that ask students to read books about "presidents and Barack Obama," "write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president," and answer questions such as, "Why is it important that we listen to the President?" is another.
I smell a rat.
As Megyn Kelly pointed out on Fox this morning, which you can see in this video clip, imagine if teachers had forced students to read books about--and discuss helping in the goals of--President Bush or Vice President Cheney. All you-know-what would have hit the fan. Taking it a step further, imagine if, in the interest of being fair-minded during the 2008 election, teachers had required students to read Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned the Political Establishment Upside Down. There would have been an outcry because it would have gone against the agenda of the teachers' unions and the vast majority of educators.
Look, I'm not somebody on the outside looking in. I've been teaching in the same public school in upstate, NY for fourteen years, and the left-wing agenda has never been so obvious to me as it was this past school year. If you think that fair and balanced teaching goes on in all classrooms, think again. I'm not saying that every single teacher is involved in Democrat indoctrination. I'm not even saying most teachers are, but I am saying it happens--too often. You listen to kids long enough, you find out what goes on and you learn the anti-Bush, anti-Palin, anti-conservative sentiments being expressed.
After Obama won the election, my school went crazy. Leading up to the inauguration, the school decided we were going to show it live to every student. Now, I was sick to my stomach because I just didn't want to watch it, but I did believe that it should be shown, so I prepared myself to grit my teeth, suck it up, and just get through it--which I did. The problem was what went down leading up to that day--and for weeks afterward.
Let me run you through a day at school leading up to the inauguration: walk into the building; go to my mailbox; find lesson plans about Obama to use with students that were placed in my box; leave plans in my box (I did not do them!); walk down the hall where there were Obama posters on my left and right--posters about Change, Hope, and all that rhetoric he was talking during the campaign; listen to morning announcements with some quote from Obama right before the Pledge of Allegiance (everyday); go to library and see books about Obama displayed; after school go home and check email; in email find suggestions from ELA professionals about how to incorporate inauguration activities into lessons; read email with information about different seminars and workshops teachers can attend about the inauguration.
Now, I am not a confrontational person for the most part. I'm easy to get along with, and I pick my battles. But this was one battle I had to pick, and this is one reason I know it's got to be time for me to move on. When I got the email from an ELA consultant which she sent to the entire district, including the superintendent and principals, I hit Reply All and wrote, "I might take these professionals more seriously if they had shown the same passion for our kids and commitment to our nation four years prior when George Bush was re-elected." I ended the short email with, "Sorry, but this just reminds me of the media bias that was displayed throughout the election and continues to this day." I know I ruffled some liberal feathers, but I didn't care. The hypocrisy was glaring, and it needed to be addressed.
When I got an email from the assistant principal detailing the manner in which we would handle watching the inauguration ceremony, I emailed him back with a short note that basically said, "I hope you show the same enthusiasm in four years when Sarah Palin is elected president!" When I saw him later, he admitted that "teachers tend to be Democrats, as am I, but if your girl [Governor Palin] gets in in 2012, I'll be sure we do the same thing." My response? "Well, my boy, Bush, got in four years ago, and we didn't do anything!"
During the campaign, I always informed the students about the upcoming debates, we always discussed them afterwards, and we remained up to date on the campaign. On election day, students checked off where they personally stood on various issues without being told where the candidates stood on those same issues until after the discussion. I prepared a PowerPoint presentation of all four nominees talking about where they stood on each of those issues. Then we had a classroom vote. That's fair and balanced instruction.
Later, when the TEA parties rose up, students would come to my class from another subject--where they were being indoctrinated--complaining about these "stupid" demonstrations. I, of course, was quick to nip it in the bud, and one might say I did some indoctrinating of my own--or was it just deprogramming? Needless to say, it did lead to some interesting classroom discussions. My message to my students was simple: "Whatever you believe, be sure you understand the issues, make sure it's what you believe, and know why you believe what you do-- because this is your country."
See, I don't have a problem with having our students seeing an inauguration. They should see it. I don't have a problem with them hearing from the President of the United States at the start of the school year. Hopefully, a president can inspire. My problem is with the Left-wing agenda so often displayed in the public school. My problem is with the president asking students to figure out how they can help him. My problem is with a teacher telling a student that the reason some people didn't vote for Barack Obama is because they're racist, as one teacher told her class. When her daughter came home and told her mom, a friend of mine, her mom had to call the teacher and ask her, "Why would you tell my child that? My husband and I didn't vote for him, and we're not racist. We didn't vote for him because he's a radical abortionist!" The teacher was left hemming and hawing.
My point is that some teachers are already indoctrinating students. How much farther will this go with the president's September 8th speech and his request that teachers have their kids figure out how to help him? Too far, I'm afraid.
Save Our Country has urged parents to keep their children home that day. They call it National Skip Day. I can't say I blame them. Some parents throughout the nation are already up in arms about the president's agenda. They don't send their children to school to figure out how to help a president whose policies they may deeply disagree with. They send their kids to school to get an education.
Save Our Country even drafted a letter for parents to give their children's schools to explain their absence:
Absence Excuse Suggestion:
To Whom it May Concern:
When it comes to teaching my child about personal responsibility and life goals, I have determined that I am a far better teacher of those objectives than a President who has chosen to surround himself with known anarchists and terrorists.
Therefore, insert child's name, will be at home on Sept 8th in order not to be corrupted by the propaganda that will be shown in his class room.
Respectfully Yours,
I think Obama has his hands full running the car, banking, and health care businesses. I would prefer he stay out of my classroom. But in the spirit of being fair and balanced, I say this: If I'm ever required to make my students gather around the screen to watch an Obama speech about how they can embrace and promote his agenda, they'd better be prepared for me to also gather my students around to read Governor Palin's Facebook page when she comes out swinging against one of his dangerous policies.
As you can see, my days are numbered!
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