Posted by
LauraJo on Sunday, October 08, 2006 11:13:52 PM
Well, this is new. Since this is my first attempt at blogging, you readers will have to excuse any obvious mistakes I make. And please be nice when you reply. I really hate nasty people.
A little background...
I am almost 40 and a full-time mom. In order to make a little money and help out at my church, I agreed to do daycare for the little ones (3 & 4 year-olds) at our Christian day school. Only problem is, because we have a California-licensed, Title 22 day care, I must have the proper training and certification to watch the little brats darlings for a couple of hours in the afternoon. So, Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's back to school I go.
The last time I was in college, I was told in no uncertain terms by my liberal, feminist English 1A teacher that I was not to air my opinion in her class. Mind you, this was after she asked the class for our opinions. Not that I was surprised, but it made me think (it does happen every once in a while). What if I had been a 19 year old just out of high school? I could just imagine the thought processes of a young conservative coming up against this kind of prejudice...
Have I done something wrong? Was my opinion so outrageous that it deserved to be censored in this way? Maybe I should keep quiet and not let anyone know what I believe. Or maybe I'm so wrong that I need to change my opinion about things. I began to really take notice of all the times that a liberal point of view was stated by a teacher and presented as a fact. It happens more than you might think.
By the way, at the time this happened I was a conservative, but I was not yet a proud member of the Vast Right-wing Conspiracy. This episode, and a few others like it, are what caused me to join the movement. I started listening to Rush, reading David's books, soaking up every column by Coulter et al., and generally enjoying my newfound membership in the V.R.C.
Fast-forward ten years, and here I am again in the hallowed halls of one of Northern California's institutes of indoctrination, I mean higher learning. Only this time, I am majoring in education. English and Psychology teachers have nothing on the Education teachers running around out there.
I know that there is a fine line allowed by most teachers. You may disagree with them on paper, as long as you concede that they may have a point and that you are, after all, only stating your opinion. But you must be very careful during class discussions. Never, and I mean never, contradict the basic ideology of your teacher out loud in class. You may disagree with a point, as long as it is stated in politically correct phrases. And you must always show admiration for those historical icons that are the sacred cows of whichever curriculum you are studying (Freud or Dewey, for example).
Problem is, I can only keep quiet for so long, and I need to keep my gpa up. So, here I am, venting for all the world to see.
Next time, I'll give you my take on some of the "icons" of education history.