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Originally Posted by samurai007
MMM, every school is different, but I've seen some of this first hand. My degree is in History/Soc Science teaching. During my senior year, one of my professors was fired for no apparent reason. I checked in to it, talked to several professors that I'd known for years, and found out it was all political. I had some long and very frank discussions with several professors that year, and even with some of my old high school teachers, and found out about a lot about the behind-the-scenes blacklisting of conservative teachers, the pressure upon them, the harassment, etc. Those discussions were a major reason why I did not go on and get my teaching credential... I knew that my kind was not wanted in academia, and in fact was forcibly run out if they dared show up, as happened to that prof that was fired (I was lucky enough to have his class, and he was an excellent teacher, very apolitical in class, but accidentally opened his mouth outside of class and lost his job over it).
In contrast, I knew and had classes with some repulsively left-wing professors and students, some of whom indoctrinated my own brother, who to this day is still a leftist who believes all kinds of crazy things, such as Bush was behind 9/11. Before university, he was center-right. After university, he was hard left, and I even saw which classes and professors were mostly responsible. Those same leftist counter-culture types got him into drugs and drinking, which he is still struggling with today, 15 years later.
Finally, I do recruiting for JET at the university each year, so I see what is still going on there somewhat. You should have seen it last year, when I attended the career fair there during the elections... the radicals were out in full force.
But beyond my own experiences, you should read some of the books on the subject...
Amazon.com: Indoctrination U:The Left's War Against Academic Freedom (9781594031908): David Horowitz: Books
Amazon.com: One-Party Classroom: How Radical Professors at America's Top Colleges Indoctrinate Students and Undermine Our Democracy (9780307452559): David Horowitz, Jacob Laksin: Books
PS: I bet many of the kids in this thread got at least some of their anti-American views from their teachers... Guys, am I right? |
At least you acknowledge that every school is different, and hope you can extend that to your experiences are your own.
In an alternative opinion, me and my fellow colleagues often cringed at election time because the STUDENTS were (and are) much more political than school policies allow teachers to be. Not only would "indoctrination" have lead to suspension or firing, regardless or which side of the aisle the teacher was, even mentioning who you were going to vote for for president or how you were going to vote on ballot measures was totally against the rules. As "authority figures" discussing politics could be construed as influencing, and was (and is) strictly prohibited. Teachers were not allowed to have political bumper stickers, wear pins or t-shirts advocating a certain cause or politician.
I was a part of student government in college, so I did get to see the political views of my teachers on both sides, but for the most part the politicizing and influencing was much more strong student to student than teacher to student. But, again, every school has its own policies and environment.