Spencer, N.C. – In a High School classroom in Rowan County, N.C. a Social Studies teacher was discussing the current presidential election with her classroom when the subject of Mitt Romney, and what he had done as a teenager to another student came up. The Teacher who appears to believe the media as classifying Romney as a bully for what he had done when he was a teenager in high school. A male student, who also happened to record the discussion and post it to YouTube and reported by WRAL argued that by President Barack Obama’s own omission in his autobiography that when he was a kid in school he shoved a little girl. Referencing a part in the book where Obama was saying when he was 7 years old and in school a girl was chasing him around the schoolyard. They ran into each other and fell down, at which they looked at each other and then a group of children surrounded them, and began to say the girl has a boyfriend (referring to Obama), to which he stood up and said he was not her boyfriend, and shoved her then walked away.
The teacher appeared to get so irate that it from the audio in the recording that she lost control of her classroom, and began to berate the student for having an opinion other than hers on the issue. The teacher then went on to say, “Stop, no, because there is no comparison,” referencing that Romney is, “running for president. Obama is the president.” The teacher then goes on talking about how Romney is just a candidate, and Obama deserves respect because he IS the president. The teacher then told the class Obama is “due the respect that every other president is due.” You can easily hear in the teacher’s voice that her anger, and her lack of control in the classroom is growing. The teacher then says, “Listen, let me tell you something, you will not disrespect the president of the United States in this classroom,”
The student, though not the wisest of ways to handle the situation goes on to tell the teacher that he’ll say what he wants (which every teacher loves to hear); in which the teachers reply is “Not about him you won’t.”
The argument goes on from there for a bit; with the teacher telling, the student people have been arrested before for talking badly about President George W. Bush, and then she asked if he was aware, he was not to slander the President. To which the quick-witted teen replied that would violate his right to free speech if he were arrested for that. “They cannot take away your right to have your opinion. … They can’t take that away unless you threaten the president,” he said.
The whole discussion is about 10 minutes long, which can be viewed on YouTube, and the teacher has since been suspended with pay until the school completes its investigation into this matter.
When has school been about pushing personal ideals on impressionable kids, instead of teaching from the facts, learning from history as to not make the same mistakes? Teachers have a great influence, and a great responsibility to teach our children with care, concern, equality, and unbiased.
I feel all people are entitled to their own views, and their own opinions, including teachers and students, but those opinions cannot be forced onto others. No teacher should have the power to impose their views and opinions on their students, and then berate the student because they do not agree with those views, and go against what the teacher believes. However if a student asks a teacher for their personal opinion I feel the teacher can openly express their view and opinions on the issue, but that is it, just express them, not push them onto the students.
This is especially important for High School and below. Students do not have a choice of their classes or teachers of those classes. I feel the same about college it is somewhat different whereas in college a student can choose to drop the class, or take the class from a different teacher.
Even teachers must realize parents and society do not want the teacher’s views and opinions forced onto their children and other students. For example if you have a liberal teacher pushing liberal views on a student who may come from a conservative background who does not see those opinions the in the same way may become offended, as well as the parents of the student. Now if that same teacher had a child in a class with a teacher with conservative views, and pushing those views and opinions on their child, would the same liberal teacher be okay with that, or be outraged at what is happening?
Classrooms are for learning and teaching of students in a fair, ethical, and unbiased manner where each student has the same right to learn, and feel safe in their environment knowing they will not be persecuted, or treated unfairly because of their personal views.
