Teachers do not give up their First Amendment rights to free speech just because they are teachers. Yes, they do need to be careful about what they say and teach to their students, but that should not at all censor or impede what they say or write on their own time.
And yes, we also answered all questions from our kids, but we in no way insisted that they believe as we do. We taught them to look at all the facts and make up their own minds. This is what a parent (and really, a teacher) should be doing.
Critical thinking skills. Do they even teach it in schools any more? Because if the schools do not, it is even more incumbent upon parents to teach it.

I am an opinionated person. I am also a public school teacher.
Those two things should not be mutually exclusive.
You should not have to give up the one to be able to do the other.
Teachers should not have to relinquish their judgment in order to run an effective classroom. In fact, you might expect good judgment to be a prerequisite to doing the job well.
Yet it seems many people disagree. They like their teachers tame, docile and opinion-free.
That’s just not me.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying teachers should instruct their students to think just like them. I’m not saying they should indoctrinate or unduly influence the young people in their care.
Just the opposite. They should spur their students to think for themselves. They should teach the young how to entertain an idea without immediately accepting it.
But they have no business telling students…
View original post 807 more words

Critical thinking. Knowledge isn’t much good without it.