I’m not clear where Cynthia Bartlett gets her evidence that all teachers are trained under Marxist influences and have been indoctrinated to teach all our students to become activists for social change (“Parents need stronger voice in what schools teach their kids,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Jan. 5).
Teachers come from all kinds of backgrounds. I’ve worked with liberal and conservative educators. I teach a current events class to seniors, in which we explore all kinds of current issues including defunding the police, racism, affirmative action, poverty, homelessness, problems with education and the prison system.
My claim to fame that I’m doing it right is that at the end of the semester, most students have no idea of my personal political leanings because I present all sides of the issue. And that is how most of the teachers I know teach as well.
Do we teach tolerance of others’ lifestyles and beliefs? Yes. Have we convinced any of our students to become gay or trans? That’s a ridiculous notion. Conspiracy theories such as Bartlett’s further smear the teaching profession and all of us who dedicate our working lives to educating our community’s children.
Tina Shaffer
Kailua
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