Some teachers cannot resist disgracing themselves. One from my high school, Shenendehowa in Clifton Park, NY, refused to observe a minute of silence for Ronald Reagan. Instead, she chose that moment as the time to make disparaging remarks about President Reagan. {If I find out her name, I'll post it here - even though the school seems reluctant to have it publicised.}
Funny thing is, this is so unsurprising.
Many teachers are really arrogant and (pardon the pun) classless. There were teachers in my high school who were scornful of those of us who supported Ronald Reagan. I wore a Reagan button during the 1980 campaign just to annoy them. One man, who taught speech class, nearly jumped out of his chair at me when I made a pro-Reagan speech (we were given free rein to choose the topic) in the fall of 1980.
It has to be said, however, that there were others who, although they differed with my views, never made me feel that I was deserving of contempt. Mr. Delaney, in particular, comes to mind.
Although he claimed that I had "one of the finer minds of the 8th century", it was all in the spirit of fun. He didn't think less of me because of my opinions and he certainly didn't hold it against me when it came time to mark my papers.
I also want to say that I don't agree with those people who think teachers shouldn't express their views, particularly when teaching high school seniors. That's ridiculous. When teachers are clearly expressing their views, students know that these are statements that they can challenge. It's more annoying when something is presented as unchallengeable fact and not an opinion, which frequently happened when I was in school.
I don't care what that woman's views are, she should be allowed to air them, but she should have honored the minute of silence. I'm sure there were many Democrats across America who don't hold Ronald Reagan in high esteem, but who still observed the minute of silence.
{Amazing that Tony McCann is still running the teachers union at Shenendehowa. He's originally from County Cavan, I believe.}
