"the youngest old man in reformsterdom" -- I am stealing this, just so you know.
Everything you wrote here resonates with me.
Wanted to add this: back in the 1950-60s, there was a lot less attention paid to what teachers ... promoted? espoused? My HS biology teacher taught us that God created the world, when he "rewarded" us with movies from the Moody Bible Institute, the day after chapter tests. And my HS government teacher wore a HHH button to class and openly made fun of Nixon, including making us read his "Checkers" speech as an example of propaganda. But nobody would have dreamt of suggesting they weren't adequately doing their jobs. It was a kind of "caveat emptor" time-- they felt lucky to get folks with college degrees in the classroom.
Now-- I'm not endorsing things like that. Not at all. But I think Buck et al are grossly overexaggerating the impact that a teacher with opinions has on kids.
"the youngest old man in reformsterdom" -- I am stealing this, just so you know.
Everything you wrote here resonates with me.
Wanted to add this: back in the 1950-60s, there was a lot less attention paid to what teachers ... promoted? espoused? My HS biology teacher taught us that God created the world, when he "rewarded" us with movies from the Moody Bible Institute, the day after chapter tests. And my HS government teacher wore a HHH button to class and openly made fun of Nixon, including making us read his "Checkers" speech as an example of propaganda. But nobody would have dreamt of suggesting they weren't adequately doing their jobs. It was a kind of "caveat emptor" time-- they felt lucky to get folks with college degrees in the classroom.
Now-- I'm not endorsing things like that. Not at all. But I think Buck et al are grossly overexaggerating the impact that a teacher with opinions has on kids.