Here's an interesting article about a teacher who is suing the South Bay (CA) Union School District for discrimination:
[Linda] Sorter taught sixth grade at South Bay School for 17 years. A longtime local activist with Amnesty International, Women in Black and other organizations, she said she's included community service and discussion of world events in her classroom for years. Sorter contends that Superintendent/Principal Rick Fauss discriminated against her for her political beliefs and peace activism by treating her rudely and eventually ordering her to move to another classroom...
She said she sees her dispute with the district as part of a larger struggle to maintain a nurturing attitude in the classroom when faced with standardized testing requirements and an educational climate which emphasizes hurrying to pass the test rather than dealing with children's personal lives.
The interesting part: The article doesn't mention what subjects Ms. Sorter teachs. As for her "peace activism," I can see where a principal could decide that such topics are not appropriate for sixth-graders, and he could also decide that it is better for a teacher to instruct her students in basic skills, rather than pry into their personal lives. "Nurturing" is all well and good, but when a teacher defines nurturing as not caring whether children can demonstrate solid reading, writing, and mathematics skills, I too would conclude that she has put her political agenda ahead of her teaching responsibilities.
For example, back in February 2003, before Gulf War II began in earnest, Ms. Sorter required her students to spend quite a lot of time on "peace" activities:
Now as the United States is on the verge of bombing Iraq once again, sixth-graders at the South Bay School in Eureka are sending a message of peace to children and families in Iraq. The 20 students in Linda Sorter's class spent three weeks making 1,000 origami cranes and sent them to be displayed at the Amariya bomb shelter memorial...
Students in her class learned about the [1991 accidental bombing of an Iraqi shelter] tragedy from Edilith Eckart, an Arcata activist who has been to Iraq several times. Eckart spoke to the class back in November. From that discussion the students decided they wanted to make the cranes.
"The kids worked day, night and weekends on the cranes," Sorter said. "They suggested the cranes as a way of showing their concern." Every student in Sorter's classroom participated. "They just folded and folded and folded," she said...
Sorter, who has been teaching for 17 years, starts every school year by introducing kids to the idea of caring about the world they live in. That lesson plan has turned into letter-writing campaigns for Amnesty International; work on behalf of starving children through Save the Children; and addressing environmental and wildlife concerns through organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)...
Sorter herself is an active member of "Women in Black," the nationwide anti-war protest group that holds silent vigils around Humboldt County every Friday afternoon. Sorter wears black to work on Fridays. Although she doesn't promote her philosophy in the classroom, several of her students also began to wear black on Friday.
Emphases mine. So she's not trying to push any particular agenda, or promote her philosophy in the classroom, oh no. But she has every kid in the class spending weeks making origami cranes to support victims of an accidental bombing. Did they do as much for those who were victims of Saddam, instead of the evil US? I doubt it. Does she nurture her kids who unhesitatingly support the war, or allow them to discuss pro- and anti-war arguments freely? I doubt it. Does she urge her students to think critically about Amnesty International's more controversial actions, such as insisting that Israel give all Palestinian Arabs free rein to move about? Does she allow them to criticize Amnesty International, as some very well-informed people have done? I doubt it.
Why can't Ms. Sorter just admit that teaching her students her particular, one-sided political beliefs is a big part of her agenda, if not the main part? She claims her student's parents don't complain, which is not surprising considering she teaches in Eureka, California, in a school district which strives to educate children to be "responsible participants in a global society." For Ms. Sorter to insist that she is merely "nurturing" her students, and not trying to push her personal philosophy on them, is extremely disingenuous, at best.
Posted by kswygert at April 7, 2004 12:20 PM