Today I got this message from a woman who sponsors a refugee family. I always thought that teachers in a public school weren't supposed to espouse their religious beliefs in a classroom. To do it in a way that is so insidious--and has nothing to do with teaching elementary school Language Arts--makes me sick to my stomach.I had no answer for Jinny. I am still too dumbfounded. I know little Su and he's whip-smart but so innocent and naive, I don't think he's capable of lying about his teacher. I want to drive over to that school on Monday and smack this woman upside the head. Better yet, I think she should be sanctioned. This is disgusting and has no place in a public school. And so many think brainwashing is the domain of Communist countries and Christian homeschoolers...
Su Paw, the 10 year old, has been telling me some things about his teacher that really disturb me, and I want to know how the best way is to deal with it. He is in the fifth grade and his teacher's name is Mrs. Garcia.
The first thing that we talked about was when he wrote a paper describing his Thanksgiving with me and my family. My grandson's name is Darwin (trust me, that wouldn't have been a name that I would have chosen--My kids names are Christine, Patricia, Tim and Paul). Mrs. Garcia made a comment about Darwin in terms of religion. I explained to Su that some people have opinions about Darwin, but my grandson's name has nothing to do with Charles Darwin.
Next--today, we were talking about Obama and he told me that Mrs. Garcia told the class that Obama wants to allow doctors to cut babies out of women's stomachs. Obviously, Mrs. Garcia has a problem with abortion. She apparently had a mock election in her class and Su said he voted for McCain because he was very afraid because of the baby issue. I've met Mrs. Garcia and she is a very warm, wonderful person, but she's obviously allowing her personal views "voice" in her classroom. How do I deal with this? Being a teacher for more years than I care to remember, I don't want to be a pain, but I seriously object to her using her classroom as a platform for her religious beliefs.
This is no rural backwater in the Bible Belt. We live in a diverse, major metropolitan area. I guess religious zealots are everywhere. The irony here is that Su's family is Christian, but his parents once told me that they look forward to raising their children in a culture of open minds.
1 comment:
People like that are freaks and should not be allowed around children, much less be teachers.
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