By Molly Linder
March 16, 2001
The American school system has always proudly proclaimed that it encourages students to think. Common buzzwords used on school bulletins and placards are "creativity," "independence," and "self-motivation." These are reasonable and admirable goals for any educational institution. However, investigation reveals that the schools of this country do not really promote this freedom and independence. Under certain circumstances, teachers are permitted and actually encouraged to persuade students to a certain point of view.
A history of how I discovered this "cover-up" in the schools is appropriate here. As a 12th grade senior-high school student, I am required to take either a combined economics/government class, or else the two classes separately. Although I knew that the combined class was taught by a very conservative and outspoken teacher, I opted to take it anyway, since it was more challenging and I did not have room in my schedule for two separate classes. Unfortunately, small conflicts began between the teacher and me almost immediately.
Apropos of absolutely nothing, he would bring up the "fallacies" of Communism, or describe passages from "The Black Book of Communism" (a propaganda volume of dubious authenticity, written by ex-Communists after the fall of the Soviet Union). One day, he was detailing some stories about Communists dismantling a cathedral and jailing the priests, and giving this as evidence of the immorality and heartlessness of the Bolsheviks. Nervously, I raised my hand and ventured "Maybe the fact that the priests had been working with the tsar to mistreat the poor for years had something to do with that. The Orthodox Church used to have ownership of the peasants! Why wouldn't they tear it down?"
So we bantered back and forth a few times, and then I said "I think you are anti-Communist and so you are just using any means necessary to make everyone think it is evil!" When I said that, he replied "That is a very Marxist thing to say." Then he turned to the rest of the class, and stated "When Communists get backed into a corner in an argument, they lash out with an accusatory comment, attacking their opponent personally. Lenin once said about his adversaries 'I don't want to argue with them- I want to destroy them.' That is the way Marxists react when they are trying to win an argument." I felt suddenly self-conscious and speechless. I was silent for the rest of the period.
Things got better for a time. I thought that my teacher and I were getting along all right, and we started studying France and Britain. For the time, my worries faded. Then, after a three week economics unit (which was used chiefly as a promotion for a laissez-faire free market) it was announced that we were beginning a study of Russia. Within the first two days, some of the statements he made included:
"Communists are very anti-family. They believe that having your 'own' spouse is equivalent to private property, so they commonly engage in wife-swapping. They also believe that raising children has no value. To them, only the revolution matters. They encourage people to spy on their family members."
"Lenin and Trotsky hated the peasants."
"To Communists, personal life and emotions are irrelevant. Having feelings of love or friendship is considered weak."
"There is a romantic notion that Lenin was noble and Stalin was evil, but in reality Lenin just paved the way for Stalin."
"Lenin was squeamish. He could order hundreds of people executed, but it made him shudder to think about getting a scratch on himself."
"Communists believe in the Nietzschean idea of a small elite."
All throughout the class period, I sat staring at my desk, not knowing where to look or what to do. My teacher had made it clear when I asked about this unit that he did not want to be interrupted: "This is not going to be an argument about the Soviet Union. We need to learn what happened there." I also did not have the option of dropping the class, and if I failed or cut, I would not graduate. In desperation, I went to another teacher who had expressed socialist-sounding sentiments, and asked for her help.
She heard my story and went with me to a school counselor. The counselor heard my story and suggested I see the principal. So I did just that, and discovered the reason why I was experiencing this in a school environment.
I explained my situation to the principal, and expected to hear some hope for fairness in the classroom. Instead, he told me news that made my mouth fall open in surprise:
"When they are hired, social studies teachers have to sign a contract stating that they will not, in any way, promote Communism or communistic ideals. If your teacher were to even suggest that Communism were better than or equal to capitalism, he could be fired."
I realized how ironclad the situation was when I continued to ask questions in astonishment: "But doesn't it matter that he is lying about Communism?"
Then he replied with "You can't really say that every teacher you've ever had has been completely truthful, can you?" I tried a different approach.
"But shouldn't he have to teach both sides of the story if he is a history teacher?"
"No, because the other side is the Communist perspective, and he is under no obligation to support that."
"If I were of another race, religion, or sexual orientation, a teacher could not publicly rip my beliefs to shreds and get away with it." "You're right," said the principal. "We are not supposed to promote any specific beliefs. The only exceptions to that are capitalism and democracy."
"You call this democracy?!?"
The discussion was over by that time. It was agreed that the principal would have a chat with the teacher to ask him to "maybe be a little more sensitive." Nonetheless, he was free to condemn, mock, and lie about Communism. In a sense, he had a duty to do so. What was originally coined during the McCarthy Era still lives on in the law books of our country. Children are encouraged to "think independently" within certain boundaries. As it was told to me, 10 teachers have been fired and blacklisted for expressing Communist sympathies. Despite the amused scorn and condescension expressed for anyone who questions capitalism and globalization, there is also a fear and intolerance toward socialism, one that is enforced by law. Students are encouraged from the age of 5 to favor capitalism. This is not education; the proper word for this is indoctrination, and it is ironically done in the name of "democracy."
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