Hey Unicorn, please don't come to any of my classes - if you're hoping for teachers who'll teach "just the facts" you'd be unhappy for sure. I make a concerted effort to get as much of my profession's code of ethics into every minute of every class. If not there, then where will those students ever learn what their future profession will require of them? Where else can they get this guidance?
My wife is a teacher at an independent high school, a school in which she's not only permitted to allow her personal beliefs to come out in class, but in which she's encouraged and even mandated to do so. She's encouraged to live her integrity out into her professional life with her students. This works, and it gains a tremendous trust from her students. When she started a Social Justice club at the school 76 students signed up on the first day. From a school of just less than 500. They believe in her and they know that their belief in her is justified - they've seen what she's made of in their classes with her. That's just one minor example of what a school can do, what a teacher willing to live their integrity out into their classroom can do - and what they can inspire.
Don't mistake it, the teenagers of today are certainly more worldly-wise than we ever were, they grow up faster than we did and they face far more complex situations than we did. Despite all of this they are still young people learning to be with one another, mostly learning to learn. And like all of us, they are forming their own understanding of who each of them is, why each of them is here, and what each of them stands for. Consider for a moment how much further down that road to self-awareness teenagers can get in an environment that not only tolerates the discussion but actively promotes it.
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humble best regards to all (particularly to you Unicorn),
A.
p.s. - by the way, I fully support the administration asking that teacher to remove that pin. There is a definite line between living with integrity in your classroom and using a classroom as a political soapbox. Current events can provide a tremendous learning opportunity but should be focused *issues-based* discussions. I really feel there is no room for politics in a classroom.