When we are growing up, almost all of our knowledge is passed on to us by our teachers. However, what happens when the knowledge passed on to us is incorrect or wanted by the children’s parents? Those bad apples are fired for bias or inaccurate information in their teachings, right? Sadly, more often than not, our teachers and educational system heavily influence a child’s ideologies when not checked or compared to others.
Children spend more time with their teachers during the school year than with their parents, which undoubtedly makes them very important in how/what a child processes. While teachers do have a required curriculum and set of rules to make their lessons uniform across the state or county, teachers possess the power to change how they present this curriculum without the students questioning it.
Growing up, we were taught to be quiet and obey the teacher because they are “always” right and possess the information and ability to discipline us. Not only that, the younger the child is, the more impressionable they are, allowing teachers and staff to manipulate students and push their agenda. In the world today, people are more divided than ever in every sense of the term, with the state of education at the center of all of it. People are intensely debating the curriculum and what is or isn’t allowed, but we should focus more on how students are taught than the information.
Should we not learn by evaluating multiple sources or accounts to then form our own opinion? Children need to learn and not just be fed filtered information.
Not including the postsecondary school I now attend, I’ve seen this in three different school districts, and this phenomenon has sadly become more transparent. I frequently go out of my way to seek more information, which has allowed/caused me to be more hesitant to take anything at face value.
With that said, I can’t help but now see others falling victim to this daily, and how I might have had my perception unknowingly warped in the past. This can be done to us by anyone, but it is so much worse that teachers are poisoning the next generation right under our noses. It is so important to teach our children not to trust everyone and think about things for themselves before they repeat them.
Still, I also believe it is essential that teachers and schools be checked more frequently and in-depth to preserve the purity, opinions, and futures of their students and, ultimately, our country.
Cooper McDannald,
Susquehanna University
