Over the years, I have been writing about misconceptions regarding the schooling process. The purpose of these posts is to explain why I disagree with various comments that I have heard people make about schooling. These are meant as personal thoughts rather than conclusive proof, and I will admit that I'm not always the best at explaining my thoughts. Regardless, I have decided that I should be willing to share these posts when I encounter someone online who makes an argument that I have already discussed.
I have seen it numerous times. Someone points out a definitively biased liberal source being pushed by the schools. The schools defend themselves by insisting that part of their jobs is to subject students to diverse viewpoints. Not once have I seen this argument alongside any evidence that teachers are actually promoting diverse viewpoints.
All you have to do to know if this narrative is faulty is to follow the online activity of the NEA and AFT. Both of these anti-educational unions actively promote intentionally skewed sources such as Learning for Justice and Black Lives Matter at School. Not once have I seen either union share a source with a conservative bias.
Even worse is when they bring up critical thinking as a tool to avoid falling for misinformation. Their examples are exclusively conservative. Meanwhile, these same organizations are actively promoting liberal misinformation. It's painfully obvious that teachers don't believe in treating diverse viewpoints in an equal manner.
The evidence I have seen is overwhelming. Teachers actively promote a liberal narrative, including outright lies. Meanwhile, they go out of their way to suppress alternative viewpoints. This is not even close to the same thing as exposing students to diverse viewpoints.
There have been other reasons for concern over the years. For example, I found an article online about the problems with remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. An argument was made that it was more difficult for teachers to override the views of parents while teaching remotely. That strongly indicates that their liberal push isn't about support for diverse viewpoints.
You can also look at mental diversity. If the schools are legitimately promoting diverse viewpoints, more schooling would result in more mental diversity. Instead, students tend to converge when they spend more time in the system. If you have met one college graduate, you have pretty much met them all.
Diverse viewpoints have also been used as an argument against school choice and homeschooling. In the case of homeschooling, children are usually given more freedom to meet people outside of schools. Although there are different approaches to homeschooling, I would say that a vast majority of children in this environment have been exposed to more diverse viewpoints than what's possible in government-run schools.
If teachers truly believe in sharing diverse viewpoints, then they will have no problems sharing viewpoints that deviate from their own. Despite the frequency of emphasizing diverse viewpoints, I have yet to see a single example of this happening. Until I start seeing examples regularly, I will treat this argument as just an excuse for teachers who are using their position of influence to push an agenda. I will support diverse viewpoints. I will not support indoctrination.
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