During tumultuous election year, teachers must remain neutral
This is a tumultuous presidential year. It is imperative that our teachers remain neutral and present all sides of issues; allow students to synthesize that data; and permit them to draw their own conclusions. Academic freedom is vital in a free country. It is damaging for an instructor to impose his or her political views on students.
As a teacher, I was often asked, “What’s your opinion?” I appreciated that question, since I knew that I was teaching all sides of issues. I served on a human rights delegation in Nicaragua during the peak of the contra war. The Nicaraguan people supported their new government. President Ronald Reagan warned that the Sandinistas needed to be defeated or “a sea of red” will be “lapping at our own borders.” Of course, that never happened. I knew the reality of the war in Nicaragua. Yet, I taught all sides.
It is essential that our teachers do the same during this presidential race. Academic freedom requires that teachers present all sides of issues and that they protect the right of a student to advocate his or her own viewpoints. This is essential for us Americans who are blessed to live in a free country.
Jim Huchthausen, Cambria
This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 9:06 PM with the headline "During tumultuous election year, teachers must remain neutral."