Teacher Views - Commentary

In a recent post on my U.S. History blog, I asked students to react to a recent decision by the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which stated that "teachers in public schools have no constitutional right to express personal opinions in the classroom. A teacher's speech is 'the commodity she sells to an employer in exchange for her salary.'" The U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal of this decision, and thus upheld it.

I must admit to being torn about this issue. I certainly agree with the spirit of the decision, which as I read it states that teachers are not to attempt to politically indoctrinate students. In other words, I recognize the potential influence that teachers have over impressionable young people. My own policy is to never tell students what I personally think about political issues, asking them to argue in favor of one side or the other, and then being the devil's advocate if no one else in the class is willing to offer an opposing view. As a result, I sometimes find myself arguing what I personally find to be politically repugnant views. (As I tell my students, that is a very useful intellectual exercise, even though it is extremely difficult at times.)

On the other hand, I find it disturbing that the highest courts in our land have stated that the First Amendment (or at least part of it, anyway) does not apply to teachers when they are in their classrooms. Slippery slope, anyone? My point is this: the courts should never have made such a sweeping rule. Admittedly there are a small handful of teachers out there who do attempt to indoctrinate students. However, schools have processes to deal with those individual teachers via administrative intervention. Furthermore, if a group of students asks a teacher about his or her views, it could surely be seen as a "teachable moment" - "I think _________, and my reasoning process is for coming to that conclusion is ___________. Other people think ________, and their reasoning process is ____________." I would prefer the rule to be more in line with the standard operating procedure as it has always existed: teachers are expected to present each side of a debated issue and let students decide for themselves what they individually think. If teachers do that, is it really wrong for them to tell students which side of the issue they personally come down upon, especially when asked directly for their opinions by students? My philosophical answer is no. Of course, this isn't the first time that I have had a problem with a decision by members our esteemed judical branch, and it certainly won't be the last! :)