LeMoyne College Is Having Troubles Defining Their Values
LeMoyne College in Syracuse New York is a RELIGIOUS school. It is not part of our left-wing, post secondary system currently in place in the United States. They follow the will of God, not the ACLU. Yet, even in these conservative, religious surroundings, those who teach our future leaders just can't get it right.
A young man wrote a paper for a teacher education class in LeMoyne's College of Education where he suggested that corporal punishment might make the disruptive classroom of today more conducive to education. He never said he was going to whack the kids, nor would he superglue them to the walls. He said that corporal punishment has its place, but not in the public school system, where it is outlawed. His paper received an A-.
When he tried to begin school the next semester, he found that he was dis-enrolled. An administrator in the College of Education said that his beliefs were "counter" to the values and ethics of the college. Goodbye. Just like that.
This bothers me more than it might most because I am a Senior in a college of education. Although my school is politically benign, and in a very red state, it nevertheless has undercurrents of excessive liberalism. Many of us in school are afraid to say what we really believe in class for fear of reprisals by our professors. The concept of college as a free flow of ideas is fiction.
LeMoyne College, and other colleges like them, desire to produce teachers who hold their values and beliefs. All others are unwelcome. I live in Idaho, which is a right to work state, meaning that teachers are not required to join the NEA/IEA. Still, more than 60% of all teachers gladly pay the $500 in yearly dues. Considering a starting teacher in Idaho makes $27,500, that is a large percentage of their income. And they do this willingly.
Lets be honest. I am very religious and very conservative. But this will have no effect on the way I teach. My personal beliefs will never enter the class room. The "other side," however, seeks to use the classroom as a stage for their politics. I've seen it already. Our schools need teachers who teach, not who prostelitize their religion or radicalism. I don't know how much of a difference I can make, but I am sure going to try.
Renewed Strength
This has been a very difficult month for me. I have been sick, which makes little problems seem much larger than they really are. My handicapped daughter has developed seizures that are now so strong that she is passing out 20-30 times per day. My family's income right now [while I am in school] will be a little less than what I'll make as a teacher, and since I can barely pay my bills now [reality: many aren't getting paid], I had begun to consider using my teaching degree in a way that would allow me to survive financially [read: be anything after graduation BUT a teacher]. Wanting to make a difference, and being able to, are two very different things.
I began to wonder if it was all worth it. I am a non-union, conservative, religious Republican. Typical for Idaho, not typical for a teacher, even in Idaho. I began to wonder if I wanted to fight the system, to be shunned because I support vouchers and see teachers as, at times, part of the problem and not the solution. The behind-the-back whispers about me have already begun by those who see education through a prism of monolithic stagnation. "Ahhh" I thought, "It isn't worth it."
But it is. The reason why there is no diversity in education ['aint that a hoot -- that which the NEA embraces the most is what they allow the least among themselves] is because people like me say, "Ahhh ... it isn't worth it." It is worth it. The kids are worth it. Their future is worth it. They deserve a diversity of thought within the schools -- the whacky liberals and the whacky conservatives [that would be me] providing an educational pallet full of contrasting colors and hues.
I apologize that I lost sight of the "ball," at least for a moment. I'm back. I'm ready. To my future students, I say, quoting a favorite television character, "Who loves ya baby!"
