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.
