Why I"m doing this...

I work with teenagers. Actually to be more accurate, I teach teenagers. I teach them about the government. We discuss all kinds of current and historic issues that our country has faced. In an attempt not to force them to think on their own, I never give my students my opinion on anything. I don't want them to be swayed by what their amazingly brilliant teacher thinks. Actually, it is more like I don't want to deal with parents complaining that I am teaching their children the wrong politics.

You see, I work in a private Christian school. I stand for much of what the school stands for. I believe in God. I believe that America is a wonderful country. The problem is that I don't believe that the two should mix. And to take this opinion further, I don't believe that the government should be used to do the work of God. I don't believe that Christians should push for their agenda in government. These beliefs (and a few others) led me to align myself with a political party that most of my student's parents would not approve of.

Don't get me wrong. I am not at all afraid to rock the boat, at least in most settings. I am a firm believer in the idea that everyone should form their own opinions. If you cannot defend what you believe, then it is not a belief worth having. I want my students to learn this lesson above all others. I don't want them to believe (or vote) like their parents just because that was the way they were taught. I want them to believe (and vote) based on their own thoughts. If I were to try and use my position as a teacher to influence them, I would be doing exactly what I get upset at parents for doing.

With all of this said, I spend a lot of time in class holding in my true feelings. I have so many times want to shout out how ill-formed or uninformed a student's argument has been. I hold it in though. And because of this, I spend a lot of time venting to myself on the way home from school. I decided to write this blog to allow myself the chance to speak out on what I believe. Though I serious doubt that anyone will ever read this, it makes me feel better to think they could.

So I hope you enjoy what you read, but if you don't, oh well. I am writing this for me anyways...