Teacher investigated for liberalism in quizhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

In Bennington, VT, a teacher is being investigated for some of his quiz questions:

...the school superintendent whose district includes Mount Anthony Union High School has labeled "inappropriate" and "irresponsible" an English teacher's use of liberal statements in a vocabulary quiz.

"I wish Bush would be (coherent, eschewed) for once during a speech, but there are theories that his everyday diction charms the below-average mind, hence insuring him Republican votes," said one question on a quiz...

Now here's the thing: I don't think that's an appropriate question. I think teachers should feel free to express their political views, as long as they don't coerce their students about views of their own. But I also think that this is a manufactured issue, and that for CNN to have picked it up is ridiculous. This is an internal matter, and I have seen teachers do this sort of thing (interject their own opinion into quiz material) in a lot of classes I've taken over the years. It's not a specifically liberal or conservative thing to do, and I don't think we really want to go down the road of pre-approving all material which comes from a teacher with a strong political viewpoint.