no discussion of impeachment at DD's high school, in class or after school

[Anonymous]

I was surprised to learn from DD that not one teacher has discussed the impeachment in class, including her history/social studies teachers. I am also surprised that certain clubs haven't hosted any after school forums or meetings for students to come and discuss such a major even in American history. Has this been a topic for discussion at your child's school?

[Anonymous]

Teachers have to follow a pacing schedule so no, they don't just stop what they are teaching to talk about current events.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teachers have to follow a pacing schedule so no, they don't just stop what they are teaching to talk about current events.

+1 pacing schedules are relentless. You can look up the MoCo math schedule online, for example. Every week is prescribed. Within each week there are subtopics and pre-written lesson plans. This is why children have homework over snow days now: Teachers can’t afford to get “behind” until standardized testing has passed.

Discussion of impeachment also has to be relevant to the curriculum. It would usually only come up in social studies/history or government. It’s possible that students might discuss it during homeroom or use a debate club to talk about it. It would make the most sense to connect it in to a related topic. So if I were teaching government, I might not talk about it during a unit on the judicial branch and hold it instead for a conversation about checks and balances, the executive branch, or the legislative branch.

Then there’s the fear factor. Anyone who has taught “controversial” topics like American history, government, or sex ed can tell you that we’ve had challenges with parents. Parents often want to review and pre-approve every lesson when we wade into such territory. Some of us have had parents pre-emptively threaten our jobs before ever teaching our first lesson plan on such topics. In the current political climate with so many strong feelings, it’s terrifying to wade into these topics when there are families with diverse views and a diverse sense of appropriate boundaries enrolled at area schools.

[Anonymous]

OP, is this FCPS?

[Anonymous]

My 9th grader is taking AP US Government and Politics in MCPS. They discuss it in class, and he finds it fascinating. Since the class is fast-paced, they can't spend too much time on this, but it certainly makes the course feel current and alive!

No other teacher has mentioned it, I believe.

[Anonymous]

12:06 I thought the teachers were nothing short of negligent for not discussing current events when my kids were in FCPS. Huge shock.

[Anonymous]

Our FCPS didn't discuss 9/11 and our kids were in school that day. Oh, they discussed it later, years later, out of a textbook.

[Anonymous]

I teach HS in FCPS, though not social studies.

During the George W Bush administration, I would chat with kids about what was happening (the wars, response to terrorism, etc). Mostly, the kids brought it up. I wouldn't ever say what I felt personally, but sometimes I wouldn't tow the party line or be the devil's advocate.

Republican parents called *all the time* to complain to my AP. It's not worth it anymore -- I won't take the bait even from well-meaning, curious students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our FCPS didn't discuss 9/11 and our kids were in school that day. Oh, they discussed it later, years later, out of a textbook.

You are your child's first teacher. Stop passing the buck and teach them yourself. Teachers know to stay away from anything controversial because there are always crazy parents who get bent out of shape about stuff like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I teach HS in FCPS, though not social studies.

During the George W Bush administration, I would chat with kids about what was happening (the wars, response to terrorism, etc). Mostly, the kids brought it up. I wouldn't ever say what I felt personally, but sometimes I wouldn't tow the party line or be the devil's advocate.

Republican parents called *all the time* to complain to my AP. It's not worth it anymore -- I won't take the bait even from well-meaning, curious students.

This. Parents will bitch and complain at every opportunity that teachers are abusing their position, or using their position to influence kids. It's a shame. But, I wouldn't talk about it either. Especially if I knew my school wouldn't back me up.

The dumbing down of America continues. When talking about current events = parental complaints just b/c you are a different political party.

[Anonymous]

I was in HS during Clinton's impeachment and we didn't talk about it as I recall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was in HS during Clinton's impeachment and we didn't talk about it as I recall.

Well, if you didn't, then clearly no one else did either. LOL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, is this FCPS?

No. It's DCPS.

[Anonymous]

Things are so polarized right now, it would be very difficult to discuss this in class.

When I was in high school I had a teacher who did cover current events. One thing she did was to bring in newspapers and have us underline the adjectives that reporters used. Try it some time. It is enlightening. If you want to see a reporter's bias, it is loud and clear.

[Anonymous]

We've talked about it, but most of the kids aren't that into it. There's a collective apathy towards politics right now born out of exhaustion. This senior class came in when he was elected and since then the SGA has done all kinds of protests that were (in my opinion) preaching to the choir. There were a few for gun reform, the Muslim travel ban, the kids in cages, the Kavanaugh hearing, and now I think they're sitting this one out. The general consensus is that this is just theater and he won't get impeached "So why are we wasting our breath talking about this?"

It's historic? Political views aside, I feel like everything about this administration sets a new precedent. Eventually you lose the awe factor.