Bigotry Has No Place at the Table
How some teachers in Alabama are shoving conservative beliefs down the throats of their students
By Julia Coccaro
The Progressive Teen Editor-in-Chief
“DON’T DISCUSS POLITICS OR RELIGION AT THE DINNER TABLE.” This phrase, coined by an unknown source years ago, has been widely used to prevent heated discussion from infiltrating polite conversation. I, for one, don’t mind partaking in a friendly debate once in a while, especially considering how passionately liberal and secular I am. However, respectfully sharing opinions in a social setting is dramatically different than outright shoving beliefs down the throats of students. Unfortunately, the latter was the case in multiple scenarios at my high school.
I LIVE IN AN EXTREMELY CONSERVATIVE small town in southern Alabama, where it’s not unusual to see the confederate flag flying proudly from residents’ trucks or porches. There are locals who justify racist comments by claiming they have black friends, or condone using “gay” as an adjective for the same reason. I’ve learned to expect occasions like these and refrain from correcting the traditionalist remarks — yet there’s a certain line that, when crossed, cannot evoke silence from me any longer.
On Super Tuesday (the day of the Alabama primary), I walked into my Driver’s Education class and saw a chart with two columns, labeled “Democrats” and “Republicans,” with the respective names of the candidates underneath and tally marks beside them. My Driver’s Ed teacher — a large, round, white-haired man that bore the resemblance of a polar bear — erased the tally marks before I could count them. The rest of the class took their seats, and my teacher walked to the front of the room, clearing his throat profusely. My classmates silenced. He gestured to the “I Voted” sticker on his shirt. “Today, as many of y’all know, is Super Tuesday. Never, in my life, have I had to weigh the lesser of two evils. So, folks, I voted for Mr. Marco Rubio. I know y’all aren’t old enough to vote yet, but I wanted to do this, uh…experiment before we begin class. I want y’all to write down who y’all would vote for today in the primaries if you could, and I’ll come around and take up the sheets. It’s anonymous, don’t worry.”
There are locals who justify racist comments by claiming they have black friends, or condone using “gay” as an adjective for the same reason.
There was the rustling of paper as everyone ripped sheets from their notebook. I wrote down “Bernie Sanders.” The murmur of the class gradually rose to an uproar as my peers defended their choice to one another. After he had taken up all of the papers, my teacher silenced the class and made what would be an incredibly hypocritical statement. “Now, this is just out of my own curiosity, folks. There’s no need for y’all to debate and fight over it.” As he counted up the votes, I overheard two girls discussing the “horror” of abortions. My teacher walked to the board and drew the tally marks. There was one for Clinton (which was the result of a dare), three for Sanders, eight for Trump, five for Cruz, five for Rubio, and two for Carson. I saw him glance at the votes for Sanders. “I’m not against Bernie Sanders. Not completely.” He turned to look at me. “But I just want to…educate y’all on his views. He is what you’d call a socialist.” He paused for a moment. “Socialism is like this: let’s say five kids in the class made a zero on the test, and five made a 100. That would mean everyone in the class would make a 50.” I heard groans of contempt. “Socialism is the same as communism, folks. It’s just another word for it. If you vote for Bernie Sanders, you’re voting for a communist.”
Super Tuesday was the catalyst. One week later, the girl next to me droned on and on about the importance of the death penalty. Rather than silencing her, my Driver’s Ed teacher made comments of his own. He hopped from capital punishment to gun control, ranting about our 2nd Amendment rights guaranteed in the Constitution. He spent an additional hour drawing up his economic plan for America and compared it to Obama’s plan. And, worst of all, my classmates fed his desire. He wanted us to shut our computer lids and absorb his teachings. I was the only one typing away on my computer, but the others listened intently to his every word.
“Socialism is the same as communism, folks. It’s just another word for it. If you vote for Bernie Sanders, you’re voting for a communist.”
His final sermon, as the school year came to a close, was perhaps the most outrageous yet. A former student of his had been killed in a motorcycle accident, and he was incredibly emotional, which I understood. While politics is a topic that can be tamed, religion, however, is usually not. “I know I’m not supposed to be saying this to y’all, but I don’t care. If you have different beliefs, that’s fine, but if it offends you, just know that I ain’t sorry,” he opened. He spent the entirety of our one and a half hour class period talking about his relationship to God and how his deceased student was now an angel. He talked about what he imagined heaven to be like and how he couldn’t wait to “enter through the pearly gates.” He said that he couldn’t understand how anybody could be happy without feeling the presence of his lord and savior.
My Driver’s Ed teacher isn’t the first, nor will he be the last to preach his political and religious views to the class. My health teacher has made derogatory comments toward homosexuals and has compared transgender people to psychopaths. My history teacher has talked about the corruption of the two-party system, the ridiculousness of feminism, and the significance of attending church. Children often see their coaches as a parental figure, and all three of these teachers double as sports coaches. Rather than encouraging students to think for themselves, they are using their influence to guide them in the direction of their choosing. While our county’s school system is in the process of laying off beloved fine arts teachers for budget cuts, there remain these inconsiderate bigots who will continue to widen their conservative paths through each and every lecture.
It is time to be silent no more.
