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Texas Freedom Network

Great article. I find myself everyday in the classroom wondering if my choice of content, my presentation of it, my choices of words, etc. leans to the left or the right. It's impossible to provide unbiased commentary, but I sure do try. Nothing is worse than a social studies teacher who insists on forcing their political views on students!

I hear you! I come from a background on the left, and sometimes quite suddenly when I'm explaining something to the class I'll hear my own voice and realise how partisan what I'm saying sounds. I found an excellent diagram of left and right ( http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2009/left-vs-right/ ) which I put up on the door so that at least the students might become more aware of the political spectrum and how it influences people's beliefs. Perhaps the best we can do is show the students how their political assumptions play out in their opinions so that as self-aware citizens they can at least make conscious choices... The right doesn't have much sway in education in Australia; I think the district board system over there in some areas (if you don't mind me saying...) gets hijacked sometimes by extremists by the looks of it. I've read some fascinating articles on how textbooks are approved in parts of the States which was quite surprising (the Intelligent Design debate I guess is an example).