"Bad teacher" stories are very effective RW propaganda

[Enrique]

think of all the schools there are in this country, all the millions of teachers, millions of students. And all the millions of disciplinary decisions being made.

If you set out to do it, you could turn all that raw material into a steady stream of news stories with a common theme "Political Correctness Run Amok".

As a measure of how effective it is, just look at how the stories play at DU. In a way it's good because we are being open minded and willing to challenge our own "side".

But in another way it is very bad because often the news stories are very flawed, and the DU discussion too often buys it whole and suspends the normal critical thinking. And I wonder, what is it about these stories that causes people to do that? It's like they hit some kind of magic formula for propaganda.

[Niceguy1]

1. the same can be said

for practically any hot button issue. Zimmerman was an isolated case but look at it was used for propaganda as well.

[Enrique]

3. but remember, Zimmerman was not even arrested

one of my problems with the school stories is that they are not newsworthy. The Trayvon story is definitely newsworthy, the boy is dead and the killer was just going to walk, without a trial or anything.

[Niceguy1]

6. I was referring to

the way the Martin case is used as propaganda in the gun control debate.anyway I think bad teachers stories are news worthy is there a right to know. Especially since we do not have a choice of which school are children go to. I had to send my children to private school because the school that I was forced to send them to was an utter failure.

[femmocrat]

2. I think it is because everyone can relate.

At some point everyone had a "bad' teacher..... the one who gave them a C, told them their art work was lousy or that they couldn't carry a tune. I'm not denying that there are people who are teachers who should not be. There are some pedophiles and perverts like in any other profession and they need to be run out of town on a rail. There are teachers who are inept or burned out and should probably find another career (if they could find one). The profession does not want these people in the classroom either.

But so many people have an inflated opinion of their own (or their children's) talents and brilliance and can't bear that there were actually other students who were "better" than they were or that their teachers failed to recognize their "special-ness".

(Veteran teacher speaking from decades of experience.)

[Enrique]

4. yes, and people see teachers as authority figures

The stories play on people's rebellious instincts, we forget that teachers are also just working people doing a job, part of which is enforcing rules. Do they always do it perfect? Of course not, but I don't always do my job perfect.

[Nye Bevan]

5. I think every DUer, looking back, will recall wonderful teachers and terrible teachers.

Wonderful teachers who inspired, and made you want to learn more. And terrible teachers who found a way to make the most interesting subjects tedious.

There are good teachers and bad teachers. Good cops and bad cops. Good and bad in every profession. I don't really see this as a political issue.