So this is half rant/ half asking for advice. So I live in a fairly rural small town in Tennessee. My school is very small, and (I'm not exaggerating) probably about 90% of the people who go there are conservative or conservative biased. Well I started a new class this semester: history. So my teacher makes jokes about Democrats all the time. Probably every 20 minutes or so. I don't think he's trying to be hurtful, but it's just demeaning to us democrats. So today we got off on the topic of recent sexual assault/harassment cases in Hollywood. Well the way he was going about it honestly made me and my friend (also liberal) really uncomfortable. So he was talking about how maybe we're getting out of hand about this and then compared complimenting a girls hair to sexual harassment. He then asked the question of whether men can be sexually narrated, and he pretty much said no. He then asked the girls to raise their hand if they fell like they've been sexually harassed. (my friend didn't raise her hand but she later told me that she has been multiple times at school.) So the whole thing was really messed up to me, but to make it worse, there's all these students here that are saying shit like "they're all faking it" and stupid stuff like that. Which leads me to my other point: conservatives. Since I am in an extreme minority at my school, I do not speak politics besides a few close friends, because, I'm not kidding, nearly everyone there is conservative. I've had to hear so much shit, about people (including teachers) bashing gay people, Muslims, immigrants, and so on. Liberal people are very looked down upon. It's so bad to the point where you're afraid to even speak your mind. So back to the teacher thing, there's another teacher in the school who is horrible about talking politics in front of students. He's a hardcore conservative, and I've had to sit there as he talks bad about gay people and say nothing. He's also talked bad about Muslims, and if I remember right, he may have even said we should kill them. So the whole thing feels somewhat out of control. I don't know why today of all days finally did it, but I just feel so upset. My friend said she pretty much had a meltdown after she got home from school. I just don't know what to do. Is it even legal for these teachers to be saying these things? I don't want to get anyone fired, but it would be nice for some change. Is there any way I could anonymously report them or something? I'm just tired of all this toxic behavior. I'm ready for some change.
He is not allowed to say things like that, you need to tell your headmaster or principal about it and bring your friend along as a witness so they don't think you are making it up. Write this all down and talk to your parents too and tell them how your meeting with the headmaster/principal went and who you took with you and tell them how you felt and why it upset you. If it doesn't stop talk to the school board and go from there. Do not lose hope if they don't do anything just talking about it will help.
Wow. Super messed up. It's disturbing that in the CLASSROOM your teacher will try to bring in politics, and worse, make certain people feel uncomfortable just so that he can exert his political opinions. Very inappropriate and NOT something that a teacher should be doing. Have you tried talking about this to a guidance counselor or a principal, or any other teachers that you feel comfortable with?
No, he is not allowed to be discussing his political opinions in the classroom. Also, considering that he’s making you uncomfortable is ridiculous. You could emai your principal from an email address that really couldn’t be traced back to yourself, and discuss your complaints.
It probably isn't allowed but on backwater places, often no one, from the school board on down, cares. It is worth trying your best to report the issue. And many good principals will take action... But many are lazy or don't want to get involved.
You might not get far with your school leadership. I would document dates, times, exact quotes of the individual, others who were present, etc. Be patient. Don't be obvious about what you're doing. They will hang themselves with their own words. Then contact your closest ACLU chapter. You go to school for an education not to be politically indoctrinated.
