I am writing in response to Scott Hennen’s column, “Demand education over indoctrination” (published on the Herald’s website). Please forgive the brevity of this letter. I don’t seem to have nearly the same amount of free time that your columnists’ friends in out-of-state “public policy think tanks” have for “writing and commenting on North Dakota policy.”
It’s the end of the school year, so me and other teachers are grading students’ papers and final projects (that align with North Dakota state standards), preparing them to move onto the future and ready to take on any challenges that lie ahead. Throughout the school year, we have pitched in to help cover for sick colleagues as we continued to deal with COVID-19, and there were no substitutes available. We are attending retirement celebrations for colleagues and are saying goodbye to many who are resigning. So many of them are leaving the profession, earlier than they intended, because of political interference by groups like this Center for the American Experiment.
Additionally, many of us are parents and taxpayers in our community, which means we are running ragged in our free time just to get our kids up and ready for school, extracurricular activities and sporting events, all while paying the bills to keep a roof over their heads.
There is one thing we are not spending any of our time on doing, however: indoctrinating our students. Forgive me, Scott. There are only so many hours in the day.
The Trust Project
