LETTER: Raises more questions

I would like to respond to the letter SCHOOLS: Probing looks important.

The letter was in support of probing into the schools about the “schools leaning to the far left “Marxist line” and the proof was the Zinn Education Project.

Are we heading toward investigating teachers concerning their political viewpoints? Are we heading toward “No Democrats need apply?” This is a problem when we start lumping people into one group.

The letter implied that indoctrination is taking place towards the left. Does this mean we should be indoctrinating students to the right? As for the Zinn Project, the letter offered this as proof toward Marxist beliefs.

What do people mean exactly when they say Marxist? Are we opposing Howard Zinn because he is Jewish? Is the criticism toward the project because it is teaching “people’s history”?

I took an in-depth look at the materials and I could not find any mention of the proletariat overthrowing the government. In one lesson plan, they had students comparing information to what was in the textbook to what they had learned. This is critical thinking. You cannot teach critical thinking without presenting both sides.

As a former history teacher, I told my students that they could give me 10 facts and I could give them 100 different stories by leaving out some of the facts. Are we moving toward George Orwell’s 1984?

JUANA PERLEY

Coeur d’Alene