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TEACHER: Deal with facts

| July 16, 2021 1:00 AM

I am a Social Studies teacher in the Coeur d’Alene School District. In the Opinion section of Sunday’s Press, there were two letters that attacked my profession. There were inaccuracies in the letters. I would like to address these inaccuracies.

The letters claimed:

“God has been removed from the classroom” and “The 10 Commandments are banned.” This isn’t true. Part of my curriculum is to teach (not preach) religions. I use the Bible as a primary source to do this. I teach a lesson specifically about the 10 Commandments.

“Schools are attempting to replace parents and families.” This is just plain silly. In order to successfully educate children, we need the teachers and parents to work as a team. We want MORE parental involvement, not less.

It was also claimed that the Coeur d’Alene School District has departed dramatically from the Idaho Content Standards. I’m not sure where this idea came from. Every lesson I teach is in the Idaho Content Standards. They sit on my desk. I read them often.

“Teachers are trained to evaluate students on their social and emotional values.” I have not, in fact, been trained to evaluate anyone’s values. Emotional or otherwise.

I’m not sure why teachers have become perceived as the enemy. We are your neighbors. We love Idaho and we love our country. This idea that we are trying to indoctrinate children is ridiculous. If you have questions about the schools, perhaps you should ask someone who is actually in them once in a while.

SCOTT TRAVERSE

Coeur d’Alene