What teachers won’t teach anymore
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 14 March 2023
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Teachers across the nation are changing how they teach in response to state laws, administrative decrees and parental pressure. Today on “Post Reports,” we explore three examples of things teachers are cutting from their lesson plans.
Read more:
School districts and teachers are grappling with how to teach race, racism, U.S. history, sexual orientation and gender.
These fights are happening in school board meetings, local town halls and on the campaign trail. A growing parental rights movement is fighting for greater control over what schools teach and the books available to students in school libraries and classrooms. At least 64 state laws have already reshaped what students can learn and do at school, and this fight is likely to be a main talking point ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Education reporter Hannah Natanson talked to teachers across the country to hear how and why their lesson plans were changing. Here’s what she found.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Young people have lost their trust in adults. |
| 0:05.4 | Parents have lost their trust in teachers |
| 0:07.6 | and teachers have lost their faith in themselves. |
| 0:10.9 | This is Lisa Childers. |
| 0:12.5 | She's a high school English teacher in Arkansas. |
| 0:15.4 | I can't be part of the solution. |
| 0:19.5 | I don't think I'm part of the problem. |
| 0:22.1 | There was no point for my wrecking my health, |
| 0:24.9 | my relationships, and just continuing to try and try. |
| 0:30.2 | It becomes the equivalent of an abusive relationship. |
| 0:35.8 | There are a lot of educators like Lisa around the country. |
| 0:39.9 | They are worried and confused about new laws |
| 0:43.0 | limiting education on issues like race, racism, gender, |
| 0:47.6 | and sex. |
| 0:49.0 | Lisa is just one of dozens of teachers |
| 0:51.2 | who spoke with the post about what their jobs have been like |
| 0:54.6 | over the last few years. |
| 0:56.7 | You've got teachers who are feeling like they're no longer |
| 0:59.8 | sure what they're legally allowed to teach. |
| 1:03.4 | Under these laws that can often be very vaguely worded |
| 1:06.7 | and you've also got teachers who are facing pressure |
| 1:09.6 | from parents or worried that they're going to face pressure |
... |
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