Letter: Teach students to think, not obey
Sachem High School East on Granny Road in Farmingville, N.Y. (Mar. 4, 2013) Credit: James Carbone
In reference to "Let Sachem students write to Albany" [Letters, March 11], one reader writes that if students had a problem with an assignment, they should not have complained to the media but rather to a teacher. Another laments, "When are civics and composing a letter not considered learning?"
Neither of these writers sees the problem. Writing a letter in support of the school district's position should not be an "assignment." Secondly, it's not "learning" when the student is told by the instructor which position to support.
In both cases, it is simple manipulation of the young and impressionable by an authority figure. If you want to educate students, then provide them with the reasoning for the school district's position along with the state's position, and advise them that there are at least two other positions out there: that of taxpayers, as well as the student's own.
Teach them how to avoid being led like sheep by teaching them how to develop and communicate their own positions.
To do less may be perceived as emotional bullying for the sake of self-gain -- or, perhaps, just poor teaching.
Christopher D. Reilly, Coram
