Why do educators lie/not tell the whole story?

They never seem to be able to talk about something from all points of view. I know that people don't usually do this because they want to give you a way of looking at things but they seem to frame ideas in certain ways that are clearly biased. And worse yet, when they are talking about something like politics or something they don't understand they tend to omit huge details. I don't know why this is. Is this intentional? I don't understand why it is that teachers/professors lie to you or they don't tell you the whole story. I've said this before and I'll say it again. I've learned far more in books than I have in any classes that I've taken.

reply to post by Frankidealist35


Yep, same here. School especially public school, is like that. Its not there fault its the governments fault, they are told what to teach and what view to teach it from. Its a sophisticated form of brainwashing and every student is going to believe what there teacher says, its the fact of life you learn from your elders. But instead of learning kids are getting brainwashed.

reply to post by Frankidealist35




Great point. I Remember back in high school getting into a pretty heated argument once with a teacher regarding the Soviet union yes it was still around back then but not for long and he was spouting all kinds of Old Cold war nonsense. I got in a lot of trouble but I held my ground and in the end he was told to change the way he taught that subject. He had to stick to the facts and not input his opinion.

I feel they should give people the real facts and let them make up their own minds on subjects I heard that in Japan and Germany that they do a somewhat watered down version of WWII and it's not until they reach college level that the real story in detail is taught.

Which I can understand because of the horrid details of atrocities on a young mind but by this time there is all kinds of misinformation that spreads if the real story is not told in plain facts!

Maybe because the teachers themselves were taught one point of view. Further more, many educators are micromanaged as to what point of view they can teach. Even if they were blessed with the knowledge of knowing different point of views, they are handicapped by administrators who feel that there is only one way. Been there done that.

They do get told what to teach and how to teach it, in the US at least, but mostly teachers just don't really care I don't think. At least most of the teachers I had in high school didn't really care. They taught just enough for you to pass any standardized tests there might be for that subject and wasted a lot of class time not actually teaching anything. At the time I thought it was great, now it just irritates me that I wasted so much time going to class and didn't really learn much.

Starting to ramble, so I'll get back to my point. I don't think it's that they are intentionally trying to lie to their students or hide things from them, I think it's more that with the school boards and the state telling them what to teach and how to teach it there isn't really much wiggle room for them if they want to keep their jobs.

reply to post by SLAYER69


Yep, I hear ya. I think if the material is to graphic for the young'ins they should teach it later in life, like sex. I was in 4th grade when they explained that, fourth grade! I mean why have some teacher teach your child something that should be discussed in a family matter. Not by some stranger (teacher) in school. I understand beliefs and being an American thats a great feeling of freedom, being able to believe anything I want to, but sometimes I just want the cold hard facts and in school they should give nothing but the facts.

reply to post by jam321

I agree with you totally teachers are taught from one view, but I mean isn't it the teachers responsility to make sure they are getting the correct information. Much like an analyst, they get information from one person and analyze it with other information. I can only take so much heat off the teachers so much, the rest.

Even if they were blessed with the knowledge of knowing different point of views, they are handicapped by administrators who feel that there is only one way.

100% agreed, sometimes its the teachers bosses that create problems.
Teach what I want you to teach or your fired.

I teach in adult education. I worked for person who micromanaged everything. She told me what book to use, what area to teach, how she wanted me to teach, etc. To make a long story short, I transferred to another place. At this new place, my boss gives me the leeway to teach how I see fit. I am lot less stress and love my job. I make it a point to teach my class from many different viewpoints because although I believe my way is right, in reality it may not be. After all we are humans and we all make mistakes. One thing is for sure, education in America is in a big crisis IMHO.

reply to post by jam321


I could not agree more mate and I am glad that you stood up for what you believed in. No one should teach you what to teach if you are the teacher, I mean seriously, your not a robot. Star for you.

In my high school teachers didn't have to teach by the text book. This concept and I didn't seem to get along too well during my high school years because I was frequently in arguments with teacher about the actual facts versus what they were teaching.

Sometimes the teacher would thank me for offering up a different view point...most of the time I was sent to the dean's and ridiculed for the rest of the year; but that didn't stop me from standing my ground.

Then I was put into the mandatory "Government" class. This teacher over used the "straying from the book" concept to a disgusting level. She made us check out the books and sign the little release form and basically told us that it was garbage(while spewing some BUSH IS GREAT propaganda). Instead she said that she'd be teaching by power point presentations and "political sources" she found online.

She made us take a "political theology" test in the beginning of the semester and three of the people in the class came up as "anarchists". Me and two friends to be exact. We were seated together in a corner of the class room and actually ended up in an argument with the woman the very first day of class.

Every day she would do some minor antagonistic thing to one of us three and the class would end up in a huge argument for the day. The worst part was that by the end of the semester it was clear that she had succeeded in making our viewpoint "wrong" or "crazy" to the rest of the class. However, by the end of the semester it didn't matter because she had alienated us enough to the point where all three of us were skipping that class entirely. We all had great grades in all our other classes, but we all had D's in her class long before we started skipping.

What I do think is strange is that everyone else in the class seemed to be labeled a "republican" so it really was "us" versus "them" for the whole semester.

Absorb and regurgitate -- taking in what is told to you and not debating the facts is, generally, rewarded; then extrapolate.

You teach how you are taught to teach. You are taught to teach how you were taught. The system is declining and it's not like anyone is really trying to fix it, or wants to fix it.

If you don't want to fix the system, then keep fudging the system. Training those who teach to teach what and how you want would make a good means if 'maintaining' the education system was your ends.

It's like a really crappy, real life pendulum.

[edit on 1/1/0909 by spines]

reply to post by spines


I don't think you're really being a "downer", however, I do think that they system is too far gone to fix. I mean, my own personal methods didn't seem to grab anyone's attention, and I'm still kind of talked about at the school I tried to help.

The whole thing needs to be reevaluated and fixed because I have learned more out of my own independence then in 12.5 years of actual school.

Wait a second...you're still worried about the teaching methods? We students are much more advanced these days, in fact we don't even need to learn anything except the newest ways of cheating. Who cares if the teachers are morons, we aren't even listening to them anyways. It's all about strategy and the grade. We work hard day and night finding new and ingenious methods of avoiding learning so that we can eventually make money and be happy, cause that's what it's all about!!

reply to post by cancerian42

The original post and the subsequent discussion causes me great distress and somewhat angers me as I am a public school educator and college prof. ------ that being said their is some merit to the points made I would like to address those on a point by point basis first though Id like to point out that this thread primarily refers to social studies and history courses--

1) Micromanaging not from the administration but from the state. We are very much told what to teach ..through extensive documents that we must almost memorize AND document HOW we are following the prescribed procedure

2) Standardized tests-- if we do not teach according to the curriculum our students fail the test then we are chastised as not doing our job

3) special ed--- students who cant or wont keep up are put into special classes given easier tests and heaven forbid we fail one that leads to a mountain of paper work and a discussion/investigation from the board therefore its just practical to do what your told and follow protocal

4) our own education --- we have all been brainwashed to see history a certain way for instance my teachers thought FDR hung the moon and shared that with us we were also taught Nixon was the greatest criminal of all time both of these scenarios are incorrect FDR -- was not the savior he has been made out to be and Nixon was not the scumbag he was made out to be

WHATS BEING DONE

well speaking for myself I always try to present both sides of all historical situation question all the answers...sort of speak for example I sometimes teach the War Between the states from a southern POV .....or at least present their POV......I teach many theories concerning Kennedy assassination......the effects of business on politics and the effects of unions on business

IN SHORT dont lump all teachers together their are more of us than you think trying give kids different opinions and different ways of looking at things

I'm a bit late to the party, but my feeling on this subject is simple.
If students arent being taught the facts And/or educators, are only exposing students to one point of view. Then it isn't education that's taking place, it is indocritnation. There is a difference between the two.

its quite simple. Our education system is a system of control, that teaches us a watered down, bleached version of history where america is all things wonderful, only peaceful protest works, and only policemen and armed forces are acceptable means of self defense. They are intentionally trying to raise americans who cant think for themselves, have no concept of a practical or productive form of protest, and no idea of or belief in self defense. A rousing success i would say!