Apodaca: Teachers walk a blurry line in sharing opinions

A former Newport Harbor High School English teacher has reportedly sued the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, alleging that administrators retaliated against her because she raised objections to cat dissections in science classes.

While this case has yet to be resolved, it highlights a fundamental question: How much should we restrict teachers from sharing or promoting their personal beliefs with students?

Or, as one reader who contacted me put it, “At what point does a teacher’s responsibility end, and when does his or her social conscience begin?”

It’s an intriguing question, not easily answered, involving a volatile mix of clashing mores and fervently held ethical principles. It touches on virtually all aspects of education, from the way students from varying backgrounds are perceived to the historical perspectives offered in standard curricula.

Most of us would probably agree that we want teachers to teach, not preach. But as Americans, we generously tilt toward free and open expression — even when it means our kids will sometimes be exposed to opinions we don’t share.

I suspect that in cases where the lines of argument are more clearly drawn, people tend to support educators who freely voice opinions when they agree with the views being shared. Such might be the case with Karen Coyne, the teacher who advised an animal-rights club at Newport Harbor and objected to the cat dissections.

Based on a cursory glance at some online responses to stories written about the case, sympathies seemed to run with Coyne when respondents believed that animal dissections were wrong, and against her if they had no ethical qualms about such methods. It’s harder to find an observer who disagrees with Coyne’s views on animal dissections, but fully supports her right to advocate on campus and attempt to end the practice.

(Since the story broke, the district disclosed that its high-school science staff had decided to discontinue using cat corpses.)

Another recent, highly publicized battle in Colorado touches on the issue of personal beliefs in a different way. Thousands of students in the Jefferson County school district walked out of classes to protest proposed curriculum changes that they believe would whitewash our nation’s history. Particularly incendiary were comments by one school board member that the teaching of Advanced Placement U.S. History should promote more “positive aspects” of the country and deemphasize lessons about social conflict.

Unlike these high-profile cases, however, instances of educators and school officials bringing their political views and other potentially divisive opinions onto campus often pass by with little pushback.

Like many parents, I have on occasion been disconcerted by views shared by teachers with students. For example, my sons have heard a few teachers express anti-gay sentiments. One teacher complained continually to his students that “political correctness” prevented him from telling jokes or making comments that might be construed as offensive to certain racial or gender groups.

Rather than complain, I used these remarks as an opening for meaningful talks with my sons about prejudice and intolerance.

But personal belief systems work their way into schools in more discreet ways as well.

While attending Newport-Mesa’s first State of the Schools Breakfast recently, I couldn’t help noticing that one song performed by a school vocal group had an overtly Christian theme. I’m not sure that registered as problematic with most people in attendance, and I doubt the song was selected for any reason other than its musical merits. But it gave me pause: Did it represent an implicit sanctioning of one religious belief in what is meant to be a secular institution?

Personal beliefs can also seep into a teacher’s job performance. For instance, some studies have demonstrated that teachers’ beliefs about their students, based on such factors as race, gender, and socioeconomic status, can influence the ways they teach and interact with students. That, in turn, can impact student outcomes.

In the end, teachers, administrators and school board members are just people. Of course they have their own set of personal beliefs and biases. Even the most scrupulous among them no doubt find it difficult at times to keep those views from encroaching into the educational process.

On one educational website favored by many teachers, I found an interesting discussion prompted by one teacher who asked for advice on how to handle situations when students ask for their viewpoints on controversial subjects. The responses were thoughtful: Explain to students that teachers try not to influence their students, but want them to investigate and make up their own minds. Then turn the tables, and ask what they think about the topic.

When I spoke to my older son about this issue, he felt that most teachers he’s known have done a good job keeping classroom discussions even-keeled and professional, but have more openly expressed their views in campus clubs, some of which have political themes. Even if he disagreed with these teachers, he said, he defended their right to speak up in such settings.

Students, at least at the high-school level, he said, are often more sophisticated than adults realize and should be trusted to listen to opposing views and reach their own conclusions.

“Schools should be open to the free exchange of ideas,” he said. “The drawing line is a message of hate or violence.”

I guess all those years of education taught him something worthwhile.

PATRICE APODACA is a former Newport-Mesa public school parent and former Los Angeles Times staff writer. She lives in Newport Beach.