Arizona Wants Muzzled Teachers, Lord I Can’t Go There…or, Ode to my 101 English teacher, Steve Beiner

Rep. Thayer Verschoor, Republican, Arizona
seeks to muzzle teachers’ freedom of speech
in order to protect students’ freedom of speech
thereby protecting conservative students
from challenge and/or ridicule.

What is a teacher to do when faced
with whatever number of students
who have been boxed into garbage in
garbage out and lost the ability
to think for themselves?

When one train
bounces off another train
it’s time to seek a third track.

Was it the ’30, 40’s and/or ’50’s when
children were taught to be seen
and not heard?

How severe was the home of the student
that would fear to speak up in class,
especially higher education classes?
Who learns not to speak their mind for fear
of ridicule when
the purpose of higher education
it to learn something new and test something old
that is perceived as set in stone?

For sure, not all teachers are like the very best
teacher I found in higher education, for he,
Steve Beiner, was a self proclaimed gad-fly,
in English 101, who would take either side
in any classroom debate, believing,
where one places there commas was minor
compared to encouraging students to think
for themselves, and the bonus
was never to back down from a position
until proven a position was wrong.