Everyday Math sucked. It’s part of why we switched to homeschooling. We had entire classes of kids come up to the high school knowing very little and it sure wasn’t due to introducing youngsters to politics in K.
It was the worst. Middle school teachers were having to remediate kids. A lot of people heaved a big sigh of relief when it was gone!
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We had Everyday Math also. 
We had both Everyday math and politics introduced in K. A double dose of craziness. Kids lasted through grammar and middle school.
They still laugh at some of the things they were “taught”
Ever try to lie to a six year old? Their eyes get really big and they look at you a certain way. The kids used to jump into the car with their friends and talk about all the crazy stuff at school. It got worse over the years. Kids mimic their parents, if the parents are only selling one kind of thing, the kids think that’s all there is. If parents teach them about multiple perspectives then they look for that also.
What sort of politics was introduced in K? My memory is fuzzy post radiation, but the most I can recall that might even remotely be considered politics was coloring papers and short stories about holidays, from Columbus Day to Thanksgiving to Christmas/Hanukkah to MLK day, etc.
Nope the whole gamut from games in election years where you stand and vote to speakers talking about various topics, teachers saying very critical things about candidates ( well before Trump), exercises to showcase disparities ( and not in a kind way) I don’t want to id the school system but they weren’t coloring pages based on holidays. That’s not political.
It got worse as the years went by. We are high income but many of the kids who weren’t felt ostracized after these activities as they had been victimized when before everyone was just a class of kids. It was terrible.
What do you teach? You say you talk about politics in your classroom so just curious.
“You’re fired”, was a reality show catch-phrase (on a MSM network). Which aired well before the speaker’s political career began. Using this as part of your argument makes it difficult to have a serious discourse as it is really a grasping at straws to prove a point. I say this as this is now the fourth time I have seen this particular phrase brought up on this site to equate with “right-wing” being somehow responsible for cancel culture.
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I’m also interested in the answer to your question
It makes a difference.
It may not excuse making a threat, but it might add clarity.
Referring to the root of the disagreement as something “political” could be unintentionally misleading. Keeping in mind the title of this thread, I wondered if the real topic of the disagreement was racism and not politics. I was seeking clarity from @GetCollege19
If the topic had absolutely nothing to do with racism, I’m out of here and will happily leave y’all to your airing of grievances.
I teach math/science - in high school. Those are our lessons and kids in my classes do quite well. 
We can talk about anything in class during those few minutes here and there when not much is going on. It’s whatever the kids bring up. If there’s something major that “just” went on (say, a school shooting or Japan’s tsunami/Fukushima), I know that will be brought up. Kids are both naturally curious and need somewhere to talk about stuff going on in their lives.
There’s a huge difference between teaching and talking though just in case you’re confusing the two. We’ve never taken a day - or even half an hour off - to discuss non-subject things except the day after 5 of our students died in a car crash - then it was recommended we allow students time to grieve and talk about it for the first class. After that any still wanting more time were to go to special counselors (who were also available during that time if any student wanted to be there like those closest to those 5).
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It was. Not sure if they even talked to the other student about it or not.
On the bright side and to your point that kids can move past things at times, D and that student were on ok terms by Senior year.
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Now I’m really curious to know if folks on this thread want to suppress my talking to my classes!
I can envision it now. “No interaction Johnny/Susie, sit right down now and get to work on today’s lesson and work without stopping until the bell rings!”
Do I sit at my desk during the transition time or keep my door closed until just before the bell so no interaction occurs?
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One of my favorite memories was in a 10th grade science class where one quite intelligent student was making fun of another who stumbled over a question. I address those sorts of things immediately and quickly (no one knows everything from the cradle - can’t know what you haven’t been exposed to - wouldn’t be in school if everyone knew everything). Not long afterward - within the week - the two were working together being willing lab partners. Other top students also started helping those not quite at the top too.
Kids can be wonderful. They sometimes just need guidance and guidance doesn’t have to be punishment. It can just be opening their eyes.
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I think you are being a little over-dramatic. Do you really not have anything to talk to your students about that is not political in nature? That is a far cry from saying you cannot have ANY interaction with your students that is unrelated to the course content. You say you teach in the STEM area. To me, this does not seem to be an area where significant political debate is needed. Am I wrong? Of course general conversation can occur, but the whole point of the article is how students are feeling the need to self-edit/censor as politics/political views have seemed to seep into every corner of their school life. Maybe the students who share your political viewpoints enjoy speaking about politics in a STEM class, but those with differing beliefs may not enjoy it as much. They likely remain quiet or just prefer to talk about something else for a change. How do you know ALL the students enjoy it?
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Perhaps you could address the content/arguments (such as they are) of the article, since that is the subject of the thread.
Questioning a professional’s classroom pedagogy and teaching methods is absurdly presumptuous.
I’m probably going to homeschool my children when the time comes. That’s years from now🤣
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Nothing wrong with asking questions.
Nope, nothing at all. Every test of mine has a political question on it and if they get it wrong - instant failure.
Or… maybe you’re extremely overestimating how much politics comes up in my classroom except maybe as it pertains to thing like the planet or food regs, etc. - though school shootings bring it up too. I can’t think of a single time in the past 20 years that a specific election one came up - candidate A vs candidate B.
If you only knew the range of what comes up, this wouldn’t even cross your mind.
This is what’s recommended when parents have issues about X being taught (or not). If one wants to have the sole influence on their kids, it’s what needs to be done.
FWIW, I can tell you that homeschooling done correctly can produce wonderful results. My two oldest kids can attest to this though neither were homeschooled all of their years - just 9-12 and 7-12 respectively. Our decision wasn’t made based upon fearing what they might hear from someone at school though. It was solely academic content that was too low for our preferences. I’ve referenced that in other threads - and some perhaps in this one (Everyday Math).
For the folks in the OP’s article they could probably start their own private school like many did in the 60s to avoid segregation. If they sift their teachers carefully they’d probably get the classes they prefer for their darlings.
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US history is taught in nearly all US high schools. However, some aspects of long ago US history are now politically charged. For example:
- What was the most important cause of the Civil War?
- What was Thomas Jefferson’s role in early US history?
- Where did the land for the Morrill Land Grant Acts come from?
Science can run into politics also:
- Evolution.
- Climate change.