Written by Michael Palomba
Students at an Alpine school were given an exam on “Democracy and the Two-Party System” that asked some very controversial questions, to say the least.
The test was brought to light by a member of the Facebook Group Defend East County. The images provided by the parent of a student show questions like, “The economic policies of this party are geared to benefit low- and middle- income families” and “People of this party are more likely to go out to eat and go to sporting events during COVID.”
The only answer choices are “Democrats” and “Republicans.”
These questions are incredibly biased and distort the reality of party stances regarding COVID-19 and other topics. For example, while not confirmed, it is likely that the answer to “The economic policies of this party are geared to benefit low- and middle- income families” would be Democrats—in this teacher’s eyes. However, the Republican tax cuts passed in 2017 provided a plethora of benefits to families and individuals throughout the income spectrum. Additionally, Democrats’ typical playbook of raising taxes and creating additional bureaucracy tends to hurt low and middle-income families. There is no one party that is geared exclusively towards helping low and middle-income families, as Democrats and Republicans both claim to be fighting for them.
The questions regarding COVID are misleading as well. Plenty of Republicans wear masks, including President Trump, and countless Democrats constantly contradict COVID guidelines. Like before, there is no one party that is exclusively in favor of masks. Also, when the teacher asked the question about which party feels that opening now doesn’t protect families and workers, they neglected to include that the virus has over a 99% survival rate, which presumably wasn’t mentioned in class either.
Teachers have a responsibility to educate our children from a fair and unbiased perspective. Children are not sent to school to be indoctrinated, but to learn and form their own viewpoints. Questions like these are misleading, and push children toward biased conclusions regarding both parties.
We as a community should not stand for the polarization of our schools, and I strongly encourage everyone to contact the school district about this. The phone number is (619) 445-3236 and the extension for the superintendent is 806.
