Op-Ed: A Tennessee High School Student Speaks Out
Image Credit: Marco Verch / CC
By Jared Dutch –
I’m a rising 11th grader at a Tennessee high school in a “good district.”
I’m quite vocal when it comes to my personal opinions and experiences in the school system. I have sent NUMEROUS emails to the members of the School Board about the concerns I have with the daily occurrences at my school. I have sent well thought out, respectful emails to the board, and RARELY received a response.
I have concerns, such as the option for Hybrid schooling in the future, and the vast waste of time school has become for high school aged students. That being said, I’m extremely dissatisfied with my response rate, which is less than 50%. Those are pretty substandard odds for a response from our duly elected officials that claim to have our best interests at heart. This shows the incompetence of our board of education… it runs deep. I know for a fact I’m not the only one that has had this issue and am wondering who else has struggled to get the respect the board expects?
If you find yourself confused and indecisive about upcoming school board elections, I’d like to come to your aid with a personal testimony of my experience within Tennessee schools.
I’ve been in the same county’s schools since Kindergarten, slowly progressing through the grades, now entering my Junior year of High School.
My Public School career has been continuously bombarded with politically motivated tactics to corrupt the minds of this generation and many to come.
Ranging from my Elementary School principal misappropriating fundraiser funds for personal use, to a few of my middle school teachers attempting to bully young, undeserving minds into a constant state of submission, and ending with my High School experience being extremely politicized, in and out of the classroom.
In an attempt to remedy my issues throughout my high school career, I looked where any normal student would look – principals and guidance.
These issues consisted of racial, sexual, and religious exploitation…
Some of these classes were ideological warfare, with educators pinning cohorts against each other on the basis of their stance on social issues.
For those of you who are invested in the deceit that these concepts are not involved in the teachings within our Public Schools, I have some bad news for you…
These issues persisted constantly throughout my time at my high school. As a vocal student wanting to learn – not be lectured upon social issues in an attempt to form my social and political views to fit nicely in the box of conformity they wish to place us in – I was seen as a troubled student. Continuously questioning the status quo, walking out on lectures, meeting weekly, sometimes daily, with principals. This became burdensome, plaguing my ability to function like a normal student in school as I seemingly had an ideological target on my head.
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These meetings with principals were full of sugar coated, feel good remedies; continuously avoiding my issues at hand, sometimes for weeks at a time. I had the Assistant Principal telling me multiple times that we could review the footage of classroom lecture together, as requested, in an attempt to address the ideological hell that these “educators” were putting student’s easily contorted minds through. Yet, everytime, NOTHING was done.
I have turned elsewhere, the board was not an option, as the current board member representing the zone where I live cares just as much about constituent concerns as my high school Principals proved to.
With that being said, I tried an alternative option. The conservative candidate running in my zone has been there every step of the way to provide comfort and guidance that these apparently “qualified” educators/administrators could not. For the betterment of student life in my county, I pray to God that he wins.
Vote for candidates who will preserve student innocence, inclusivity, and the fostering of creative, intuitive, and free student minds. We, the students of Tennessee, are counting on you!
Bravo!
When we don’t fit the mold they’d like to put us in -no matter how articulate and well thought out our questions and responses are- they will always label us as something. Aloof, disinterested, not putting in enough effort, etc.
Standing ovation for this student who knows their worth and has the wherewithal to stand up for what they believe in and for what they should be receiving. An education and not an indoctrination!
We hope your candidate wins for you, your classmates, your community and for all Tennesseans!
Thankfully here in Williamson County we have a wonderful organization, Williamson Families PAC that recruits and supports conservatives to run for the county school board. W-F PAC was successful in seeing two of its endorsed candidates win the Republican nomination in the country primary May 3rd while Debbie Pace (Dist. 6) and Doc Holladay (Dist. 10) are running as Independents in the election that will take place on August 4th. If you are a Williamson Cty conservative living in those two districts, please be sure to support Debbie and Doc against their more liberal Republican opponents on August 4th.
Electing conservative school board members is highly important, but they also need the help of the TN legislature and our Governor to rid TN schools of CRT, LGBTQ+ agenda, pornography and destruction of the founding history of our great country. Governor Bill Lee accepted all of the COVID ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds) money from the federal government for TN schools and it is because of the federal “strings” attached which force the schools to implement “Social and Emotional Learning” that all of this agenda has flooded into our schools!! Sen. Jack Johnson, as Majority Leader, has worked to see that Gov. Lee’s agenda is implemented fully for TN and that the Governor is not embarrassed by legislation opposite to what the Governor wants. Everywhere the Governor’s picture appears in the “TN RINO REPORT” there should be a picture of Sen. Jack Johnson right next to it as the Governor’s “defender” in the Senate. Vote for Gary Humble for State Senator and help us bring real change to TN.
This “Op-ed” is total bull. I know who this “student” is and which school “he” attends. I have two children in the same school and none of what is written here is true.
Troll
You need to prove your point of saying that the Op-ed in not true. I believe what the student is saying.
If it’s a lie then prove it.
I stand corrected. He must be lying. If not he needs to prove what he is saying. Several here know him and they say the same thing that you do, so I am wrong. THANKS!!
Don’t listen to this BS. Long story short, I knew this guy, and he was mad because he wasn’t getting any playing time in soccer as a freshman. So, he decided to try and transfer to Mount Juliet High School. Apparently, their program was “better”, but in reality he was just butt hurt cause he sucked. After being denied for a transfer he started talking and posting about how much he hated Green Hill High School. He eventually was allowed to transfer probably because the school was tired of him making up lies. I just can’t believe this dude is trying to act like a politician over him not being able to kick a ball into a net.
I know jared too.
more lies and deceit.
Jared was injured his entire freshman year but he still came to our practices and games to support us as a team.
He was never denied transfer to MJHS
He applied during the open enrollment period like everybody else did.
He stopped playing soccer in 10th because he has work and his injury didn’t heal due to needing surgery.
how about we stop trying to taint his image as he’s purely concerned for his and his classmates quality of education.
different opinions don’t warrant lies about him and his character.
The same information about what is being taught at the public school level and the indoctrination of students is all over the news in every state. Irregardless of why he wrote this, the information is true and not just in TN. I doubt very seriously it has anything to do with, “kicking a ball”. Parents got a birds eye view of exactly what is being taught in our schools during Covid and it needs to STOP. Please understand you are doing exactly what you are accusing him of. PS “Anonymous” hardly seems the way to go here.
What actually happened is that this student claimed to be all about “open dialogue,” while in reality, he was only open to His dialogue. He constantly claims to be “different” and to “think for himself,” when he’s just consistently regurgitating republican talking points. He always assumes he’s the smartest person in the room and he poses questions he thinks will make people think like he thinks and then gets upset when (a certain teacher he has spoken about) responds with an actual thought provoking question that tears his way of thinking apart.
The system is broken. It does not want to change. Best to get out of it.
I love the bravery of this young man. There is news EVERYDAY that what he is saying is TRUE, not all but many teachers are more concerned with indoctrination than they are of teaching the basics (reading, writing and arithmetic) in a classical manner. Despite the trolls here and despite what they say is his reason, we all know it is happening. Public Education DISCRIMINATES against conservative viewpoints. They are getting worse by the day and school board members WILL NOT HEAR of it, all the while proclaiming their best interest is the STUDENTS! Until Public Schools get back to teaching the basic at all levels, they will continue to FAIL at EVERYTHING but indoctrination, no matter what their motives are. In the meantime, HOMESCHOOL or private schools are the best option!
I would like to see or hear specific indoctrination topics and how they were implemented. “Ranging from my Elementary School principal misappropriating fundraiser funds for personal use, to a few of my middle school teachers attempting to bully young, undeserving minds into a constant state of submission, and ending with my High School experience being extremely politicized, in and out of the classroom”. Let’s analyze this. How did elementary school principal indoctrinate kids by misappropriating fundraiser funds for personal use? Did he teach you that this is ok? I doubt it. Let’s take a look at middle school where the “teachers attempted to bully young minds into a constant state of submission.” Submission to what? A quiet and respectful classroom conducive to learning? Walking down the hall quietly so as not to disturb other classes? The list can go on and on. That brings us to highschool bring “exstreamly politicized inside and outside the classroom.” How? Please give details. Could it be that the teacher was trying to get you to formulate your own thoughts on different subjects?
This editorial reminds me of a very privileged, spoiled, rebellious person. If you are not this, then please give further explanation. Otherwise I would not listen to you either.
This is exactlywhy I think homeschoolhackathon.com is the best thing since sliced bread! There’s a FREE online Challenge going on now.
It’s for people who actually care about cutting through the noise & getting an accelerated education. From the overachiever to the learning challenged, these students are being offered dream jobs before graduation, without college debt!
I am impressed with Jared’s courage to write this OpEd. Parents and students are often dismissed and devalued by GHHS administration and the WC school system as a whole. To speak out is to be ridiculed and shamed. The school has been open for 2 years (going into it’s 3rd) and the curriculum is not up to par with other Wilson County high schools. Inexperienced teachers, long classes, short instruction time, lots of dead time and boredom. The best we can do is to get through this debacle, graduate, and move on. We will survive and prosper despite this administration’s failures.