History Main / PoliticallyMotivatedTeacher

* Gavin Stone in ''The Creator/LennyHenry Show''. He's an ex-soldier turned primary school teacher, and mostly the joke is him treating the kids like new recruits, but he also has strong opinions on the politics of war, and will lecture them on the subject with the slightest provocation. For instance, in the NativityPlay sketch:

* The ''ComicBook/{{Chick Tract|s}} [[http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0055/0055_01.asp "Big Daddy?"]] has a teacher kick a student out of his class for citing Literature/TheBible for his disbelief in evolution, only letting him back in to [[ObviouslyEvil "tear [his] little beliefs to shreds in front of the entire class"]]. The student counters and eventually breaks him.

* Bobby's [[HippieTeacher History teacher]] on ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' is ridiculously pushy and political.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'': Miss Grotke is [[HippieTeacher anti-racist, feminist, and environmentalist]].

* ''Series/RomperStomper'': [=McKew=] is a professor at the university which the antifasc members attend (he's involved with the group as well). His lectures from what's seen don't even try to be neutral, but denounce the US and Israel for imperialism.

* An interesting inversion in Avi's ''Nothing But the Truth'', in which everyone ''except'' the teacher (and the student that the book focuses on) [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical has an agenda]].

[[quoteright:350:[[Disney/EducationForDeath https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/education_for_death_10large.png]]]]

* ''Disney/EducationForDeath'': The teacher of a class of boys in Nazi Germany actually wears a party uniform to work while he indoctrinates his pupils.

* Justified in Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/StarshipTroopers''. The History and Moral Philosophy class every student is required to take attempts to implant pro-military beliefs and encourage joining the Federal Service, so the teachers -- all retired veterans, by law -- naturally push these political and philosophical values on their students.
** In {{Film/StarshipTroopers}}, he puts his money where his mouth is, resuming his commission with the Mobile Infantry.
** HMP instructors are very focused on exposing their students to this philosophy and belief, but as is explicitly pointed out, you can't fail and there are no penalties for either sleeping through the course or passionately disagreeing with every word being stated.

* The teacher in ''Film/DazedAndConfused'' tries to implant leftist ideas in her students by, for example, telling them about her "bitchin'" experience at the 1968 Democratic Convention (where anti-war protesters were attacked by police on live TV. She also delivers the current page quote.

A HippieTeacher can be related, for reasons of hippies being very politically radical. The negative version of this trope often takes the form of a SadistTeacher with StrawChracter elements, while a positive version is usually a ReasonableAuthorityFigure.

A HippieTeacher can be related, for reasons of hippies being very politically radical. The negative version of this trope often takes the form of a SadistTeacher with StrawmanPolitical elements, while a positive version is usually a ReasonableAuthorityFigure.

* The teacher in ''Film/DazedandConfused'' tries to implant leftist ideas in her students by, for example, telling them about her "bitchin'" experience at the 1968 Democratic Convention (where anti-war protesters were attacked by police on live TV.

* [[StrawCharacter Professor Radisson]] from ''Film/GodsNotDead'' is an atheist philosophy teacher whose first action in his new class is to make his students sign a statement saying "God is Dead" or else he'll fail them; The Christian protagonist, Josh, refuses to do so, so Radisson challenges him to debate God's existence with him in front of all the classroom at the end of every class session, and if he can't prove God's existence he'll fail him. It becomes clear that Radisson only intends to humiliate him for his beliefs and it later turns out that he is a HollywoodAtheist who has always [[NayTheist hated God]] because his mother died of cancer when he was little.
* The teacher in ''Film/DazedandConfused'' tries to implant leftist ideas in her students by, for example, telling them about her "bitchin'" experience at the 1968 Democratic Convention.

* A similar example is Kantorek in ''Literature/AllQuietOnTheWesternFront'', who encourages his students to join the German army in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, greatly romanticizing it as [[WarIsGlorious something glorious.]] [[ForegoneConclusion Of course]], he couldn't be farther from [[WarIsHell the truth.]] One of Kantorek's former students gets payback when he becomes his commanding officer. He reminds Kantorek of a fellow student who died in agony after joining the frontlines thanks to Kantorek's speeches and makes Kantorek follow humiliating orders.
* Professor Dillamond in ''Literature/{{Wicked}}'' is extremely passionate about his beliefs about [[FantasticRacism the prejudice against]] [[TalkingAnimal talking animals]] [[FantasticRacism in the school system]] and his fears about what is happening to them, [[spoiler:fears which turn out to be correct]]. This has a profound effect on Elphaba, particularly because of the prejudice against her for her green skin.

* Quite a few UrbanLegends archived and discussed on Website/{{Snopes}} have such teachers, typically involving them teaching a lesson to their students or getting into a fracas with a student of a different political alignment. A few examples (of varying degrees of truth) include [[http://www.snopes.com/college/exam/socialism.asp a professor giving his students a hands-on lesson about socialism]], [[http://www.snopes.com/glurge/nodesks.asp a teacher having veterans come into her class to impart patriotism to her students]], and a HollywoodAtheist [[http://www.snopes.com/religion/chalk.asp professor attempting to disprove the existence of God...]]by dropping a piece of chalk.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'''s Mr. ([[{{Transsexual}} or Mrs.]]) Garrison has been known to do this on occasion, though less blatantly, as it's often left to offhand comments (such as in ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'' when he declared the [[MoralGuardians Mothers Against Canada]] were "probably just all on their periods"). In "Follow That Egg!," however, (s)he manipulates the lesson in a ploy to keep gay marriage illegal (though his/her motivation is more personal than political). (S)he does the same thing when it comes to teaching evolution (first being vehemently opposed to it as a creationist, then switching to being vehemently anti-religion). (S)he explains that her/his only consistent belief is that you have to be an asshole to anyone who disagrees with you.

* The teacher in ''Film/DazedandConfused'' tries to implant leftist ideas in her students by, for example, telling them about her "bitchin'" experience at the 1968 Democratic Convention.

'''Ginger:''' If all sides includes [[UsefulNotes/{{Evolution}} Creationism]] and [[ConspiracyTheories Holocaust denial]] and the novels of Creator/AynRand, then, yeah, I guess it does.\\

* ''WebOriginal/NotAlwaysLearning'' has a disturbingly large amount of these teachers (though the students or the student's parents can be just as bad).

->''"Okay guys, one more thing, this summer when you're being inundated with all this American bicentennial "Fourth Of July" brouhaha, don't forget what you're celebrating, and that's the fact that a bunch of slave-owning, aristocratic, white males didn't want to pay their taxes."''

* ''ComicStrip/DykesToWatchOutFor'' plays with something seen under "Real Life" in this exchange from 2005 between Neoconservative student Cynthia and Ginger:

'''Ginger:''' If all sides includes [[UsefulNotes/{{Evolution}} Creationism]] and [[ConspiracyTheories Holocaust denial]] and the novels of AynRand, then, yeah, I guess it does.\\

[[folder:Real Life]]
* There was a kerfuffle when a high school history teacher named Jay Bennish was recorded going on an explosive political tirade comparing the style of George W. Bush's State of the Union address to Adolf Hitler (remember, this was ''history'', not current affairs), and was suspended as a result. Bennish claimed he was trying to get his students to "think more in-depth," an explanation that didn't really gel with [[GodwinsLaw the nature of his rant.]]
* In the United States, universities are often accused by conservatives of being centers of liberal indoctrination. To be fair, there are numerous studies that come out in which the college's liberal-leaning teachers outnumber its conservative-leaning teachers by double digits. Suggested explanations as to ''why'' are myriad, and which (if any) are the truth is a discussion [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement outside the scope of this article]]. By and large, don't stand up and simply preach about their political opinions in class [[note]] (speaking at out-of-class lectures and events which take place ''for this very purpose'', or discussing something relevant but considered controversial in some circles, such as a biology professor explaining why evolution is a real process, or simply explaining the flaws in someone's ''argument,'' which isn't the same as saying their conclusion is wrong per se, don't count)[[/note]] . Usually, you can pick up on any given professor's perspective on the issues, but most of them are good at allowing students to speak their minds, even if it's only because they're bored with hearing the same cliched and redundant observations being voiced again and again by undergrads ("History is written by the winners;" "Communism works on paper").
* A North Carolina teacher named Tanya Dixon-Neely was suspended in 2012 for her screaming tirade against one of her high school students in which she claimed that the student was not allowed to "disrespect" President Obama. One of her students was recording the rant because Dixon-Neely apparently had a history of anti-conservative behavior.
* Lynette Gaymon, a Philadelphia high school geometry teacher, publicly bullied and humiliated a student for wearing a "Romney/Ryan" t-shirt in class. Gaymon claimed the school was "Democratic" and compared it to wearing a "KKK shirt". The teacher's harassment continued until the student had to leave school, at which point the student and her parents were harassed by other students and had obscenities shouted at them as they left.
* Ron Jones and his "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Third_Wave Third Wave]]" experiment, intended to teach his students on UsefulNotes/NaziGermany and the dangers of fascism. It was later [[Film/TheWave adapted into]] a MadeForTVMovie, a book, and a German cine film.
* Jonh Freshwater was dismissed from Mount Veron Middle School for teaching creationism instead of science and buring crosses in children's arms using a Tesla Coil. He claimed religious persecution and claimed he was fired for having a bible on his desk.
* The schools of any [[PoliceState totalitarian government]] exist almost solely to [[AssimilationAcademy instill their political philosophy into the next generation]], or when [[BananaRepublic they don't have one]], indoctrinate students into the personality cult of the GloriousLeader.
** In the words of UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler himself, "He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future".
** There have even been accusations of this against non-totalitarian education, citing the BleachedUnderpants version of events taught to children in history classes (the story of Thanksgiving in the US being a big one).
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward_Churchill Ward Churchill]] is one of the more infamous real life examples. Although to his credit he was an ethnic studies college professor. He just took being outspoken and opinionated to [[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19940243/ns/us_news-education/t/professor-fired-after--nazi-comparison/ high levels]]
* In the American DeepSouth, it's not hard to find history teachers who are very adamant about making sure their students know that the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar was [[BlatantLies mostly]] about other issues than slavery, usually mentioning how the North was very Federalist (strong central government and pan-US-nationalism) whereas the South was very Anti-Federalist (weak central government, strong individual state-government and state-nationalism.)
** A good example of this is that Confederate apologists will focus on Sherman's March to the Sea while ignoring the war crimes of Nathan Bedford Forrest and William Quantrill. Likewise, Robert E. Lee is painted as a paragon of virtue and Ulysses S. Grant as an immoral drunk. Slavery is treated as a tangential question to the real issue of States' Rights, and any statements to the contrary are ignored. [[ImplausibleDeniability This includes the individual states' declarations of secession (which universally cite slavery as ''the'', or the second-most important, reason for their secession), the Confederate Vice-President Alexander Stephen's "Cornerstone Speech" (which proclaimed that the foundation of the Confederacy was slavery), and the Confederate Constitution (which outright ''banned'' states from abolishing slavery).]]
[[/folder]]

* Mr. Keating from ''Film/DeadPoetsSociety'' spends more time spouting Romantic and Transcendentalist ideals in his class than actually teaching.
** Then again, he is a literature teacher, so that comes with the territory. The trope is actually subverted because Keating arouses the ire of parents and administrators for ''actually realizing what it was he was teaching'' and doing so effectively.

* An interesting subversion in Avi's ''Nothing But the Truth'', in which everyone ''except'' the teacher (and the student that the book focuses on) [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical has an agenda]].

This trope is definitely TruthInTelevision, as any college students (and sometimes high school students) can attest to. The political alignment of these teachers often correspond with the general atmosphere of the school in which they teach, though there are without a doubt many who go against the grain of their institution's political philosophies.

* There was a kerfuffle a few years ago when a high school history teacher named Jay Bennish was recorded going on an explosive political tirade comparing the style of George W. Bush's State of the Union address to Adolf Hitler (remember, this was ''history'', not current affairs), and was suspended as a result. Bennish claimed he was trying to get his students to "think more in-depth," an explanation that didn't really gel with [[GodwinsLaw the nature of his rant.]]
* In the United States, universities are often accused by conservatives of being centers of liberal indoctrination. To be fair, there are numerous studies that come out in which the college's liberal-leaning teachers outnumber the conservatives by absurd numbers. Suggested explanations as to ''why'' are myriad, and which (if any) are the truth is a discussion outside the scope of this article.
** Though there's little denying the bulk of university professors (and those who work in academia in general) tend to be liberal, but the professors, by and large, don't stand up and simply preach about their political opinions in class (speaking at out-of-class lectures and events which take place ''for this very purpose'', or discussing something relevant but considered controversial in some circles, such as a biology professor explaining why evolution is a real process, or simply explaining the flaws in someone's ''argument,'' which isn't the same as saying their conclusion is wrong per se, don't count). Usually, you can pick up on any given professor's perspective on the issues, but most of them are good at allowing students to speak their minds, even if it's only because they're bored with hearing the same cliched and redundant observations being voiced again and again by undergrads ("History is written by the winners;" "Communism works on paper"). That said, it is an old observation that college students tend to be arguably ''the'' most left-wing demographic in America, and, no matter what subject it is, there's always a self-appointed PC policeman in the room (though one should be careful to use gender-neutral pronouns and the current appropriate word for any non-white hetero-male demographic since the beginning of time). Many of them won't be nearly as liberal (even those who continue to identify as such) in another 10-15 years, but don't try telling them that, unless you want to make yourself a pariah and see fifty pairs of eyes roll at once.

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward_Churchill Ward Churchill]] is one of the more infamous real life examples. Although to his credit he was an ethnic studies college professor. He just took being outspoken and opinionated to [[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19940243/ns/us_news-education/t/professor-fired-after--nazi-comparison/ whole new levels]]
* Especially in the American DeepSouth, it's not hard to find history teachers who are very adamant about making sure their students know that the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar was [[BlatantLies mostly]] about other issues than slavery, usually mentioning how the North was very Federalist (strong central government and pan-US-nationalism) whereas the South was very Anti-Federalist (weak central government, strong individual state-government and state-nationalism.)

There is always that one teacher, the one who is always bringing his or her politics into the classroom and is extremely passionate about it. Be it about religion, the government, or ethics, morality, and values, this teacher is always ready with their own arguments and/or [[AuthorFilibuster long-winded speeches.]] Typically, this person teaches a class involving social sciences (e.g.: history, sociology, [[CaptainObvious politics]]), but it can be any teacher in any subject. College professors are [[StrawmanU even more likely to be politically motivated]].

The PoliticallyMotivatedTeacher can be portrayed either as a positive or a negative thing, generally depending on [[AuthorTract whether or not the teacher's views align with the author's.]] If it's shown in a positive way, then the teacher will often stimulate intelligent debate, helping his or her students to think more critically about the events in the world around them and get more involved in society. If it's shown negatively, the teacher will run the classroom with an iron fist and punish students who voice dissenting political views instead of promoting discussion. Either way, [[{{Anvilicious}} expect anvils to be dropped like a bowling ball tied to a weak tree branch]].

* Andrew Schlafly, creator of Wiki/{{Conservapedia}}, is a teacher who greatly encourages his students to use his website for research. The site is pretty up-front about having a strong conservative bias (the idea being that it is opposite to the [[StrawmanPolitical purportedly liberal]] Wiki/{{Wikipedia}}). The site itself is, against his wishes, practically a parody of itself due to the number of Trolls who've infiltrated it.