ONE-SIDED ACTIVISM HAS NO PLACE IN THE NATION'S SCHOOLS

Public schools should teach children the fundamentals of reading, writing, arithmetic and science. Some teachers, though, are instructing their students in the fundamentals of activism.

These teachers use their students to promote pet projects. "Use" is the key word here. In the name of education, students write letters to politicians or newspapers to stop projects or change laws. This student activism most often shows up with environmental concerns.

The North American Association for Environmental Education is so concerned by politically charged environmental teaching that it is releasing new standards. Reviewed by 1,000 educators and experts, these standards are designed to help teachers choose materials that are free of bias, scientifically accurate and with balanced viewpoints.

There are many examples of students carrying out political agendas across the nation:

-- In Arizona, schoolchildren inundate their local newspaper with letters opposing new home construction in the desert.

-- In Bethesda, Md., high school students boycotted McDonald's after a teacher told them the hamburger chain decimated rain forests to make grazing land for cattle. No one bothered to ask McDonald's, which latter issued a statement to the contrary.

-- Third-graders in Mason, Texas, were told to sell T-shirts to raise money to protect rain forests as an extracurricular activity. The campaign stopped after a parent objected that the project only furthered political agendas for environmental causes not supported by the community.

Thankfully, most educators see the importance of exposing children to a balance of ideas so children can reach their own conclusions. The job of public education is to turn out students who are armed with facts, not to churn out mini-activists ready to promote teachers' pet causes.