Should We Teach American Values In Public Schools?

A journal entry which presented our class today was whether or not we should allow American values to be taught in public schools. To state off the bat, my answer is no. I do not believe this is something that is even necessary. This is because if we heavily impose something or even just the ideal of it, this can strip cultural and or individual perspective. While this is situational, the fact it can affect someone badly says enough. Whether or not somebody embraces ideals or remains firmly with what they believe in is up to them. To use an example of the narratives we read in class, Luther Standing Bear said that he was able to learn things such as to read and write but still come back to the life he had once known without an issue, and did not come back with anything bad such as addictions. However, the case was not the same for the narrative written by Zitkala-Sa. She had a very terrible experience as they stripped something of her she had cherished; her hair. To summarize the point I am making, regardless of whether or not it is the same for each person, the ability to take away who they are and what they truly stand for is still there. Not only that, but I find the idea of teaching American ideals in public schools to be rather pointless. All kinds of places over the world have diversity that have come from all said places and more. Simply accepting diversity and exploring culture as well as communicating with the people around us can not only teach us of American ideals, but all kinds of cultural morals. If we allow all cultures and people to be what they are- their cultures and themselves, instead of a carbon copy of what we find "normal", I think we'd be able to understand how the world truly is much more.