re: teachers want to mind control kids
Even during the supposed "nightmare" of the Clinton administration, I've only ever had one teacher go after me that way. Yes, this story again. They did a poor job, making me their pet project for liberalization. Underpinning every exhausting daily argument with a singular student every day, in front of the whole class, with unconcealed snide and insult isn't going to turn many people to your side, let alone a disgruntled teenager. I remained a "conservative" throughout most of the Bush administration (well done, Mr. what's-your-name) until my own further reading, and what I perceived as the worsening behavior of the right, pushed me left.
So my own experiences tell me that no, schools were not trying to "control minds" at least then. But talk radio was telling parents that they were. "Pushing desks together so that students can't think for themselves" featured heavily. Pretty sure the objective is to teach collaboration, one of those real-life people skills folks bemoan about employees not having. My biggest complaint about it at the time was on occasion having other students mooch off your work and get your grade.
Was the SohCahToa lady trying to control minds? Make students into a bunch of extra, bleeding-heart liberals by doing a trigonometry war dance?
lol