Adam, while I applaud your commitment to quality education, your claims of "80% Republican" still suggests your grasp of statistics to be in the rudimentary manipulative stage. BTW, one of the many worst things you can do as a teacher is check your beliefs at the door. That just makes you an empty suit of clothes, doesn't it?

Seems to me you are more worried about your opinions influencing your paycheck, than anything else.

I would be quite pleased if my children's composition teacher was using meaningful, timely topics for assignments. While I can appreciate some teachers do work in Republican controlled precincts, creative minds have been getting around cultural conservatism in the classroom for decades. It isn't nearly as large an obstacle as your fear of speaking your mind in your workplace seems to be.