Indoctrination or Brainwashing?

How could a majority Republican area turn out so many left-wing high school students? Using primary election data from 2011, Pine and Richland Townships together are 60% Republican and Independent; these folks can reasonably be expected to be non-socialists, pro-American, center-right etc etc. Looking at the 2012 Presidential election results for the area, provided by Patch.com, we see that election turnout was from 65% to 78% - showing motivated voters - with Republican candidate Mitt Romney winning overwhelmingly: 71% in Pine and 66% in Richland. SO HOW ARE THE CHILDREN OF THESE VOTERS 99% LEFTIST? Are students freely choosing to be leftists, or are they being influenced by their public school teachers, the culture, and the mainstream media? Let's look at some definitions.
From Merriam-Webster.com

Definition of BRAINWASHING
1: a forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up basic political, social, or religious beliefs and attitudes and to accept contrasting regimented ideas
2: persuasion by propaganda or salesmanship

From Dictionary-Reference.com

brain·wash·ing

1. a method for systematically changing attitudes or altering beliefs, originated in totalitarian countries, especially through the use of torture, drugs, or psychological-stress techniques.

2. any method of controlled systematic indoctrination, especially one based on repetition or confusion: brainwashing by TV commercials.

3. an instance of subjecting or being subjected to such techniques: efforts to halt the brainwashing of captive audiences.

brainwashing
noun
(Concise Encyclopedia)

Systematic effort to destroy an individual's former loyalties and beliefs and to substitute loyalty to a new ideology or power. It has been used by religious cults as well as by radical political groups. The techniques of brainwashing usually involve isolation from former associates and sources of information; an exacting regimen calling for absolute obedience and humility; strong social pressures and rewards for cooperation; physical and psychological punishments for noncooperation, including social ostracism and criticism, deprivation of food, sleep, and social contacts, bondage, and torture; and constant reinforcement. Its effects are sometimes reversed through deprogramming, which combines confrontation and intensive psychotherapy.

from wordIQ.com:

In later times the term "brainwashing" came to apply to other methods of coercive persuasion and even to the effective use of ordinary propaganda. Many people have come to use the terms "brainwashing" or "mind control" to explain the otherwise intuitively puzzling success of some methodologies for the religious conversion of inductees to new religious movements (including cults).

'Brainwashing' serves as a loaded term, suggesting nefarious intent and grotesque methods, with more currency in the public mind than in psychology. Brainwashing generally amounts to little more than a combination of persuasion and attitude change, propaganda, coercion, and restriction of access to information.

Definitions of INDOCTRINATION;

From Merriam-webster.com

Definition of INDOCTRINATE

1: to instruct especially in fundamentals or rudiments :
teach


2: to imbue with a usually partisan or sectarian opinion, point of view, or principle

From Dictionary-reference.com:

in·doc·tri·nate

/ɪnˈdɒktrəˌneɪt/ Show Spelled [in-dok-truh-neyt] Show IPA


verb (used with object), in·doc·tri·nat·ed, in·doc·tri·nat·ing.

1. to instruct in a doctrine, principle, ideology, etc., especially to imbue with a specific partisan or biased belief or point of view.

2. to teach or inculcate.

3. to imbue with learning.

Synonyms
1. brainwash, propagandize.

From wordIQ.com:

Another serviceable partial definition, drawn from the website of The Henry Wise Wood High School [1] (http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b836/curriculum/social/socialgloss.html) is "To teach systematically partisan ideas— propaganda." This definition opens the most basic difference between indoctrination and education: indoctrination teaches the doctrina that structures a subject, as observed from within, whereas educatio literally "leads out" from a subject, one that is being dispassionately observed from without.

At Princeton the Cognitive Science Laboratory's "WordNet 2.0" defines "indoctrination" as "teaching someone to accept doctrines uncritically." [2] (http://www.cogsci.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/webwn). However, an indoctrinating organization or person, like the notorious cult leader Jim Jones may sometimes be open for criticism and even encourage questioning, or at least pretend to be so. [3] (http://employees.oneonta.edu/downinll/mass_suicide.htm) The faculty of critical assessment of information is essential to education and the enemy of indoctrination.

No human being is perfectly rational, dispassionate and neutrally skeptical so everybody is vulnerable to indoctrination. But most of the aims and techniques of indoctrination may still be assessed."
What else can explain why dozens of Pine-Richland students across several grades and over three years can nearly universally espouse the leftist viewpoint? And why do the commenters agree that the views are indeed leftist but then try to justify why it is acceptable for the school to push the leftist agenda upon its students? No, I do not believe that a "balanced approach" has been used by the district in its selection of topics and materials and students are simply choosing the left side using complete knowledge and free will.