Posted on 11/25/2005 7:41:55 AM PST by bitt
BENNINGTON, Vt. --The school superintendent whose district includes Mount Anthony Union High School has labeled "inappropriate" and "irresponsible" an English teacher's use of liberal statements in a vocabulary quiz.
"I wish Bush would be (coherent, eschewed) for once during a speech, but there are theories that his everyday diction charms the below-average mind, hence insuring him Republican votes," said one question on a quiz written by English and social studies teacher Bret Chenkin.
The question referring to the president asked students to say whether coherent or eschewed was the proper word. The sentence would be more coherent if one eschewed eschewed.
Another example said, "It is frightening the way the extreme right has (balled, arrogated) aspects of the Constitution and warped them for their own agenda." Arrogated would be the proper word there.
Chenkin, 36 and a teacher for seven years, said the quizzes are being taken out of context.
"The kids know it's hyperbolic, so-to-speak," he said. "They know it's tongue in cheek. They know where I stand."
He said he isn't shy about sharing his liberal views with students, but invites vigorous debate in the classroom.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
ping
My students DO NOT know where I stand, and I'm proud of that fact. It's not my role to indoctrinate them into ANY political issues... it's my job to teach them Geology and Astronomy.
A. arsehole
B. flaming arsehole
C. dickhead
D. all of the above
Just teach English and then go home.
Bret Chenkin should be fired. Period.
All of the above.
If this teacher did the same thing, but from a conservative point of view, he would be fired so fast he wouldn't know what hit him. But conservatives don't generally do that sort of thing. Liberals do, all the time.
That should be ENSURING not INSURING. Fire her for incompetence.
ping
Liberalism is so pase`, so 60's, so his age is showing!!!
I noticed the same thing.
make that him, not her.
Maybe he thought he could get away with this because it's Vermont. I am quite suprised actually that the teacher is getting called out on this, considering Vermont's reputation.
I don't think he ever invited debate. He explicitly wrote down that republicans are stupid, which is not exactly debating language.
The alleged acts of the teacher should not be for "liberalism", but for "politicization" of the curriculum.
What he needs to be told, forcefully, is that while he is free to have his own opinions on political topics, he is not free to turn the lessons into a platform for preaching those opinions.
The students of the best teacher in the world would never know, for sure, what that teacher's political opinions were. If any political or historical matter was germane to the lessons, such a teacher would be able to provide all points of view with equal clarity, strength and completeness; demonstrating what the points of view were, not making judgements about either of them.
Of course, I know, such a task is beyond the ability of anyone on the left.
As a teacher in Vermont, I must say that the majority of my colleagues are very informed on their duty to present multiple perspectives on political issues. However there are those also who think that the classroom is a place to
disseminate jingoistic anti Republican propaganda, especially now that our President is "fighting back" with the truth. In doing so, the academic function is abandoned.
High school students who learn to investigate multiple views on issues are able to arrive at their own independent conclusions, but they need training in such analysis, rather than to merely go along with the established politically correct status quo.
Checkin would have discharged his academic duty if he had also presented vocabulary choices in the context of multiple political points of view. I wonder why he did
not do so? It will be interesting to hear or read his eventual explanation.
Boston Globe: Headline Teaching Liberlism
He's not being called on the carpet for teaching liberalism, but for teaching his point of view. Doesn't matter which part of the spectrum your politics reside, you should not be teaching your views.
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