Posted on 02/17/2005 10:54:56 AM PST by stevebowl
School targets lesson 'biases': Principal says he wants balanced talk on the issues By Carolyn Kessel Stewart / Daily News Staff Thursday, February 17, 2005
HUDSON -- After a legal defense team took an interest in the new student Conservative Club's claims of censorship, Hudson High School is now investigating some teaching practices for potential biases and inconsistencies.
However, the school will not budge on allowing students to advertise a controversial conservative Web site, said Principal John Stapelfeld.
English and social studies teachers have been asked to make sure all sides of an issue are represented in materials and teaching, Stapelfeld said.
"We are in the process of reviewing the curricula to assure we can be better balanced, if we have, in fact, not been balanced."
We'll start with the right wing neanderthals!
Hard for most people to realize by Hudson MA is as blue collar as it gets. Heavy Portugese population, damn patriotic and God fearing people. Worked there for 12 years, be happy to work their again. The libs best be careful about messing with them. These folks won't go down like the Newton and Brookline crowd.
If parents got more involved and actually held school board members, who hire and fire the principal ( at least here in Texas ), accountable this issue would be addressed every election year.
IN our small 2A school very few "new age ideas" are presented. Things are pretty balanced and actually lean right a bit, but neither side is quashed. Oh yeah, there are no queer clubs. FCA is string though.
That would be "strong". I am not illiterate just uncoordinated.
I would donate to a legal defense fund to help these young conservatives overcome liberal censorship.
My making an issue of the web site, these Liberal Morons just quadrupled the number of people who will now log-in.
If they hadn't hassled these kids, only about 15 students would have even known about the club. Instead its been publicized in the Boston Globe, Local Newspapers, David Limbaugh and dozen conservative web sites. The number of hits on nthe website is more than 4x, its more like 4000x.
A caller on the Sean Hannity show from Montana said his area was very conservative, however, the public school system wasn't. The caller said he got a "D" in history because the teacher was liberal and didn't agree with his position. He got an "A" in everything else.
I hope these people check on their school system. I have a feeling that the school is getting some heat.
And what web site might that be do you suppose?
Somehow I don't think any of the "Educators for Social Responsibility" curriculum will get changed. ESR is the organization that sets the tone for the school. Sheldon Berman is one of the founders and he is also the school super.
Stapelfeld and Berman will do everything they can to eliminate the appearance (and documentation) of bias in HHS.
I looked up Massachusetts law, and somewhere in Chapter 70 it states that teaching political bias is illegal (paraphrased), so now that they are coming under national scrutiny they must be careful.
The article says that the school will review the rules under wich students may put up posters- one problem the school has is that it does not spell out what is OK and what is not, so claiming that one club violates policy and another does not is rather hard.
This school board has just declared that they will NOT make Berman's last evaluation public, even though the DA has demanded that they do so in accordance with law.
I wouldn't expect too much from them.
Give me a break. Don't claim to know the Hudson area or the intricate workings of the school if you've never attended. Most of the information people are using for their arguments is totally untrue and way too exaggerated. The school board IS made up of parent representation. And I have to say that although liberalism is a popular view in the town and among faculty and students at the high school, conservatism is not rare. And it is not squashed. And it is not censored.
Once again I would like to politely request that before you jump to conclusions and clog the school with phone calls and emails, please learn the real facts (not just what you read online, because most of it is wrong) and formulate an intelligent argument before you come back ranting again. Don't penalize the students' learning because you don't agree with a certain position. Research the situation. And don't make personal remarks about administrators and teachers without knowing them and knowing their positions. You have no right to analyze their actions or stances without knowing the full story or these people's personalities.
So please, stop jumping to conclusions. Do the research and formulate intelligent arguments or just get back to your own lives and leave us to ours.
You have no right to analyze their actions or stances without knowing the full story or these people's personalities.
So Dr. Berman did not found Educators For Social Responsibility, and did not write those essays and articles?
Much of what I know of him comes from his own writings, not idle speculation. His positions and stated views are a matter of record, and his personality is irrelevant to me. I'm sure he's a nice guy and I'd like him if I met him.
You mention the school board- why won't these parents allow the superintendant's annual evaluation to be made public, as required by law (and this is backed up by the DA for the area, not idle speculation on my part).
Does the Hudson school board have the power to decide on teacher performance issues, or curriculum? Many boards are limited to approving budgets only, but some (not afaik in Massachusetts) can rule on books, curriculum, and can handle parent complaints about teachers or staff. What powers and responsibilities does the Hudson School Board have? When you find out, please post it here for everyone- you are in the best position to find out.
Also, since much of the information people are using here is totally untrue and exaggerated, please post the unexaggerated truth. Usually we back our statements up with references to online documentation, so provide links if you can. But even if you can't, post the truth for us. This will help us formulate intelligent arguements.
And welcome to FR! Glad to see you here, hudson03! Was that when you graduated? What are you doing now? Still in Hudson?
I am so sorry if I offended you. I did not mean any of that as a personal attack. I am simply frustrated, as there has been so much hearsay that has been tossed around, and I am getting tired of people making my town their business and creating more of a problem by getting involved. From the inside of this, it feels like a fire that is raging out of control. And I really did not mean to personally attack your opinions or views.
As for the more concrete information, I am hesitant to post anything without getting the exact facts. I do not want to give out false information. I know what my family has told me about the situation, and they are in a very good position to know. As soon as I am able to talk to them and make sure I have all of my facts correct, I will post what I know in a coherent, unbiased manner.
I did in fact graduate from Hudson High School in 2003. I am no longer in Hudson, however, as I am in college. I do keep close contact with family and friends, and visit at least once a month, though. Hudson is a very tight-knit community that is hard to shake once you leave. I lived there my whole life, and wouldn't mind returning permanently after graduation.
Once again, I sincerely hope that I did not offend you. It was merely a reaction to some of the things said on this website (in this and other threads) and others. A lot of what is being said is upsetting me, because I feel this is a town and state matter, and that people (although they should feel the right to have an opinion and care about political freedom) should leave it alone. Most of what I'm really frustrated about is the people handing out the school's phone number and address. I really don't see how that is solving anything (I do see how one could think that if enough people express this opinion, there will be change. I happen to disagree with that.), except to further frustrate administration and take away from the students' learning. I really think that is an inappropriate venue to vent frustration and is rude and destructive. And the problem really isn't as bad as it's being made out to be. In fact, besides all the hype and complaints that are being recieved, the problem is mostly solved. It will just take time to see if these changes are long-term.
I do appreciate everyone's concern with political freedom at my high school. But the situation has been elevated to a level that it didn't begin with. Even the students involved with the club are frustrated. Please please please let us handle this.
Thank you for listening to my probably unpopular opinion.
Nope, not offended at all. If I am I say so, so don't worry.
Having people call the school puts pressure on them, makes them aware that they are playing on a big field. So the phone starts ringing, and next, the Pacific Justice Institute sends a certified letter...then First Amendment Foundation calls.
All of this has made HHS re-evaluate certain policies and procedures, so that's a good thing.
School administrations thrive on secrecy, in many towns the parents simply have no clue what is being taught to their kids. How many Hudson parents knew that a teacher brought in an effigy of George W Bush in flames and then invited the class to attend a rally where a large effigy would actually be burned? If not for the focus on the school nobody would have known except a few students. Now that the story is out, it's out on FreeRepublic, and seven other sites as well, plus there is an email network being set up in the town made up of concerned parents so they can quickly hear of similar events.
A bunch of teachers are apparently going to a series of seminars and workshops to teach them to promote antiwar ideas in their classrooms. Well, this is illegal; in MA as well as my state and a bunch of others. One of the organizations doing this is Educators for Social Responsibility, set up and run by Sheldon Berman.
How many Hudson parents know that some of their teachers are getting lessons in illegal classroom activism? This sort of thing can be made public through legal activism, and calling the school and asking questions can make the admin see that they are not operating in the dark. (I think the list of Massachusetts teachers who signed up will be posted either here or on another site).
BTW if you want to comment to more than one poster, type their name in the To box with semicolons in between.
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