Posted on 03/02/2006 3:38:43 AM PST by Glacier Honey
The Overland High educator is on administrative leave. Cherry Creek's superintendent said a balanced viewpoint will be given to students.
An Overland High School teacher who criticized President Bush, capitalism and U.S. foreign policy during his geography class was placed on administrative leave Wednesday afternoon after a student who recorded the session went public with the tape.
In the 20-minute recording, made on an MP3 player, teacher Jay Bennish described capitalism as a system "at odds with human rights." He also said there were "eerie similarities" between what Bush said during his Jan. 28 State of the Union address and "things that Adolf Hitler used to say."
The United States was "probably the single most violent nation on planet Earth," Bennish also said on the tape.
Bennish, who has been part of Overland's social studies faculty since 2000, did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday. Cherry Creek School District officials are investigating the incident, but no disciplinary action has been taken, district spokeswoman Tustin Amole said.
Bennish was placed on leave "to take some of the pressure off of him" during the investigation, which could wrap up in a week, Amole said.
Superintendent Monte Moses, who received a copy of the recording on Monday from 850 KOA-AM radio show host Mike Rosen, said it appears "a breach of district policy" occurred.
"Our policy calls for both sides to be present ... in the interest of intellectual discourse," Moses said. Bennish's presentation appeared to be unbalanced, he said.
The district is looking into whether the incident was an isolated one and will ensure that a balanced viewpoint of the president's State of the Union address is provided to students, Moses said.
Moses also said the district will be fair to Bennish. "People in life make mistakes occasionally," he said. "We address them. We learn from them."
The 20-minute recording of only a portion of the class was made by 16-year-old sophomore Sean Allen the day after the president's speech. The recording has raised questions about what level of academic freedom is acceptable for high school teachers. It also has generated discussions about Bennish on dozens of websites.
Sean, who appeared on Rosen's show Wednesday morning, said in an interview he had been disturbed by the "political rants" he heard in Bennish's class. He added that he wanted to tape the session for his father, who later shared it with the media.
Sean, who described himself as a political independent, said the comments seemed inappropriate for a geography class.
"If he wants to give an opinion in class, I'm perfectly OK with that," he said. "But he has to give both sides of the story."
James McGrath Morris, an author who has written about academic freedom issues, said Bennish's comments are acceptable for an adult audience, but they are hard to defend in a high school classroom.
In a number of legal cases, courts have ruled that "up until the age of majority, children are easily influenced ... in a way that they don't have the faculties to sort out rights from wrongs," Morris said.
ooooooohhh. ANOPTHER good one. choices choices
preducator or edupredator
Perhaps ...
preducator is an 'educator' who attempts to prejudice and indoctrinate students.
and
an edupredator is an 'educator' who sexually preys on students
?
"This is the GREAT thing about MP3 players. They are very ubiquitous nowadays so it is getting easier and easier to EXPOSE these loonie left teachers/professors."
But it's only legal to tape a conversation without both parties approval in certain states. Remember Linda Tripp?
"up until the age of majority, children are easily influenced ... in a way that they don't have the faculties to sort out rights from wrongs,"
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
And this is why the liberals ( really Marxists-lite) defend government schools.
If children are easily influenced, then the liberals want these kids so they can poison their minds.
Solution: We must begin the process of completely separating SCHOOL and state. Put parents, teachers, and principals back in charge.
LOL!
Be my guest.
It's kind of a cosmic payback for the phrases I've swiped from other FReepers.
Why parents keep sending their children back into the Public School black hole is a mystery to me......
February 22nd
Jay Bennish, a teacher at Overland High School in Aurora, Colo, told his class, "Bush is threatening the whole planet." "[The] U.S. wants to keep the world divided." Then he asked, "Who is probably the most violent nation on the planet?" He shouted the answer to his own question - "The United States!"
******
There is a Tim Knight who shares a telephone number with this 'teacher'.
"And this is why the liberals ( really Marxists-lite) defend government schools. "
Influencing and shaping culture was THE reason for compulsory gov't education. It wasn't really about the Three R's.
Horace Mann:
"Mann: "We who are engaged in the sacred cause of education are entitled to look upon all parents as having given hostages to our cause."
Because the majority of the teachers conduct themselves honorably. I never worried about a liberal teacher as it honed my kids critical thinking skills. They would come home and we would discuss the issues. What's terrible about that? These are the people out there in the real world.
When I criticized Bill Clinton years ago in a classroom, I was fired...aw, skip it.
All public school classes should be recorded and then all tapes should be freely available publically. This will insure that teachers maintain the trust placed in them by parents.
"He also said there were "eerie similarities" between what Bush said during his Jan. 28 State of the Union address and "things that Adolf Hitler used to say."
And this teacher sounds eerily similar to Mao or Stalin, but he probably would be proud to hear it. Who killed more people Mr commie?
I think that goes for many adults as well.
It should be said that the state of the union has nothing to do with geography. When teachers substitute thier judgement for the approved curriculum you get kids graduating who don't know anything. One thing many don't know is geography, and the public complains about that.
The teacher will be reinstated without missing any pay but will have had the benefit of some time off, maybe a lot of time off. After he is back in the classroom he will start receiving little awards for this thing and that in recompense for the embarrassment caused him. He is a stout upright teacher, a brave and fine man who exposes his students to The Truth. That is how NEA and the Academy think of him. The student with the recorder will get nothing but hell in school from here on out unless he gets out of the system.
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