Posted on 03/04/2006 1:39:56 AM PST by JohnHuang2
Sean Allen is a 16-year-old in Aurora, Colo., who couldn't take it anymore. Sitting day after day in Jay Bennish's 10th-grade geography class had become too much.
Though Bennish teaches students to identify which continent Tokyo appears on, and what the climate of India is like compared to Tibet, Bennish had taken it upon himself as the geography teacher to begin teaching his view of political science (a course not presently offered at Allen's Overland High School).
Following the president's State Of The Union address, Bennish boiled up a bit, until he could no longer take it. Marching into his classroom – preceding what was supposed to be a lecture on geography, Bennish opened his remarks thusly:
He [Bush] started off his speech talkin' about how America should be the country that dominates the world! That we have been blessed essentially by God to have the most civilized, the most advanced, best system, and that its our duty as Americans to use the military to go out into the world and to make the world like us.
Sounds a lot like the things Adolph Hitler used to say. We're the only ones who are right. Everyone else is backwards. And its our job to conquer the world and make sure they all live just like we want them to ... There are some eerie similarities to the tones that they use. Very, very – ethnocentric.
Deciding he had had enough of Bennish's rubbish, he taped him on his IPod, played the tape – for his parents – who took the matter to the school administration who then put Bennish on paid leave. Yesterday, ignorant students walked out of Overland protesting the teacher's paid leave.
But what did Bush say in the beginning of his State Of The Union addresss? Indulge me ...
Abroad, our nation is committed to an historic, long-term goal – we seek the end of tyranny in our world. Some dismiss that goal as misguided idealism. In reality, the future security of America depends on it. On September the 11th, 2001, we found that problems originating in a failed and oppressive state 7,000 miles away could bring murder and destruction to our country. Dictatorships shelter terrorists, and feed resentment and radicalism, and seek weapons of mass destruction. Democracies replace resentment with hope, respect the rights of their citizens and their neighbors, and join the fight against terror. Every step toward freedom in the world makes our country safer – so we will act boldly in freedom's cause.
Far from being a hopeless dream, the advance of freedom is the great story of our time. In 1945, there were about two dozen lonely democracies in the world. Today, there are 122. And we're writing a new chapter in the story of self-government – with women lining up to vote in Afghanistan, and millions of Iraqis marking their liberty with purple ink, and men and women from Lebanon to Egypt debating the rights of individuals and the necessity of freedom. At the start of 2006, more than half the people of our world live in democratic nations. And we do not forget the other half – in places like Syria and Burma, Zimbabwe, North Korea, and Iran – because the demands of justice, and the peace of this world, require their freedom, as well.
No one can deny the success of freedom, but some men rage and fight against it.
And, according to Bennish, this kind of language is directly comparable to Adolph Hitler:
If at the beginning of the War and during the War 12 or 15,000 of these Hebrew corrupters of the people had been held under poison gas, as happened to hundreds of thousands of our very best German workers in the field, the sacrifice of millions at the front would not have been in vain.
These tactics are based on an accurate estimation of human weakness and must lead to success, with almost mathematical certainty, unless the other side also learns how to fight poison gas with poison gas. The weaker natures must be told that here it is a case of to be or not to be.
We should all applaud Sean Allen for standing up to a lying liberal teacher. Oh that more young people are steeled with the courage to charge headlong into the battle for all that is true, just and good!
And as for the ignorant kids who pulled the "walk out"?
Come on, its a public school – what they miss can't corrupt them!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin McCullough is heard daily in New York City, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware and New Jersey on WMCA 570/970 from 2-5 p.m. He blogs at muscleheadrevolution.com.
Yes, it is.......
Does Colorado have a written Standard for : Stalinist Indoctrinational Geography?
Does Colorado have a written Standard for : Stalinist Indoctrinational Geography?
I don't; from Florida. Is Colorado a blue State???
No Child Left Behind is about teaching phonics, testing students AND teachers. It's about giving the parents the results of how their child's teachers and schools have done on those tests.
You could argue a tort based on contracts, ie the student and school corporation has a contract for education, the curriculum calls for 50 minutes of geography, and that the teacher broke the contract by not teaching the agreed upon geography.
If the teacher took it upon himself to deviate from the curriculum, you could also name him a defendant individually, he'd be personally liable (he probably would sue the school district to be indemnified).
Sue the piss out of this commie!
bttt
Not a joke, I didn't get this information without some insight into the issue.
These's a personal connection here, so I'm not going to start a war.
[There's]
...followed by the development of recorders that look like anything but records - (wristwatches, pens, heck, even eyeglasses!
At least he didn't reply in an obscenity laden tirade, which is common for liberals. Perhaps you can offer to sit in on a class or two and provide an alternative view. Perhaps the two of you might agree on a topic and attempt a friendly debate in the classroom to provide the students with an interesting presentation.
"Yesterday, ignorant students walked out of Overland protesting the teacher's paid leave."
I'd protest too .. it should be *unpaid* leave. :-)
Good story.
"Not allowing Free Speech is the problem,"
Nothing FREE about this speech at all.
This is TAXPAYER-PAID speech, which instead of paying for education, pays for indoctrination into liberal psycho-babble.
Result: We have geographical illiterates and the not-too-bright students get gulled into left-liberal nonsense.
Like a virus, it spreads, as the best avenue for a not-too-bright student who cant make it through med school or law school or engineering, is, um, well, ahem, *teacher*.
I see nothing at all wrong with coming down hard on classroom proselytezers... if they even mentioned the words "Jesus is Lord" they'd be fired - what's so different with the quasi-religious belief that 'Bush is Hitler'.
Is it just me, or is this statement wrong? While Japan is "IN" Asia, it's an island, not actually on a continent. I wonder if this mistake was made by the teacher, or by the writer.
Mark
LOL Well, that pretty much sums it up ;)
"Free speech implies a level playing field"
Egads, since when did socialistic assumptions of equality get confused with *FREEDOM*? There is no level playing field in speech, otherwise, I'd have the same soapbox Dan Rather had. I don't.
There is no level playing field between teachers and students. Teachers have a captive audience and students are there to listen.
There's a simple Golden Rule to speech issues: He who pays the gold, makes the rules. This teacher in his free time can make speeches all he wants. But if he is paid to teach in a classroom, he should teach, not pontificate, and those paying have the right - duty even - to keep his activities within the bounds of what he is paid to do. Rants to captive audiences are out of bounds. There is an issue of academic freedom, wherein teachers ought to be given latitude of opinion and expression, but such issues are more relevent at the College level, and come into play when the teaching matter is realted to his opinion. This teacher simply abused the privilege he was given to educate.
"he should have full rights to free speech as well as any other student. "
Another phony equivalent. Why? We dont pay students like we pay teachers.
"I want these idiots to speak because they sound so ridiculous and people see them for what they truly believe."
You overestimate the discernment of many young students.
IMHO, all your logical errors stem from an acceptance of phony egalitarian ethical claims that are not really true, not even relevent here.
True. It would be easy to put mp3 ipod files on to the many MySpace teacher sites.
My brother in-law as a swell fan club site where his students already hand on his every word.
I understand and agree with your point to a certain extent. But are you saying that there is a point where speech should no longer be free?
I could care less what this prick spews as long as someone else is able to opine equally. There road you're heading down is very dangerous my well meaning friend because it dictates what others can say and when they can say it. There is a difference between rights and responsibilities.
Equal speech for everyone in this country!
Alright, you're making a very good point here one that I did not think of. But in the context of what FREE SPEECH is about, there always should be a level playing field. No one should be stifled from voicing, or forced to adopt an opinion...
I say let the idiot voice his twisted convoluted thoughts and teach the children to think!
LOL, what a bunch of Crapolla!
What in tarnation are you referring too?
Whose equal ethical claims? Do you mean the DOI?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.