Posted on 03/04/2006 6:27:38 AM PST by randita
Article Launched: 3/04/2006 01:00 AM
Teacher backs away from lawsuit threat
The district made clear that teacher Jay Bennish may speak to the media, his lawyer said Friday.
By Karen Rouse Denver Post Staff Writer DenverPost.com
An Overland High School teacher whose recorded statements about President Bush and U. S. foreign policy sparked a national debate about classroom speech on Friday backed away from plans to sue the Cherry Creek School District.
The attorney for social studies teacher Jay Bennish said his client held off on the lawsuit after district officials made clear that Bennish was free to talk to the media.
"Today he was told he could talk to the media," said David Lane, the attorney for Bennish, who has been on paid administrative leave since Wednesday.
However, Lane said, for the time being Bennish will not comment on the case.
Lane said Bennish was initially told by an administrator that "if you talk to the media, we will view this as insubordination."
But district spokeswoman Tustin Amole said she told Bennish "he had a First Amendment right to speak to whoever he wants to." She said she was present when another administrator told him the same thing.
Bennish, 28, has not responded to phone calls. Lane said Bennish didn't want to proceed with a lawsuit before the district is finished with its investigation.
"I have to see what they're going to do," said Lane, the Denver attorney who has also represented controversial University of Colorado at Boulder professor Ward Churchill.
The district is interviewing students, teachers and others as part of an investigation into whether Bennish's classroom lectures have violated school policies, Amole said.
On Wednesday, a 16-year-old student, Sean Allen, went public with a recording he made of Bennish's lecture on Feb. 1, the day after Bush's State of the Union address.
During the 20-minute segment, Bennish emphatically criticizes Bush, saying there were "eerie similarities" between Bush's comments and "things that Adolf Hitler used to say." Before it concludes, Bennish tells his students, "I'm not in any way implying that you should agree with me."
Amole said others have come forward with concerns about Bennish, but she declined to discuss the nature of their concerns.
Amole also said about 16 students met with Superintendent Monte Moses on Friday afternoon to express support for Bennish.
Overland High principal Jana Frieler on Thursday also sent a letter home to parents notifying them that Bennish was on leave pending the outcome of the investigation, and that, as a result, students participated in a peaceful protest that day.
Allen, the student who recorded the class, has not returned to school since appearing on several local and national radio programs with the recording on Wednesday.
Staff writer Karen Rouse can be reached at 303-820-1684 or krouse@denverpost.com.
LOL The timing shows at least I was typing while you were posting... Good job.
He's not supposed to be ranting about his political views in the classroom regardless of what he's supposed to be teaching . He is obviously a MORON , his opinions show he hasen't a clue about history or current events. TRAITOR
Fag Boy
He doesn't need a lawsuit - he likely has something much better in the works - writing a book about how he is a victim. Clueless #$*@s like him are a frequent occurrance - he just happened to get his 3 days of fame.
You're spot on with that. I see that his students learned absolutely no geography while he was more concerned with expressing his politics.
Very interesting site that adderesses this issue on the college level . They nail these type of teachers to the wall and expose traitors in our schools .
http://www.noindoctrination.org/
Just sent a quick note to the reporter.
Geography and social studies make an entirely different story here.
Need to find out which he is, and hold spinner's feet to the fire.
don't blame you one bit, Baynative, not seen a more Nancy looking jerk in my life
The most outrageous statement that "the Towers were a legitimate military target cause one had a CIA office in it"
Yeah, the other couple thousand people who died were only collateral damage. I wish he was teaching my kid. Somehow, I don't think the parent/teacher conference would go so well.
That's a very interesting interview. Thanks for the link!
Geography is one course in the social studies curriculum. I often taught it. Current events is a recommended part of social studies instruction. However, the parts I have heard are not prompting a discussion of the speech, but go very far afield into a rant of opinion.
On that one I had to go to the school and ask the teacher what country she lived in? The Administration was a little surprised (a little?) as well. She never said it again!
Simply put, this clown can no longer teach kids. If he cant keep his personal agenda out of the curriculum, then he needs to find other work. If he wants to be a Bush/America/Troop/Flag/Freedom/liberty/ hater let him teach at the Sorbonne or something..
Dosent matter what he taught . It was a political , personal opinion raving rant . A teacher must present both sides and let the kids decide . This is obvious propaganda , non factual , bull . On top of it this WAS supposed to be a geography class which makes what he did double wrong . I hope ONE parent has some balls and tells off the Board od Ed in that district .
He'll get fired and get a high payed job as a professional protester , payed by Soros (like Sheehan ) . Probably get to travel a lot , go places and do things all without having to work a day .
TREASON
Oh my, Bennish is a stoner enouraging the use of dope and underage sex. I wonder what the conversations have been like between Bennish and his well to do father.
Sorry if this has been said before, but I understood the lawyer (on Fox yesterday morning) to say that he has also defended Ward Churchill and that 'Prof Churchill had returned to the classroom' - insuating that he had been let off the hook.
Which is probably true.
And the lawyer kept spouting crap about 'first amendment rights' to excuse what Bennish said in the classroom.
Which is complete crap and no one said a word about that, to him in the interview.
I had to turn it off.
First amendment rights are not guaranteed within the framework of employment, that I am aware of. I think the employer's requirements take precedence over everything else - in other words, you are hired to do the job you are hired to do, which in his case is teaching geography.
I just don't see where a left wing political rant is part of a geography class syllabus. In fact looking at his syllabus, it did not mention left wing ranting by the teacher.
Fire his ass. If I stood on my desk at my job and ranted about ANYTHING when I was on the company clock, I don't think I would be collecting any more paychecks. In fact I would probably be sent to a mental hospital for observation which might be a good idea for Bennish. He did not sound wound very tight, to me.
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