Posted on 03/08/2006 2:48:26 AM PST by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
Cherry Creek Schools officials extended their investigation of embattled geography teacher Jay Bennish after his appearance on television and radio sparked a new wave of phone calls.
Bennish learned the news from reporters after stepping off a plane Tuesday afternoon at Denver International Airport in returning home from a quick trip to New York, where he spoke publicly for the first time on the Today show.
"That's their decision," Bennish said when told that administrators apparently would not end their investigation today - as they had planned - because of unspecified new information that came to light after he appeared on Today and spoke on Peter Boyles' show on KHOW-AM (630).
A meeting set for noon today with Bennish and his lawyer was abruptly canceled by district officials.
It is not clear when Bennish could return to the classroom at Overland High School.
Officials of Cherry Creek Schools, where Bennish has taught since the fall of 2000, would not elaborate on the nature of the information that came from those calls.
"We've received calls from people who say there are things they think we should know," said Cherry Creek Schools spokeswoman Tustin Amole. "We need to talk to these people and find out what they have to tell us before we arrive at a conclusion."
Amole gave no firm timeline for resolution of the Bennish situation, but said, "We would very much like to have this wrapped up by the end of the week."
Bennish's father told the Detroit News that his family in Michigan also has been receiving numerous calls - some of them death threats - since his son's comments became public.
John Bennish of Beverly Hills, Mich., said at least 12 people have called his home and threatened his life and the lives of his family since the story exploded onto the Internet and network television.
"This has been totally lopsided and one-sided," Bennish's father said of the coverage of his son's comments. He said the Fox News Channel's coverage "reminds me of McCarthyism."
Jay Bennish found himself in the center of a firestorm a week ago after a student's surreptitious recording of a 21-minute, 40-second segment of his Feb. 1 world geography class became public. During the lecture, Bennish compared President Bush's State of the Union address to speeches given by Adolf Hitler, questioned U.S. foreign and drug policy, called America "probably" the most violent nation on earth, and took on other controversial issues.
The student who recorded the class, sophomore Sean Allen, eventually made the recording available to a national columnist and to a talk radio host, and school district officials put Bennish on paid leave and launched an investigation into his conduct.
Cherry Creek district policy requires teachers to present varying viewpoints when tackling controversial subjects.
The past week saw Bennish's story explode in the talk radio world, but he mostly kept a low profile, declining requests for interviews.
Then came Tuesday, when he first appeared on the Today show and later spent most of an hour on the radio with Boyles.
About 1:30 p.m., when he walked off a United plane at DIA, he was met by four reporters and four photographers. Passengers waiting to board other flights craned their necks trying to see what was happening.
Bennish's long hair was shorn - he denied it was done for the Today show appearance - and he wore khaki pants, a light blue plaid shirt and a necktie. He agreed to speak with reporters, and as he walked down the concourse to a quiet area, several passengers who recognized him applauded and cheered.
In speaking for a little more than 11 minutes, Bennish reiterated the same themes his attorney has used for nearly a week - that the recorded section of his class was out of context because it didn't provide his other statements that day, that he tries to get students to think by making provocative statements and that he did nothing wrong.
He also pointed to the section of the recording in which he told students he wasn't necessarily trying to get them to agree with him.
"My class is a balanced class," Bennish said. "I show alternative perspectives and viewpoints. Like I said on the tape, I'm not trying to tell students to think a certain way. I'm just trying to tell them to think about those issues more fairly, more in-depth.
"And I also said on the tape, I don't necessarily think that I agree with the things that were stated. As a social studies teacher it is part of my role to play devil's advocate and to show opposing viewpoints that are not traditionally brought forth so that students can investigate those on their own."
He said he did not know that Allen was recording his class, and he refused to speculate as to whether he was "set up."
"The student said he made the recording to study for class," Bennish said. "I would ask the question, 'Where are the rest of the class's recordings?' "
Bennish expressed the hope that he would be back in the classroom "as soon as possible."
"I'd also just like to say that my goals as a teacher are to create democratic values, promote social justice and to encourage kids to be critical thinkers," he said. "And I consider myself someone who cares very much about this country and would like to see it improved, and those are my only goals."
Asked whether he believed Bush is like Hitler, Bennish said he was "playing devil's advocate."
Bennish was also asked how his discussion of various political issues related to geography.
"Geography is more than just memorizing capitals and countries," he responded. "There's political geography, economic geography, cultural geography, historic geography, and all these things are important for kids to understand.
"And all of the topics that were discussed fit within those realms. In terms of the definition of terrorist, I was simply trying to portray to students that one person's terrorist is someone else's hero."
Bennish said he would welcome Allen back into his classroom.
Bennish's statements brought a swift rebuke from Jeff Allen, whose son recorded the teacher's comments.
"That is an outright fabrication," he said. "He never gave the other side of the argument."
He also denied that the recording was "out of context" but said it is still possible that his son will return to Overland.
"After listening to them, after this dies down, I am seriously going to take another shot at sending Sean back to Overland," he said.
Gee, not a word about Geography in there anywhere.
L
He forgot who, by deliberate design, kills innocent children and saws heads off persons they have kidnapped.
Even my most drug induced daze, I could not be foolish enough to believe the crap coming from his upper waste release orifice.
If they fire him, he can just move to San Fran and probably become a superintendant of a school there.
Careful what you ask for, Bennish,
"And I consider myself someone who cares very much about this country and would like to see it improved,
Very progressive of him.
He has no problem being a bully in the classroom but now
he's back pedaling....
He's perfectly happy to dish it out, but when somebody stands up and rhetorically smacks him back he whines like a little baby.
I've got a way he could improve our Country.
Move somewhere else.
L
There was nothing Aristotilian about Mr Bennish's teaching method.
In order to teach something properly, you must have a good grasp of the subject matter. With his tender age, and public skool edumacation, he most likely doesn't know a damn thing about the physical world. But he FEELS good about himself!
The mandatory retreat to claims of death threats calls. Those wacky right-wingers. If we were only sensible like him. He should get tips from that Claremont McKenna prof who faked the trashing of her own car.
-Bennish's long hair was shorn - he denied it was done for the Today show appearance -
It was done, however, for his lawyuh.
An poetry geography and cosmological geography. And don't forget the geography of flower gardens and swingsets. All those are surely relevant to geography also.
He's had his 15 mins--let's move on
"that the recorded section of his class was out of context because it didn't provide his other statements that day"
out of context...
Given the age of Bennish, it is likely that his dad wasn't really old enough to be aware of McCarthy at the time.
L
bttt
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