Some Maine Teachers Traumatizing Students of Deployed Soldiers

WABI- TV Bangor Maine | February 21, 2003 | 6 PM News

[bogeybob]

WABI TV reported Friday that the Maine National Guard Family Assistance Center has received about 30 complaints from children of deployed soldiers concerning Principals, Teachers and Guidance Counselors reportedly demeaning the role of their deployed parent. Some children involved are 7 to 9 years of age.

Here is a letter written to a friend of mine from the Maine Army National Guard:

"Thank you for your interest on this most troubling matter. Our Family Assistance Centers have reported cases from Aroostook County to Southern Maine. We are reluctant to give out specific schools and the individuals involved in the interest of giving the education community a chance to address the problem itself. Also, parents wanted the opportunity to pursue the issue through their local school boards first.

In all, we have over thirty complaints that name schools and individual principals, teachers and guidance counselors. If one considers that these complaints come from just the parents who attended our briefings and only from children who told their parents, we are concerned that the problem may be more widespread than we know.

We are recording the complaints, and I will personally visit these educators to express our concern as a professional organization and ask for their cooperation.

Ultimately, our main concern and first responsibility is the safety of our children during these uncertain times. Maine has a core of dedicated and professional educators, but we will challenge any individual who places our children at risk due to their own political ideologies."

[spunkets]

"We are reluctant to give out specific schools and the individuals involved in the interest of giving the education community a chance to address the problem itself."

There's a big problem with this report, because it's claiming 30 complaints w/o specifics. There's no legitimate reason to withold info unless the complaint itself is fabricated. This is not between the schools and some little group. It is between the country and those demeaning it's military.

[stands2reason]

I'm pretty sure he lives in Pago Pago.

[Vermont Lt]

I saw that after I posted the last one.

What kind of an animal would say anything bad about a military person in front of their kids--when the only message they are hearing is that thier mom or day may not come back.

I thought they were supposed to be the sensitive ones.

[NonValueAdded]

got rope?

[litany_of_lies]

Here is my guess at to the reason to withhold names:

A kid's dad or mom is overseas and away from home. He/she (the kid) is already having to deal with his gone-from-home parent being called "unethical" at best and probably a whole lot of other things. What the kid doesn't need is the glare of publicity and teachers, prinicipals, and reporters in his/her face.

The military brass isn't going to get specific unless the stateside parent wants to raise a ruckus. If they do, the news gets to the soldier overseas and distracts/demoralizes him/her.

---

I disagree with the reasoning, but understand it. IMHO, if the stateside parent fights the good fight it will make the serving parent more determined to do well. The downside is that if only couple agree to come out with specifics, they'll be harrassed and maybe worse by terrorist sympathizers and sleepers.

So if there is going to be exposure, it's got to be large numbers, to spread the risk and pain. Maybe the brass is working in the background to do just that (one can hope), or perhaps is sharing specifics in private discussions.

[sonofatpatcher2]

Re: WABI TV reported Friday that the Maine National Guard Family Assistance Center has received about 30 complaints from children of deployed soldiers concerning Principals, Teachers and Guidance Counselors reportedly demeaning the role of their deployed parent.

I say we treat them like Michael Jackson. Give them a fair trial and hang 'em in the morning.

[Morrigan]

You got a response from them? I didn't. *sniff*

Every time I see "Maine" in the title of an article on here, I cringe! No one ever says "Boo" about the crap that goes on here, not about the Somali situation or how the Dems STOLE that election! And there was proof that they stole it, and no one did anything!! What is up with this?

[Eva]

The quality of public school education is inversely proportionate to the growth of the NEA.

That said, we heard from an Arizona teacher that the NEA is endorsing a nationwide curriculum of PEACE. It seems to have been put together by some former writer for the WA Post. It is this same agenda that was used in San Jose and Oakland schools for the one day teach in before the first anti-war demonstration in San Francisco. I

I did some research for the teacher from Arizona, but I don't remember the name of the man who is heading this program. I will look back on some of my posts and see if I can find it.

[Let's Roll]

" Answer: teachers don't dance in the streets."

Yet.

[OpusatFR]

What kind of animal?

A Marxist with an agenda to promote.

This is a worst kind of bullying. A teacher in control of a child making that child an example is an unqualified bully.

So much for zero tolerance and diversity of opinion in the Bangor school system.

[aculeus]

We are recording the complaints, and I will personally visit these educators to express our concern as a professional organization and ask for their cooperation.

Express concern? These scum should be fired..

[Godfollow]

Sounds like civil war is rearing its ugly head… the democrats are driving a wedge so deep in the fabric of American society that it will affect the whole of our society to the negative, from business to education. People are becoming so pitted against each other that the next logical stage of this political morass will be war... in the states.

[Eva]

I just did a general search on the internet for PEACE curriculum and came up with so many different links to leftist groups offering educational materials that it was unbelievable. Most of these curricula seem to stem from a UN program. I would bet that the Maine teachers are using one of these.

[Bruce Kurtz]

I'm retired military, and this is just unbelievable. A fifth column operating in the schools. This if true needs to be nipped in the butt right now. How low can they go, this is the lowest. Telling these young kids that their parents are bad, it doesn't get any lower. Any teacher, principal,or counselor involved should be fired immediately.

Bruce Kurtz

[Vermont Lt]

Rope is too nice for them. Picture me goosestepping up I-95!

[Uncle George]

BUMP TO THE TOP TILL WE GET NATIONAL NEWS COVERAGE OK?

[TexasBarak]

They are reporting their largest deployment in 60 years in the papers this weekend. I think the Guard General does report to the Governor, however

He does- until the Guard is activated (federalized)in it's role as a reserve component of the U.S. military. The governer is then cut out of the chain of command.

[Mister Baredog]

Sorry-- I just did a google search and found out that they are changing some of the endless paperwork req's and that has created a lot of confusion, but YOU ARE RIGHT(ON)

[Libertina]

Unbelievable,.. no wait, liberals are involved. There is no depth to which they don't sink. Too bad they don't self destruct upon reaching a certain level.

[Boxsford]

From the article: Our Family Assistance Centers have reported cases from Aroostook County to Southern Maine.

Also, parents wanted the opportunity to pursue the issue through their local school boards first.

So, you choose to believe the Family Assistance Center is lying and the parents are lying in these sentences? You choose to believe that we here at FR cannot determine there is a problem based on past information and knowledge of teachers/unions and this article? We're perhaps not being fair? Sorry, but teachers have long lost their collective credibility and I choose to believe the Family Assistance Center and the parents.