Posted on 03/07/2006 7:45:58 AM PST by SmithL
COLORADO high-school sophomore Sean Allen couldn't convince his father that his geography teacher was as over-the-top as he contended. So Allen taped one of his teacher's rants on his MP3 player. Too bad for Jay Bennish: His 20 minute lecture ended up on talk radio.
As aired on Mike Rosen's show, Bennish said President Bush talks like Hitler: "I'm not saying that Bush and Hitler are exactly the same," but that the two share "eerie similarities." Peruvians and Iranians arguably have "a right to bomb North Carolina" because the state grows tobacco. On Sept. 11, 2001, al Qaeda operatives were "attacking legitimate targets, people who have blood on their hands, as far as they're concerned." Oh, and capitalism violates "human rights."
The Cherry Creek School District placed Bennish on paid administrative leave as it investigates whether the teacher failed to provide a balanced look at the issues. They won't find balance. I listened to the rant and what I heard was a semi-educated, self-impressed petty tyrant using the classroom as a soap box, secure in the knowledge that a bunch of teenagers couldn't out-argue him. Still, I hope the district allows Bennish to return to the classroom.
(District spokesperson Tustin Amole expects an announcement on Bennish's fate today or Wednesday.)
The school district policy sounds reasonable. The school board recognizes, "Each teacher has the right and the obligation to teach about controversial issues." The district also notes the teacher's obligation to present various views on issues. And: "Although he has the right to express his own viewpoints, he does not have the right to indoctrinate students to his views."
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
ehh, maybe if it was only a mic and not video maybe it should be open to the public?
Better yet...to save time, just send the audio recordings with written transcriptions to the law offices of the local crank who plans to sue because religion was referred to, omitted from instruction, or portrayed in a positive/negative light.
Taping also could be a study aid. No professional teacher should object to having their class recorded so that the student could review/study later.
I wonder if his 20 minute rant was part of his lesson plan for the day. It'd be interesting to see his lesson plan for that day.
Exactly. That's what I always used such things for, and that was my first thought when these stories started coming out about the teachers complaints.
NOW, THAT would be great.....a mic in EVERY classroom...above a certain level, I suppose. Think of how those teachers would teach THEN!!!!
the student says that he did that sort of thing every day or least every other day.
Is dad illiterate?
FR EXCLUSIVE: Class Syllabus of Bush-bashing Colorado Geography Teacher Jay Bennish
And "quality control" in the schools is WAY PAST DUE.....this needs to get some legs...
Check the beginning of the Snow thread, I posted a lot of links via Malkin on it.
BTW, Bolton is coming up on the Tony Snow Show Thread
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1591545/posts
He has Indymedia on his extra credit list! If dad knows what this is, the klaxons in his head should have been blaring.
If dad didn't know, dad should've checked. Jeez, I love parents who spend more time checking out what kind of car they're going to buy than what kind of education their kid's getting. SHEESH.
Quite true.
Or the fleets of school buses .... There is no doubt in my mind that this is the direction education will go in the future, but it will probably evolve through home schooling partnerships with private enterprise. The teachers' unions in concert with the Democratic party will fight it tooth and nail, but in the end they will lose.
The Orwell crowd would freak over the idea
a mic in EVERY classroom...above a certain level, I suppose. Think of how those teachers would teach THEN!!!!
Bennish sounded more to me like a guy who spent his time the night before on DU and hadn't prepared his lesson plans.
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