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| Fifth Column |
| Teacher’s Anti-Bush Pin Stirs Controversy |
| 2003-03-04 |
| Source: Fox News CONIFER, Colo. — As talk of war escalates, school boards across the country are grappling with the First Amendment: from first graders making peace posters to whether teachers can wear anti-war pins. Some parents in Conifer, Colo., are fuming that a sixth-grade teacher wore a pin that said, "Not My President, Not My War," on a class trip. Holy Rip Van Winkle, Batman! The teacher thinks it's still November 2000. When Linda Fowler's son came home from West Jefferson Middle School wondering why his teacher was against a possible war with Iraq, she took it personally. "I'm not afraid to stand up for my country," said Fowler, whose father and grandfather are both war veterans. "I have family and friends that are currently in the military — you are crossing the line of what many Americans are teaching their children — to be proud Americans." The Fowlers wrote e-mails to the school to protest the wearing of the button. But the Jefferson County School District, saying "teachers have the same First Amendment rights as all Americans," wouldn't demand the teacher remove the button — although it said it encouraged teachers not to wear such items. The school district first defended the teacher. "She has not politicized her classroom nor tried to convince her students of her point of view," said the Feb. 26 statement. Typical ratweasel public school administrators. But it later did an about-face: "It's inappropriate to wear a political button (on a field trip), since it's an extension of a classroom," district spokesman Rick Kaufman told the Denver Post, saying the media misinterpreted the statement. See what I mean? "There is a fine line to be walked here," Kaufman said. "Teachers have a right to freedom of expression, but not when that expression disrupts the learning process" by forcing one viewpoint over another on the students. Now if they'd only tell that to the curriculum committee! As the mighty James Lileks wrote in this morning's Daily Bleat, the level of ideological indoctrination in some public schools is nothing short of astounding. The district and the teachers union — the Jefferson County Education Association, an arm of the National Education Association — said teachers "must be judicious in expressing their political opinions to avoid politicizing the classroom or disrupting the learning environment" and must provide a "neutral atmosphere." "Neutral"=everyone agrees with the NEA party line. "We don't believe that teachers lose their First Amendment rights when they enter the school building," Jeanne Beyer, spokeswoman for the Colorado Education Association, told the Rocky Mountain News. But, she noted, "the second part of that whole discussion is, is it appropriate? Even if your right is, in fact, protected, is it appropriate in your role as a professional educator to do that?" Uh, in this case, no. The teacher who started the controversy in Colorado, horrified she But wait, there's more! The potential war with Iraq is an emotional issue, and a school district's responsibility to stay neutral in the classroom has been a hot topic throughout the country.
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| Posted by:Mike |
| #1 A 60,000-student public school district in California in January unanimously approved a resolution condemning any U.S.-led war on Iraq and urged all schools to host a "public day of discussion" on the topic, which angered the local Parent Teachers Association, among others. Eric Mar, the school board vice president who co-authored the resolution, denied that the board was trying to force its viewpoint on teachers or students, and said it was a money issue. Who does this asshole think he is, Harry Belafonte? Vouchers, folks. We need them bad. Let's see how the public schools (and the teachers unions feasting on the public tit) measure up with a little competition. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-03-04 21:45:18 |