Teacher suspended for political preaching

[uplinktruck]

Jay Bennish is on suspension from his job as a geography teacher at Overland High School in Aurora, CO. His suspension came to pass as a result of his comments following President Bush's last State of the Union address

Comments

[matt_arnold]

I don't see his comments as justifying the 9/11 attacks. It seems to be an attempt to get students to understand the populations of other countries so that they aren't just seeing them as a characature of evil. It's a warped point of view, certainly. But the students don't have to believe it, and I'm not sure the teacher believes it.

After all, most of the American supporters of the war have a warped and characatured point of view about their civilian enemies, similar to the characatured view of Americans possessed by a civilian in the Middle East who supports Al-Quaeda. These two populations are really mirror images of each other. If the students realize why the civilian Al-Quaeda supporters consider you and I to be evil, they'll recognize that characature of hate when they see their own neighbors doing it towards the Middle East in return. And that will help to stop the cycle of hysteria.

Where does The Constitution guarantee any of us the right to everything we need?Are you saying we should want whatever the Constitution wants?

[uplinktruck]

Where does The Constitution guarantee any of us the right to everything we need?
Are you saying we should want whatever the Constitution wants? We can change the Constitution. It's not divine scripture, you know.

The United States Constitution is not a document to be tampered with lightly. The minute you open that door, all kinds of things can happen.

Look at prohibition. Consider the folks that would like to this as a Christian nation. What about the boys and girls that have their knickers in a wad over gay marriage?

I can only assume from your reply you're suggesting that the constitution be modified to require the government to provide for all citizen's needs. Okay, but then we become a socialist or communist nation. Neither of those systems has worked out well so far.

So how would you feel if Bennish was teaching your children and came down as just as hard on gay marriage comparing it to Satan's work?

[jsp_d]

Okay, but just to play devil's advocate, would you feel as strongly if he weren't 'attacking' something you agree with?

I'm of seriously mixed opinions about this, in large part due to the fact that i see what this teacher is doing as attempting to get students to honestly think, use some small portion of their brains. he might not be going about it the right way, but that doesn't necessarily mean his intentions are in the wrong place.

I might be wrong. I don't have the whole story. But I, personally, believe that somewhere along the line, students need to learn how to listen to and effectively debate in topics like these. That may be a lesson best learned at home, or it may not be.

[uplinktruck]

Okay, but just to play devil's advocate, would you feel as strongly if he weren't 'attacking' something you agree with?

Yes. The teachers in public schools where the students are a captive audience are to teach facts and keep personal opinions and political dogma any side of the fence to themselves.

From the news stories linked above and many others, you will find this is not an isolated incident. Bennish got busted in a highly public manner because of his on going tirades against the President and all his policies.

His job is (was?) to teach geography. It is not, nor will it ever be to turn out good little liberals or conservatives. That is for the student to decide for themselves.

This is a sore spot for me because of the non-sense I had to deal with in the Douglas County, CO school system. In fact, I think I'm going to blog that now.

[matt_arnold]

I do not want to change the Constitution to provide for all citizens' needs. I'm pro-capitalism. I object to your form of argument: that if the Constitution says it, therefore it is right. I reject that statement on principle, even though we should be cautious in changing the Constitution. I do not like what it says just because it's in the Constitution: I like the Constitution because I stand in judgement over it and I like what it says. Authority starts from the people and goes upward, to the leaders and laws, not the other way around.

I don't advocate tampering with the Constitution lightly. But it serves us, we don't serve it. We've made a lot of amendments to it before, and we will continue to do so.

[uplinktruck]

Okay. I'll go along with that and I see where I went wrong in my post. You're right.