pan6467

I heard about this a few days ago, and someone (Mike Trivisonno) on the radio was blasting the teacher for just being a Geography teacher. Ahem..... last I checked part of geopgraphy was studying countries social, political, economical and philosophical beliefs, NOT just point out countries on a map.

He is also heard flipping down the maps (I assume) so he could POINT OUT COUNTRIES HE NAMED...... hmmmmm using free speech to point to countries interesting way to get kids to know where Guatemela is, or Isreal and Syria, and so on.

BUT the article states very plainly, he is not just a Geography teacher but a Social studies/Am. Hist teacher: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/...n1364883.shtml


THANK YOU FOR THE TRANSCRIPT.

Now then, I have 2 problems with this.

1) Why and how was this teacher's lecture taped?

Well according to the article it was because the student never heard an opposing side. Meaning, I suppose, this teacher made statements derogatory towards Bush before. So the kid taped his teacher's rant.

Now that could be innocent by the kid, go to class the teacher is talking about America and Bush and starts his rant and .....

However, it could have very easily benn a setup by the kid. Do we hear on the tape what was said before? If perhaps this student may have egged the teacher on with a baited question? It would be easy to sit there and say, "Hey teach, I was on the net last night and saw a comparison between Bush and Hitler, do you think there is any?" So we cannot rule the qualifiers (what was said before) out.

2) Why was this teacher suspended?

Well according to the school, it was not what was said but the fact he didn't give the other side, a favorable Bush comment. Which the tape clearly show was not the case.

Well, the problem exists is that we are basing everything on a kid's tape. A kid that as shown above could easily have baited the teacher. The kid could have edited the tape (paused at places he wanted... and he did), to get only what he wanted.

So to say that this tape is the only evidence is very suspect. Actually, sounds like a very interesting lecture..... (EXCEPT alcohol is the number 1 killing drug in America not tobacco/nicotine. So, as a smoker I must argue that I dislike his condemnation of tobacco...... ) He makes some very valid points, that should be addressed.

I guess my view is do we sit here and want teachers to just teach or do we sit here and want kids to think for themselves and work to inspire the kids to think? I personally as a parent would have praised this teacher because he got my kid interested in a subject and got my kid thinking.

When you do hear the kid talk (I assume it is him as his voice is louder) the teacher acknowledges the kid's views and debates, egged on by the kid.

Hmmmmmmm a teacher again proving that he is getting response from students and getting them to THINK and QUESTION.

Sorry, but I find this teacher to be damned good. I would venture to say his students walk out of his class having learned more than they knew before it, AND are probably more apt to think about differing views and debate better.

QUOTE FROM THE TEACHER: "...IN NO WAY AM I TELLING YOU, YOU HAVE TO FIGURE THIS OUT YOURSELF...... IT ALL REVOLVES AROUND PEOPLE'S PERSPECTIVES."

"I AM NOT IN ANY WAY IMPLYING YOU NEED TO AGREE WITH ME, I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF I AM TAKING A POSITION. BUT WHAT I AM TRYING TO DO IS TO GET YOU TO THINK ABOUT THESE ISSUES MORE IN DEPTH...... I AM GLAD YOU ASKED ALL OF THOSE QUESTIONS BECAUSE THEY ARE VERY GOOD LEGITIMATE QUESTIONS AND HOPEFULLY IT WILL GET OTHERS TO THINK ABOUT TAKING A POSITION."

Hmmmmmm making students think...... we should put him in front of a firing squad for that.

He talks about how Clinton bombed the Sudan.

I think he makes some very, very good arguments.

I think in a few places you can hear the pause in mid sentence and the tape start up again.

I think this teacher is doing the job he is paid to do extremely well and we need more teachers like him.

I think that because of his views (some legitimate, some out there, some I would be very interested in seeing how he came up with) the Right looks to fry the man.

Look how many just on this board IGNORED everything else (including the quotes from the teacher I supplied), evene this thread.... all people on the Right heard was a comparison to Hitler and how he shows that other countries have the right to attack the USA for what we do, if they were to use the same logic we used to attack Iraq, or Cuba or.......

I feel sorry because this teacher did a damned good job, educating opening minds to THINK, and is being punished for doing so.

I just think if he had taken a pro-Bush stance and the kid taped it and complained that he didn't have the "other side" the Right would find no fault in this at all.

Overall, an extremely interesting lecture by an extremely damned good teacher.

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I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"