Speaking of Fascism...

["Naomi Katz" <N_Katz@msn.com>]

As some of you know, I am in a school that the district has wanted to convert into a charter, but has been unsuccessful at to date (Webster).  The past cohort of veteran teachers had voted it down, and were then involuntarily transferred out.  This year the school has gone through a "re-structuring" so that we've had a whole new staff, including administration.  Recently, we were informed that we were to become a small school, down the road.  The principal suddenly "took ill" and is on sick leave, not to return, and the Vice-Princ. is going out on Maternity leave any day now.  They have been replaced by New/Old administrators, with Delia Ruiz, OCR queen, at the helm.

Yesterday I learned that four of the teachers at my school had been informed that they were being transferred out of the school at the end of this year (into a district pool) for not being "restructuring material."  When asked to explain what this means or to give examples, the administration declined to answer.  2 of the 4 were outspoken critics of some of the policies and attempts to coerce teachers: one of them a very seasoned teacher (from another district) who had given hours of his personal time coaching other new teachers; the other one - our Union Rep.  They were asked (tricked) into signing a statement that read something to the effect that they were out of compliance with NCLB.  One refused to sign.   

A couple of weeks ago another teacher, who let it be known that she was keeping a record of all the "irregularities of the school" (staff being asked to lie about children's tardies, staff asked to sign blank evaluation forms or forms with trumped-up dates, etc.) was fired immediately and escorted back to her classroom by the security guards to pick up and leave.  She was given no reason for the firing.  A statement was read to her and she was made to keep silent through the whole process.  She is filing a grievance with OEA.

Talk about fascism!

--Naomi
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Peter Farruggio<mailto:pfarr@cal.berkeley.edu> 
  To: ca-resisters@interversity.org<mailto:ca-resisters@interversity.org> 
  Sent: Monday, March 13, 2006 7:34 PM
  Subject: [ca-resisters] Bush bashing by teacher spurs threats





  Bush bashing by teacher spurs threats

  Colorado man compares president to Hitler; angry callers target Mich. family, student who taped lesson.

  Joe Menard / The Detroit News
  March 8, 2006
  http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060308/SCHOOLS/603080395

  <http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060308/SCHOOLS/603080395>BEVERLY HILLS -- The publication of a teacher's comments comparing President George W. Bush to Adolf Hitler during a Colorado classroom discussion has resulted in threats to the teacher, his family in Michigan and the student who reported him.

  John Bennish of Beverly Hills said at least 12 people have called his home and threatened his life and the lives of his family since comments made by his son, Jay, exploded onto the Internet and network television.

  Jay Bennish, 28, a teacher at Overland High School in Aurora, Colo., defended his position on NBC's "Today" show Tuesday, telling host Matt Lauer:

  "My job as a social studies teacher is to argue alternative perspectives and viewpoints so that students are aware of those points of views. They do not necessarily reflect my own views. They are simply thrown out there to encourage critical thought."

  The comments -- made to his class Feb. 1 in response to Bush's State of the Union address -- have thrust Bennish, a 1996 Seaholm High School graduate, into the national spotlight in the debate over the war in Iraq and war on terrorism. It also stoked the debate on how much liberty teachers should have in expressing views on current events.

  The comments were made public Feb. 22 by conservative syndicated columnist Walter E. Williams. Since then, the comments have been repeated on the Internet and on television shows, including Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes," on the "Today" show and on Rush Limbaugh's syndicated radio show.

  "This has been totally lopsided and one-sided," Bennish's father said of the coverage his son's comments have received. He said the Fox News Channel's coverage "reminds me of McCarthyism. And they're supposed to be fair and balanced?"

  Sean Allen, a 10th-grade student in Bennish's world geography class, recorded the comments on his MP3 player. They included Jay Bennish saying some of Bush's speech "sounds a lot like the things that Adolf Hitler used to say. We're the only ones who are right, everyone else is backwards and our job is to conquer the world and make sure that they all live just like we want them to."

  Later in the recording, Bennish said he was not claiming Bush and Hitler were the same, "but there are some eerie similarities to the tones that they use."

  Some students said that Allen, too, has become a target, even though the teen has not returned to school since the recording was made public.

  "Everybody's mad" at Allen, Phil Tekle, 17, told the Denver Post. "People are saying that if they see him, they want to beat him up. I think that's just talk, though."

  Allen, who has said he records all the lectures in his classes instead of taking notes, handed it over to his father, who passed it on to Williams and a conservative Denver talk radio station. From there, it hit Internet blogs and eventually mainstream media such as Fox.

  "Regardless of whether you're pro-Bush or anti-Bush, pro-American or anti-American, I'd like to know whether there's anyone who believes that the teacher's remarks were appropriate for any classroom setting, much less a high school geography class," Williams wrote in a Feb. 22 column posted on the Web site townhall.com. "It's clear the students aren't being taught geography. They're getting socialist lies and propaganda."

  Jay Bennish, whose mother is a teacher in Birmingham, was placed on administrative leave from his job in the Cherry Creek School District while it investigates whether his Feb. 1 lecture violated a policy requiring that balancing viewpoints be presented in classes.

  "The main reason I say those racy or thought-provoking perspectives (is) I'm trying to provoke my students to go out there and decide for themselves," Jay Bennish told the Post. "I try to throw alternative perspectives out to students so they can (think) critically. I think the whole thing is reflective of a trend, an intolerance for anyone who would dare to speak with an opposing view ... This is not a good sign for a healthy democracy."

  Bennish said he invites opposing views, as long as students can back up their arguments.

  He said no parents -- including the family of the student who recorded the lecture -- have complained to him, and all the students' parents had seen his syllabus and that school officials had approved it.

  "I think what I've learned is the level of polarization that America is facing right now," he said. "There seems to be a growing intolerance for anybody that would dare to articulate (contrary) ideas to what is .. mainstream. It's very discouraging and as a society and as a country, we need to grapple with these issues.

  "I certainly think this is a very scary precedent and this is something that could inhibit teachers from actively discussing these types of issues for fear they will be the next person to be broadcast" in the media.

  Bennish has weathered the criticism well for a teacher in the profession for just six years, said his mother, Jan, who teaches at Harlan Elementary.

  "I'm absolutely amazed at how well he's able to handle this," she said. "I think Jay's always been very mature."

  Jay Bennish's lawyer, David Lane, said he expects the school district to make a decision on his client's future on Thursday.

  "Aside from right-wing talk radio, he's got a lot of support," Lane said. "He's got some of the highest student evaluations of any teacher."

  The comments came as a surprise to Bennish's former lacrosse coach at Seaholm, Aaron Frank.

  "He was fairly quiet," he said, adding that Bennish was a good player.

  Despite his quiet demeanor, Bennish was an independent young man and an "individual," said Frank, now the school's athletic director.

  The Associated Press contributed to this report. You can reach Joe Menard at (248) 647-7429 or jmenard@detnews.com<mailto:jmenard@detnews.com>.