No, that title was not a joke! I am sitting here almost foaming at the mouth after finding out that our FEARLESS leader, the principle of Vallivue High school, sent out an email this afternoon banning all teachers from showing Obama's controversial address to students this coming Tuesday!
I thought censorship was done with in America! I thought that the erroneous, ignorant, fear mongering slander that has preceded this speech (as Obama is now being compared to Mao Tse Tung) died off with the whole Bill Ayers fiasco!! Well apparently I was wrong!
Every student should have the RIGHT to hear what THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES has to say to them! I don't care what their parents political beliefs are, if they don't want them to hear it, keep them at home, or have them step out into the hall for a few minutes, but they should not have the right to stop all the other children from hearing what the president has to say. It should be THE CHILD'S choice whether or not they want to listen to the speech or not, and teachers can not force them to if they choose not to hear it. But to tell ALL TEACHERS that they absolutely CAN NOT show the speech at ALL is closer to being related to Chairman Mao than anything that Obama could do over the television! As if Obama is going to somehow brainwash everyone who listens to his words and make us all turn into mindless socialist drones. The idea is not only preposterous, anyone who believes that should be laughed out of any sort of real political discussion!
BUT THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING!!!!! Even though I am just a student teacher I will not stand for this! Something needs to be done! I will not teach in a school that openly bans ideas of any kind, especially when they are the words or ideas of OUR PRESIDENT! RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!!
Zach,
ReplyDeleteI was just as outraged when I found out we would be unable to show the speech. We had to get signed permission slips from all parents in our classrooms to show it. This was by the demand of Nampa's District Office. BUT I also had to but on a smiling face and talk to at least 3 parents about how they did not want thier children listening to "that man."
Teaching does not end at content. Instead it goes on to make students well rounded adults and prepare them for the big bad world. Well rounded CITIZENS who respect thier leaders even if they don't agree 100% with thier politics.
I am glad to see that I was not the only student teacher outraged by this.
Side note. Did your students ever get to watch the speech??
-Becky
No, they didn't, although we did read it in the classes, and I encouraged them to go home and try to watch it on the internet if they were interested, just to see if Obama's version of the speech happened to be laced with some sort of brainwashing techniques that my reading had not been able to replicate.
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