DU this: Should teacher Jay Bennish be fired for comments he made about *?

[populistdriven]

Should teacher Jay Bennish be fired for comments he made about President Bush?

http://cbs4denver.com/local/polls_poll_061105430


The Story: http://cbs4denver.com/topstories/local_story_061081809.html

(CBS4) AURORA, Colo. A geography teacher at Overland High School was on paid leave after comments he made about President Bush and the war in Iraq during one of his classes the day after the State of the Union Address. The comments were recorded by a student who said he usually uses the audio tapes to help him with lecture notes.

The teacher, Jay Bennish, has not commented about the statements, which included a comparison of President Bush and Adolf Hitler. The Cherry Creek School District said Bennish appeared to violate district policy. He will stay on paid leave until an investigation of the comments is complete.

The student who recorded the comments, Sean Allen, appeared as a guest Wednesday evening on KHOW radio with hosts Craig Silverman and Dan Caplis.

"He wanted us to question why a coke headed, alcoholic who's had all of his jobs have failed but one, and whose daddy bought him into office became the President of the United States," Allen said during the show. ~snip~

[MissB]

1. 30% yes, 55% no, 14% suspended, 1% unsure

[populistdriven]

18. Those #'s look like *'s approval rating

[fknobbit]

41. 59% nt

[Patchuli]

2. I hadn't heard of this?

Is there a link for the story?

[populistdriven]

4. /added

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. He should be promoted.

[BlueEyedSon]

9. promoted.

[DiverDave]

5. No is ahead

But it IS worrisome that so many think he should be.


The brownshirts are next, then the shiny jackboots, then the goose step.
We are way down the slippery slope.

[emulatorloo]

6. No, & the little boy who taped him shouldn't be allowed to go on Hannity

to trumpet his action. . .

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x559201

Voted in the poll, THANKS!

[iconoclastic cat]

7. No, but the best teachers keep their opinions out and help students

to think critically and come up with their own.

[Erika]

26. If the student disagreed, why didn't he speak up

giving the reasons as to why he disagreed. Instead he runs to the media?

W's WH has been Nazi like.

[f-bush]

8. Done Glad to see the no votes there. How about a little free speech?

[dchill]

10. So, pretty much, 30% feel that...

he should be fired for telling the truth. How many would want him fired if he had lied and said that Snarky was the BEST gol-durn president we ever had? We can't have these educators telling our kids the TRUTH, now can we?

[tom_paine]

11. kick

:kick:

[populistdriven]

12. Holy crap I found the Kids MySpace!!!!!

Sounds like a nice 17 year old

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=38477781
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=10963830

[populistdriven]

17. he's a stand-up comedian so I am sure he likes the publicity

[maynard]

56. ego problem?

This kid likes to hear the sound of his own voice. From the comments posted by friends, he is a Republican to the world, but a future AA member with his friends. So much for family values. I bet his parents are in denial about his morals.

[AmandaRuth]

13. Now this is a good question

and one I have spent many many many hours wondering about myself. Perfectly legitimate that this be asked....

"He wanted us to question why a coke headed, alcoholic who's had all of his jobs have failed but one, and whose daddy bought him into office became the President of the United States," Allen said during the show. ~snip~"

[LisaL]

24. Bush hasn't failed in one job? Now, that's news to me.

[scot]

14. The direct quotes from the tape that I read

did not warrent firing. I think teachers should have considerable latitude in the class room to express their opinions, properly labeled as such, and this teacher did label them as opinions. They should not be allowed to grade on conformity to those opinions and there's no indication this teacher did.

[Erika]

31. Great post and welcome to DU

I had many teachers with many different views, and for the most part, I enjoyed that diversity.

[scot]

38. Thank you

Frankly, I enjoy a good argument. I preferred the teachers that disagreed with me and were willing to have an honest exchange of view - without an effect on grades. I found a wider degree of diversity in academia that the right consistently portrays.

[mtnsnake]

15. Fired? The guy should be given a medal.

[populistdriven]

20. The good part of this - Now everyone is asking if * is Hitler

:rofl:

[Erika]

34. Yes, that's the high point!

The teacher can prove how similar W and his regime is to Hitler and his regime. He definitely had a basis for his beliefs.

[LisaL]

25. And a raise.

[stillcool]

16. are we there yet?....

democracy my ass...

[greenbriar]

19. hope he is a memeber of the NEA cause this is likely to get nasty

that little kid is a punk

as a teacher, my kids really don't know how I vote, but often I play devil's advocate to get their juices flowing! Teaching Government can be dicy sometimes, especially when I have them write a bill that they would introduce in congress.

[Nikki Stone 1]

21. Amen! Let's hope the union has the power to deal with Der Shrubmeister

Academic freedom is a thing of the past?

[maynard]

57. not a member of NEA

What a fool! He is not a member of the Union. I had to file a grievance against my principal a few years ago. Major trauma for me despite knowing that I was in the right. I was so grateful for paying my dues all of these years. I would have had to file bankruptcy if I had not had legal help from my local union. My neighbor (1st year teacher) told me she could never belong to a union because she was a Republican. I told her to think long and hard about that idea. People with good intentions in the classroom can always have a knife driven in their back by some devious person.

[Daylin Byak]

27. There are pro and cons to this......

First off this guy has no right to teach his political opinions to his students cause it's a GEOGRAPHY class meaning you teach kids about the states, population, agricultuire and such and although I do not like Bush, I would never compare him to Adolf Hitler.

And what I don't get is what the hell is this kid doing with a mp3 player in school, most school district ban electronic devices and I don't buy that he used it to record lectures, are you trying to tell me that geography class is so hard and complex you need to record classes.

Bullshit.

[Erika]

28. Most geographical areas were formed by the politics

Such as the U.S.

[greenbriar]

50. part of geography is POLITICAL

and as a teacher, anytime a kid has a question REGARDLESS Of subject content, I feel I should answer as best as I can


I agree that punk should have had his MP3 player confiscated

[ellenfl]

22. 58% no eom

[Erika]

23. Contact info for this school

Phone # [phone]
Fax [phone]
email: blazernet/@mail.ccsd.K12.co.us

I have informed them that this administration follows the theories and philosophy closely of Goebbels and the Nazi era regarding fear, patriotism, and Christianity. The teacher certainly had a basis for the beliefs he held.

Geography includes politics at the time. Look at Iraq, Vietnam, Germany, etc.

The student should be charged with an assignment to stand up for his beliefs and explain those beliefs in the classroom.

[nonconformist]

29. Done. nt

[upi402]

30. no 58%

[Mr_Spock]

32. same

[louis c]

33. No 58%

[Ilsa]

35. 59% No! Yes 28%, Suspended 12% nt

[niyad]

36. and the student had a problem understanding the question? or is he

just a little bushbot? that question is one to which we ALL want the answer!!!

[hootinholler]

37. The * Hitler comment is fair:

"It's our job to conquer the world and make sure they live just like we want them to," Bennish can apparently be heard saying on the tape. "Now I'm not saying that Bush and Hitler are exactly the same, obviously they're not, OK. But (there are) eerie similarities to the tones that they use."


I don't know about the context of the first part, possibly the changing geography of the M.E.?

The latter comment is a demonstratably fair assessment.

-Hoot

[proud patriot]

39. glad to help n/t

[bumblebee1]

40. Just did my part with this one. n/t

[fknobbit]

42. This little Hitler Youth

Is kinda making the teachers point. Ratting out Teachers, family, etc......sounds somehow familiar.

[Rex]

43. Unfortunately telling the truth in America can get you fired.

In all fairness, it won't be the first or last time.

[in_cog_ni_to]

44. Yes 59%

Should teacher Jay Bennish be fired for comments he made about President Bush?
YES 59%

[populistdriven]

47. its No 59% :) you scared me there :)

[Booster]

45. Done and a little kick.

[Disturbed]

46. The kid's RW father took it to the RW Corp Media.

The teacher's opinion is 100% correct. If he stated that this was his opinion does he not have a right to it?

[Booster]

54. In my book, and all the books I've read, he certainly does.

[populistdriven]

48. there is a video and a story about the student walkout here..

http://cbs4denver.com/seenon/local_story_061104533.html

[serryjw]

49. I live near Cherry Creek

It is now 11:15PM MT and WE are winning

NO is at 59%
YES is at 28%
Suspended is at 12%

It is a upper/wealthy area. The last thing they worry about is taking MP3 players to class. From what I hear they 'practice' pro-creation during lunch time in the (foreign) cars. I don't

[greenbriar]

51. you don't have to be affluent to do that

our kids do it in their beater cars

[me b zola]

52. no=56%

kick for better poll numbers :kick:

[Left_Winger]

53. Done

If this happened in my school the reich-wingers would be calling for the teacher's head. However, the manner in which the evidence was collected would be inadmissible. In my school electronic devices such as cell phones, pagers, cameras, etc. are not allowed during school hours.

Maybe Overland High should be renamed Watergate High.

[stevietheman]

55. Teachers shouldn't talk about politics - suspension sounds right n/t

n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

58. 70% no

[zonmoy]

59. sounds like he is being punished for telling the truth about

bush and the theocratic fascist cabal he is the puppet of.

[Blue_Tires]

60. ttt n/t

[BenDavid]

61. No! No! and

this teacher gave out a guideline about the course and the interaction he would give to anyone with a point of view...If you listen to the whole tape then you will see this teacher in affect said the same at the end encouraging his students if they had a DIFFERENT view point then please give it.... There will be nothing come of this. The teacher will be brought back into his class and all the right wingers will be pissed. So what, let em be pissed. It is time we on the left stood our ground and do not back down when someone tries to get in our face. Hell the dems in congress back down all the damn time and that is one reason why the dems will have a hard time in 06 because just like Kerry in 04,THERE WAS NO FIGHT IN THAT DAWG. The people are hungry for someone that will stand and fight and give them a sense of direction... Now is the time to stand up and voice your opinions and not stop if someone on the right says you are unpatriotic...keep speaking keep telling your truth as you see it.... Be a bear, but if gonna be one...then BE A DAMN GRIZZLEY.... aS OF 1:15 3/4/06 72% NO.....20% YES