Witchunt in Colorado: X-tian Teacher suspended for showing Faust

[Sgent]

An elementary school teacher in Bennett, Colorado, has been suspended for showing her class a 12-min portion of the opera Faust, according to reports in the Rocky Mountain News, the Denver Post, and the Los Angeles Times.

Specifically, Tresa Waggoner, a first-year teacher, showed her elementary-school class a section of a video that used sock puppets to animate the opera. The video featured the soprano Joan Sutherland, whom many consider the greatest soprano of her generation. Ms. Waggoner found the 30-year-old videotape in the school library. She had invited singers from Opera Colorado to perform at the school and used the video to prepare her students. The performance was canceled, and no reason was given, according to a spokesperson from Opera Colorado.

Parents accused Ms. Waggoner of devil worship and, in at least one instance, of not being a Christian, as if not being a Christian were somehow reprehensible. In fact, Ms. Waggoner, herself an opera singer, describes herself as a Christian and has two Christian recordings among her credentials.

Ms. Waggoner, the mother of two children, was further accused of being a lesbian aiming to promote homosexuality. Ms. Wagonner says she was - get ready for this - explaining “trouser roles” in opera. (In Faust , a young man in love with Marguerite is played by a soprano.) Other parents complained that the video deals with abortion; Ms. Waggoner says flatly that they lied.

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[roguevalley]

1. now you know why after 27 years I retired. Poor thing. people only

say they want educated children. they don't mean it. I remember once a parent told me that I could teach all kinds of things but not dinosaurs since it conflicted with their genesis view of the world. Idiots.

[displacedtexan]

12. Me, too (after 25 years).

I got so sick of so-called educators sucking the very life out of kids
on a daily basis.

[Neil Lisst]

2. this country has not been here since the 1950s

culturally

These are the effects of five years of uninterrupted Bushdom.

[KittyWampus]

39. The 1950's? You mean just before segregation started crumbling?

and just before women started climbing back out of the role of obedienct housewives where they were shoved right after WWII?

[Oversea Visitor]

3. Madass hole

School for education
Church and places of worship for religion

Dumb fuck cross this line and you all back to stone age

Wheee a generations of dumb Americans
Scarcy thoughts

[DarkTirade]

4. WTF... I mean seriously...

...
.....
...
my mind is officially blown. I thought there were limits to human stupidity. Obviously, I was wrong.

[RC]

14. But there are limits to infinity...

[malaise]

15. America is up

the proverbial $hit creek without a paddle.

[Selteri]

5. My god, the ignorance boggles the mind.

What are they afraid of, the kids learning about Opera? Maybe understanding that PEter Pan is played by a girl more often then a boy. God forbid the kids are introduced to a concept that they might be curious about. Faust is a great lesson for the kids I think, faust is made tremendous promises and none of them truly are ever fofilled in the way he really expects.

I think the greatest danger of Faust would be boring the hell out of the kids because of how slow parts of Opera can be.

[longship]

6. On top of it all, it's Gounod's Faust w/ Sutherland!

One of the greatest opera recordings ever made.

Jesus, these people are totally batshit crazy.

[ChoralScholar]

60. It's not even THE opera.... It's a kids video, with puppets,

about the opera... see posts #58/59

[kevinbgoode]

7. Why....where is the Liberty Counsel and the Alliance Defense Fund

after all, they are supposed to rush to the defense of the free expression of any American's religious beliefs. Oh...I forgot...only those beliefs which align themselves with their evangelical bosses.

[BR_Parkway]

8. From the actual news article, looks like a witchhunt indeed -

On Jan. 9, 10 and 11 she showed her first-, second- and third-grade classes about 12 minutes of highlights from the video.

"They were on the edge of the seat," Waggoner said of the students' reaction. "Nobody came to me crying, no one wanted to leave."

But on Jan. 13, she received a call from the mother of a second-grader. "She said, 'I basically do not understand why do you not let the kids sing Christmas songs at their winter concert, but you would teach them about the devil. Are you not a Christian?' "

Waggoner said she was shocked at the question and offered to meet with the parent, but the woman never took her up on the offer.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4486164,00.html

[immoderate]

40. Who else but Christians teach about the devil?

What a silly question.:dunce:

--IMM

[DanCa]

9. Dont get me started on sock puppets :

Or the religious right both our a pox on humanity. I remember the good ole days when people needed a license to become a teacher, and practice medicine. I guess these days the only requirement for these profession is to be a member of the right wing fringe.

[Minnesota Libra]

10. Accused of not being a Christian - so what? Isn't that just like........

the Taliban accusing the guy of switching from the Muslim religion to Christianity. I thought they were the enemy - not someone we wanted to emulate.:shrug:

[opihimoimoi]

36. "She is a HERITIC....Deserving of Torture and Death"

The American Inquisition at work...and its growing....

Scarey beyond comprehension....

[bridgit]

11. separate church & state NOW!!!

[GreenPartyVoter]

37. Yes indeed

[Solly Mack]

13. Ouch. My brain....it hurts. Make it stop. Make it stop.

The level of ignorance in the 4 short paragraphs shown was enough to give me a migraine.(and I finished the article - had to...I had to know)

[MetaTrope]

16. Coming soon: Satanic Ritual Abuse panic, Act II

[BiggJawn]

18. I'm afraid you're right.

Colorado is the epicenter of Flat-Earth Fundy idiocy, after all...Dobson, Hickey, Copeland, etc....

I remember that all these Ministries moved to CO because "Gawd" told them the barrier between Good and Evil was especially thin in the Rockies or some such Bee-Ess...

[politicat]

33. Already here.

We have a couple cases a year where some one accuses zer divorcing spouse of SRA in the custody/settlement battle. And the attachment therapy types have been quietly promoting it all along.

We really are back in the 80s. Get me off this mobius strip of history....

[Bassic]

17. I don't understand why such a large portion

of the U.S. refuses to acknowledge anything that even remotely resembling a real education.

I mean, talk about shooting yourself in the foot. The perpatuation and encouragement of ignorance jut can't be good for a country overall. I think this, more than anything else, will eventually cause America's downfall as a world super-power.

Moreover, that downfall is inevitable in the long run. This ignorance crap-fest however, will severely hinder the country's ability to adapt and limit the damage. I hope there are enough educated people then to compensate.

[BiggJawn]

24. Because "We are NOT of this world".

This is just a stopping-off place, until Jeebus comes and raises all the dead and judges them, and takes those still living, who are living "in Him" to rise up and join Him "in the air".

Nothing else is important. What's ulitmately important when you're standing in front of the Golden Throne is the question "Are YOU in the Lamb's Book of Life?".

We are witnessing the same chain of events and rise of non-critical magical thinking that brought us the Dark Ages. I wonder who will be the one to put the match to the Library of Congress because there's those Harry Potter books in there?

I think Sagan hinted at this in "Demon-Haunted World".

[Bassic]

32. Hopefully, there will be enough of us that still remember how to think

to counter such lunacy. Here's hoping.

[The Flaming Red Head]

19. I gave my son a peace sign ring and pendant for his ninth birthday

The so-called ‘Christian’ kids in the school targeted him at their parents urging and told the principal that my son was wearing devil signs ( a broken cross) and tried to keep him from wearing it to class because they found it offensive and thought that I was trying to influence devil worship to third grade children.

I typed and made copies of a brief history of the peace sign, it’s origin, and true meaning, which is nuclear disarmament, and told my son to hand it to the ones who taunted him about being devil worshipper.

Apparently certain parents found that notion ( nuclear disarmament) even more offensive. (did you know Satan was a peace activist?) And complained to the principal, again.

I told the principal that I thought it was offensive when their kids showed up in camouflage during hunting season and got picked up in open bed pick-up trucks and then would ride off in the back of the truck in front of school grounds with their rifles propped up in clear sight in their laps (this was right after the Jonesboro incident and we live in Arkansas)

To give the school administration credit they let my son wear his peace signs, but after repeated beatings, threats, and bullying my son finally put the peace sign up. I still have it in my jewelry box.

[tom_paine]

20. If Jesus himself came back, those assholes would beat the shit out of him

Long-haired socialist hippie freak!

America has lost it's freedom and it's mind. Dark Ages, here we come.

The monster is loose again. We thought we beat it in WWII, but it never dies. It sleeps, it waits, and it never runs out of murderous soft-brains to work it's Totalitarian, Tyrannical, Freedom-Hating will.

The Founding Fathers knew this, that's why they created the system of checks and balances. It is no coincidence that the System's fall is directly proportional to the monster's awakening. This time on American soil (and in a new "kinder and gentler" skin, of course) instead of German.

I pity anyone who will be alive in 2050 or 2100 or later. They may be literally burning witches by that time. If not, it will be something equally horrific and unjust.

(that is, if this trend reamins unabated...there is still a 5% chance of saving the Old American Republic)

[seabeyond]

25. very interesting thread. i have silver peace sign necklace,

on my rear view mirror. a place where many have a cross hanging down, in this area. i have become the eccentric. my kids are nice, sweet, smart, kind...... so "christian" as hubby and i are in that we are happy, nice kind, lol. there cannot be an argument and they have come to get to know us. why i find this thread so interesting, after 6 months in this school, i have become impressed. they still educate in balance. they are red, and bush fan and repug and "christian" and have said it out loud. but.... i ma seeing over time, they are bringing things into this school in a really responsible manner, that allows my kids to learn truth and fact. they are doing a good balancing here and was just thinking yesterday morning how good the school and teachers are doing for this area

but...... i read this and i know it is a possibility that a parent could go after any of our teachers with the things the teachers have taught my kids. in my eccentricity i want to give the principle and teachers the knowledge that i am there to support them if ever there is an attack like this. also getting onto the pta in middle school, that we will be a part of for a decade. my kids being young.

very interesting though

[Cha]

46. I wish Johnny Cash were still

around so he could speak out on all this..he was so against going into Iraq and bombing it.

I think some of those neandethals would listen to him.

[JerseygirlCT]

21. Ignoramuses.

This is simply amazing.

Oh yes, opera as devil worship.

What's next?

[izzybeans]

22. My mother is nearing retirement and it can't come soon enough

Her students have undergone a transformation over the years. Coming to school less and less interested in things of this world. Unless of course it allows them to test thier video game credentials during wartime.

[noonwitch]

23. This is beyond typical christian behavior

Most fundamentalists I've met would not have an objection to a teacher showing the kids a scene from "Faust". They may object to other things ("Jesus Christ, Superstar" is controversial among some fundamentalists, but not that.

[seabeyond]

26. i believe this is in dobsons country. he has power there n/t

[salin]

28. Why is "Jesus Christ, Superstar" controversial to them?

hadn't heard that.

[xmas74]

41. I've heard this before.

It's supposedly blasphemous, especially the lyrics to "Don't Know How to Love Him".

[Bridget Burke]

43. Handel's "Messiah" was controversial once.

Not at the Dublin debut, but when it was first performed in London. It presented a sacred story in a secular setting.

But nobody remembers that now.

[LostinVA]

27. OMG -- it's FAUST -- it has Christian themes -- it's a morality opera!

[seabeyond]

29. i dont want to google. can you tell a little of the story?

is there anything that can be construed as offensive?

[Bridget Burke]

44. Faust sells his soul to the Devil.

Then he goes to Hell. (Lots of stuff happens in between.) I studied the Marlowe play in High School. Some versions of the story have him saved by the love of a woman--I think.

Generally the message is: Don't sell your soul to the Devil!

[glitch]

48. That's exactly why the fundies hate it.

If their kids don't sell their souls to the anti-christ like they did, well, could be trouble at the dinner table.

[CTyankee]

50. In Goethe's "Faust", Faust sells his soul to the devil

so he can be young again to seduce a young woman (obviously before Viagra). When he makes the deal, he seduces the young woman, she has an illegitimate child which she kills and she is sent to prison. Faust evenutally get taken by the devil to hell. It is supposed to be a morality story telling you NOT to sell your soul to the devil!

[Leopolds Ghost]

61. Does this mean Viagra is DARK-SIDED? Not to mention Levitra, Boniva etc.

[CTyankee]

62. Interesting question

altho Boniva wouldn't qualify here (it's for helping to prevent bone loss in postmenopausal women).

Since Viagra didn't exist in the late 18th or early 19th century, when Goethe's "Faust" was written, you can see a definite theme there for older men. Unfortunately, I have not seen a lot of feminist literature on this. It would be interesting, don't you think? Do you have any sites for me to look at in this research?

[salin]

30. So what bland pablum is going to remain available to teachers

when the fundies find reason to scream (and get books and teachers thrown out) for nearly all pieces of literature/art?

[BiggJawn]

47. "Veggie-Tales" videos, the "Left Behind" books....

..that delightfully VIOLENT little bit of Anime from the 80's called "Superbook" and to gaze upon in quiet reflection, the masterpieces of "The Painter of Light(tm)" Thomas Kincaid...

[RubyDuby in GA]

49. It won't happen - see Georgia's example

The Bible - coming soon to a school near you:

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4657390&nav=0Ra...

Atlanta, Georgia-AP) March 20, 2006 - A bill that allows public high schools to offer classes on the Bible sped through the Georgia House Monday, passing overwhelmingly with no debate.

The legislation, which passed 151-7, would allow high schools to form elective courses on the history and literature of the Old Testament and New Testament eras. The classes would focus on the law, morals, values and culture of the eras.

Under the proposal, the Old Testament and New Testament would be the primary text for each class and the local school board would decide which version of the text to use.

Students would also have the option to use a different version of the text. The proposal, originally introduced by a band of Senate Democrats, surprised many by urging that the Bible should be taught as an elective in Georgia's public schools.

Republicans quickly substituted their own version, which specifies that the Bible itself would be the course textbook.

[SmokingJacket]

31. I would be SO THRILLED if my kids' teachers taught them about opera!

WOW!

Idiot parents.

[DIKB]

34. Once Again

The Taliborn-agains strike.

[Javaman]

35. Wow, this one really hurts my brain...

I guess somehow opera is now the great evil, but crappy x-tian rock is good?

ow, their logic is just beyond rational, ow, how does one combat this kind of, ow, thinking?

I relish the day when these fucking morons* our out of office and rational thought is once again supreme.

[Generic Other]

38. nuns and martyrs

[CTyankee]

42. Ban "trouser roles"? Then ban Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro"

The character of Cherubino, a young palace soldier, is always sung by a mezzo soprano. She/he has some nice arias. It's a very funny role, especially in the first act where the Countess Almaviva and Susannah use him/her as a mannikin to fit Susannah's wedding dress.

Oh, and in the story of Faust, the girl he seduces kills her baby. It's infanticide, not abortion. It's also a morality tale about selling your soul to the devil. Don't the fundies know something about that?

[MadHound]

45. I hope that is a rhetorical question

Because the answer is NO, the fundies no little or nothing about opera. To them, it is just that high falutin' music that those commie socialist liberal elitist intellectuals play. And hence, it is evil, unclean! The only opera they no about is the "Kill the Wabbit" song in Warner Bros send up of Wagner.

This is just another sign of anti-intellectualism in this country. It's getting to be such that pretty soon if you use more than two sylablle words and don't watch NASCAR, you're going to be burned at the stake.

[eppur_se_muova]

51. "Kill the waabit, kill the WAAAABIT..." OH NO! Now look what you've done!

I can't get that song out of my head!

Wagner is SO addictive!:evilgrin:

[CTyankee]

53. It's funny because it is not just Wagner's

music that I hear in commercials. So much Puccini (O Mio Babbino Caro, Nessun Dorma, Mi Chiamino Mimi, Un bel di), Verdi (Beviamo from La Traviata), and from Cavaleria Rusticana, have been behind lots of commercials from bras to pasta sauce. At one time I thought that the American people would become more opera-literate as a result.

Guess I was wrong.

[eppur_se_muova]

54. Magic helmet?!?

Magic HEEELmet!

NOOOOOOOO!!!

[Blue Belle]

56. "Oh, Bruenhilda you're so Wuvely...."

"Yes I know it... I can't help it"
:rofl:

God I love that cartoon... still cracks me up even though I've seen it a million times!

[Blue Belle]

55. No kidding... kids today should learn about Wagner the way we did...

Through the magic of Looney Tunes!!

[CTyankee]

52. I am going to Europe once a year and I dread

encountering people who just can't understand what the hell we are doing in the hinterland here. Luckily, a lot of it is not reported in Europe so they don't know about it.

But even if you don't travel in Europe, in New York people know about opera and they don't go nuts like this.

I guess there is a real reason people from each coast call the middle of the country, "flyover."

[leftofthedial]

57. fucking christ

these superstition-ridden morons need to be eliminated from the gene pool before they drag us all back to 900 AD

[ChoralScholar]

58. I own the video she showed...

It's called 'Who's afraid of opera', narrated by Joan Sutherland. It is intended for children.

It makes me wonder why I even teach, sometimes. You stick out your neck often enough, and the blade will come down.

[ChoralScholar]

59. Here's the video:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6301666518/104-7748056-9612723?v=glance&n=404272

World famous Joan Sutherland and her three delightful puppet friends bring to life two great operas -Faust and Rigoletto in a special way that the whole family is sure to enjoy. Sutherland introduces her puppet audience to the story behind each opera and then performs their highlights in complete costume with elaborate sets. At key moments the Dame returns to her puppets to reveal more about the opera's plot. As Maguerite in Faust, Sutherland falls in love with someone who sold his soul for eternal youth and pleasure. In Rigoletto as Gilda, she is in love with the flirtatious and corrupt Duke of Mantua to the despair of her father, the court jester. Who says opera can't be enjoyed by kids?

[CTyankee]

63. not to be a wet blanket, but these are two dark operas

Of course, most operas ARE. You get a stabbing death in "Carmen" and an entombment in "Aida" not to mention death by TB in "La Boheme" and "Traviata," not to mention the ever famous suicide by knife in the gut in "Madame Butterfly." And don't even go to "Tristan and Isolde."

If it weren't for the nuttiness of the opera-goers, with their high flying "bravas" and "bravos" at the end of every aria, I don't think we would even have live opera performed any more. I love it, but I think you have to be a little crazy, in a nice way of course!

[ChoralScholar]

65. Oh yes.. I agree...

But the whole thing is an allegory. It's not promoting selling your soul, it's showing the bad things that happen when you do...

It's like saying 'The Incredibles' promotes being self-absorbed and ignoring your kids. What it's promoting is just the opposite. It's showing the mistake and the consequences.

[treestar]

64. These idiots don't want their children to learn to think - they want

them indoctrinated.

Their control freakishness is astounding.

[ulysses]

66. I've come to the inescapable conclusion

that the world is chock full of uninteresting people. We have shit a culture that prizes ignorance, particularly ignorance masquerading as faith.

That sound you hear is a first year teacher's relatively innovative and thought-provoking idea being drowned in the bathtub of mass-market stupidity.