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This
was in the Buffalo News today. I just called the school
to congratulate them on having such a great teacher. They
said thanks and would I please call the part of the school
board that is attacking the teacher (I think to counteract
all the right wing radio calling for the teacher's head).
So I did. If you care to pass on the number to help counteract
the attacks on this brave teacher, here it is 720-554-4436.
Tustin Amole is the board member. Since the call, I googled
the name of the teacher and found a myriad of right wing
sites calling Jay Bennish " a brainwasher of our kids"
so I wrote a quick letter (attached). Perhaps others you
know might consider writing a letter - as the positive outcry
is far smaller than the push to crucify Jay Bennish.
Karen
Engstrom Harvey
Teacher faulted for Bush-Hitler link
by Nicholas Riccardi 7 March 2006 picked up by The
Buffalo News
It was the day after President Bush's State of the Union
address, and social studies teacher Jay Bennish was warning
his world geography class not to be taken in.
"Sounds a lot like the things that Adolf Hitler used
to say," Bennish told students at the suburban high
school. "We're the only ones who are right, everyone
else is backward, and our job is to conquer the world."
The teacher quickly made clear that he wasn't equating the
president with Hitler, but the damage was done. A sophomore
in the class had recorded the lecture and this week turned
it over to a conservative radio show.
Bennish, a five-year veteran of Overland High School, was
placed on unpaid leave by the Cherry Creek School District
on Wednesday, sparking an uproar over issues of free speech
and proper classroom behavior.
About 150 Overland students walked out Thursday to protest
Bennish's absence, and the teacher's lawyer - who met with
district officials Friday - has threatened a federal lawsuit.
Attorney David Lane argued on the Mike Roem radio show,
which originally played the tape, that what his client said
is not so outlandish and was intended to provoke his students
into thinking about current events.
"Maybe it's not mainstream, middle-American opinion,"
Lane said Friday. "But the rest of the world agrees
with him." Lane added that if Bennish had spoken strongly
in support of Bush, he would not be under investigation.
Tustin Amole, a spokeswoman for the school district, said
officials were investigating whether Bennish had violated
a policy that says teachers may not intimidate students
who hold political beliefs different from their own. "Teachers
do have a First Amendment right to express their opinion,"
Amole said, "but it must be in the context of the material
being taught, and it must provide a balanced point of view."
The Cherry Creek district, with 47,000 students, encompasses
an arc of suburbs to the southeast of Denver; voter registration
within its boundaries leans Republican.
A partial transcript of Bennish's class taken from the student's
recording showed the teacher voicing a wide range of criticisms
of U.S. policy and the war in Iraq. Bennish has not disputed
the accuracy of the recording.
The teacher noted that American troops have spent 30 years
fighting the drug war in Colombia and using "chemical
weapons" to eradicate coca fields, cited more than
7,000 "terrorist sabotage acts" committed by the
United States against Cuba and called the United States
"probably the single most violent nation on Earth."
During the class, Bennish questioned why the United States
is allowed to wage war in the Middle East but Palestinians
are condemned as terrorists for attacking Israel. A student
interjected that the United States does not single out civilians,
unlike Palestinian terrorists. The teacher asked how Israel
was created and pointed out that early Zionists used assassination
and bombings to create their state.
According to the transcript, Bennish concluded by telling
his students: "I'm not implying in any way you should
agree with me . . . What I'm trying to do is to get you
to . . . think about these issues more in depth."
March 7, 2006
Cherry Creek School District
12400 E. Jewell Aveenue
Aurora, CO, 80012
Dear Principal,
I was heartened today when I saw the story in the
Buffalo News about the courageous history teacher
at your school, Jay Bennish.
We indeed live in difficult times and it is rare
that history is related to the times in which we
live. More certain than ever is the saying “
Those who fail to study their history, are doomed
to repeat it”.
A teacher who helps students think and analyze rather
than regurgitate dates and facts is doing a great
service to his students, community, and country.
As a documentary filmmaker and 30-year news veteran
(retired Chicago Tribune, 1998), I can see the trend
toward not thinking but just going along in all
aspects of life in America has become the norm.
We thank you for having a conscientious teacher
on your staff, and hope you will support him in
the face of strident ignorance and hysteria.
Yours sincerely,
Karen Engstrom Harvey
4935 Alleghany Avenue
Mayville, New York
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