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Hermes

Teacher Suspended for Comparing Bush to Hitler

Seashells · Dooney & Bourke

I am kind of torn by this because:
1. I believe that teachers should be impartial- but teach the whole truth, not just what is in the text books.
2. I agree with this teacher's philosophy though, and do think that kids should be taught to look at propaganda. And I am an avid opponent of Bush and his policies.

However, this kind of intense political scrutiny is probably best for a college class. I do not think the teacher should have been suspended, just disciplined. But I don't now his record, or if he has been in trouble in the past.

I want to say, "Way to go- teach the truth!", but its a high school class.

Maddie · Coach

I think he was completely out of line. I'm in no way a Bush fan and started a thread here with my criticism over the State of the Union. While I think it would be good for a teacher to facilitate discussion about the SOTU I don't thinkhe should inject his own opinion. Particularly with inflammatory statements like comparing Bush to Hitler.

nunzi182 · Kate Spade

I don't know if this is going to make any sense, but *kind of* side with the teacher. I was watching a news report where the kid that taped the class was being interviewed. He was saying that kids are going to take the teachers ideas as fact and be led astray. I'm assuming this kid is the same age as his classmates; my point: he knew enough not to take the teachers ideas as fact, so I excpect his classmates can do the same. Second, the teacher reiterated that he was just trying to spawn some debate and get them thinking. When I was in high school, I wish I had a teacher that would make stupid comments to get the mind flowing and to get a good class interaction going on.

lynnie · Chanel

Ok, my honest opinion..and i hate posting that sometimes because I don't want to get flamed. But what exactly did he say that was wrong? If, in fact, Bush *does* say a lot of things that Hitler said (which I am in no way qualified to answer- I do not know a lot about the tactics Hitler used, nor do I know enough about what Bush says either) then where is the problem? When I was 16, I was def. a free thinker enough to listen to what he has to say and consider it. If he didn't back it up with enough facts, there would def. be a huge debate- which sounds like the kind of class he had. We know a lot more now about Hitler because we've had over 60 years pass and so many people died under his reign and during the world wars- but what if after the analyzation of every Bush speech, document, and action, they actually share a lot of the same characterisics? Power and the desire for it do strange things to people. And we are not yet sure whether another world war will take place yet and how serious he really is about changing the world to be more like America. Scary shit. It is so easy to make things white and black after the fact- which we've certainly had time to do with Hitler. With Bush- he may be regarded as evil 60 years from now in the text books for all we know. Or this could all plateau and dissappear.

Dizzy · Marc Jacobs

Um, I've often heard that Hitler was a master of rheotoric and persuasion, and Bush is really good at this too, so I could see a context in which the teacher's remarks were fairly benign. Besides, Hitler used his leadership for evil, and Bush says he's using his leadership for good, but that doesn't mean they are not using the same tools. They just have different purposes.

And if the teacher really did mean "Bush reminds me of Hitler and I think they're both evil," well, that's not the kind of comment teachers are usually suspended for. If I were a teacher, I would be really offended by being censored and so severely punished. And as a law student, my suspiscion is that the school will probably be in trouble quite soon. Also, that's such a frivolous statement that if I were a Bush supporter, I couldn't see getting too upset. Obviously Bush hasn't ordered the deaths of millions, so maybe there's a difference, right? Who cares if some yahoo wants to be hyperbolic?

And if the issue then is that this yahoo is a teacher, and teachers should be completely neutral when presenting controversial topics, then why the hell are the same people who are fuming about this so damn determined to get the 10 commandments and prayer back in school? If it really makes a difference what teachers say, and the school must remain completely unbiased, then this position doesn't make sense.

And even if a conservative could force herself to say "we should keep both god and democrats out of the schools..." then I still think that it isn't a good idea to censure teachers so severely for messing up. It would definitely have a negative impact on teaching, right?

dc · Dooney & Bourke

I just think he has a lot more similarities to Nixon. The Hitler thing is getting tired - can nobody think of anyone else to compare people to? Always with the Hitler. It's just inflammatory.

In all seriousness, though, a teacher should just be sure to be clear that something is their opinion, not fact. And keep it to a minimum, or present contrasting points of view. Debate is great and I've been really inspired by HS and Jr HS teachers who shared a piece of themselves. But your class should not be, in essense, a sermon of your personal beliefs.