Liberal teachers can learn

shondratasha · #1 02-11-2003, 09:56 PM

My DD has been fighting with a teacher all year regarding the war on Terror, gun control, and why we should go after Saddam Hussein.
During February they have been studying the Holocaust. DD asked that the teacher find Neville Chamberlain's appeasement speech and play it for the class. First, the teacher was amazed that DD was familar with the speech! After reviewing the speech with the class. Several students made the connection between this speech and the appeasement rhetoric in the media. So did the teacher!

Between that and talks with my DH in the faculty room (he's been substituting up there this month). She's starting to agree that maybe going after Saddam is the right thing to do.

Now to start working on the Anti-Gun English Teacher (who is failing my DD because "she's reads too many of the wrong books.")
[img]graemlins/scream.gif[/img]

CatKozTX · #2 02-12-2003, 09:28 AM

Stasha, I feel your pain! We try to teach our children the right things, despite the school system. Isn't it sad that we have to say that in America? The public school system is more interested in teaching our children about birth control, safe sex and equality for everyone than they are in teaching them to read, write and THINK for themselves. Unbelievable.... [img]graemlins/twitch.gif[/img] My husband I stay very involved in my daughters education as I know you do in your childrens. We are already running into issues with our second grader! Her teacher tried to tell her that all the Indians were peaceful, kind, gentle and innocent but were mercilessly slaughtered by the Pilgrims.

Excuse me?????? The latest is that her teacher has no idea where Europe ends and Asia starts. Uhhh...ever hear of the Russian part of Europe? It truly truly boggles the mind that this woman is "attempting" to teach my child geography. I personally am looking forward to the day they start teaching her American and world history. Things should get really interesting around here about then. [img]graemlins/EvilKingGrinning.gif[/img]

Sir A. More · #3 02-12-2003, 11:38 AM

Where do you live? You need to find a good private school for your kids, where teacher care about their pupils.

By the way, you should talk to the teacher. Maybe it will scare him off.

A.M.

kristin · #4 02-12-2003, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Now to start working on the Anti-Gun English Teacher (who is failing my DD because "she's reads too many of the wrong books.")

READING THE WRONG BOOKS? WTF? A couple of things you should know about me.
1) I was an English major in college.
2) I am married to a journalist
3) I do not believe that any teacher has the right to tell a child what books they should or should not read. OR what books should be banned because it does not fit their moral agenda.
That is the parents respondsibility.

So how old is she and what books is she reading? I am sure I can suggest books that would make the teacher's head spin if the teacher saw her reading these books ( unless she has already. [img]smile.gif[/img] )

shondratasha · #5 02-12-2003, 01:29 PM

I would love to send my DD to private school but then we would have to remove both parents from the home to pay for it.

The wrong books for a 14 year old girl: Anything written by C.S.Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkein, R.A. Salvatore, Spider Robinson, Orson Scott Card, Robert Heinlein, etc.

Right now in English they are studying civil rights. My Daughter would like to title her paper "Irish Need not Apply: Hiding Discrimination against White Immigrants in a multi-colored culture."

This topic comes from when DH was doing a long term Junior High Sub. He was told that he could not discuss the terms: WOP, Irish Need not Apply, No TONY's, etc. It seems that the teachers unions and the Clinton Education department banned all references to discrimination against white immigrants. My Daughter needs to have a possible bibliography turned in on Valentines' day so any references to articles in this vein would be appreciated.

I just know this is going to jerk the teachers chain even more than DD's paper "Hunting: a beneficial environmental tool of game management" did during the reading of Most Dangerous Game.
[img]tongue.gif[/img]
No, I'm not picking the topics. I just help her support them.

kristin · #6 02-12-2003, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by shondratasha:
I would love to send my DD to private school but then we would have to remove both parents from the home to pay for it.

The wrong books for a 14 year old girl: Anything written by C.S.Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkein, R.A. Salvatore, Spider Robinson, Orson Scott Card, Robert Heinlein, etc.

Right now in English they are studying civil rights. My Daughter would like to title her paper "Irish Need not Apply: Hiding Discrimination against White Immigrants in a multi-colored culture."

This topic comes from when DH was doing a long term Junior High Sub. He was told that he could not discuss the terms: WOP, Irish Need not Apply, No TONY's, etc. It seems that the teachers unions and the Clinton Education department banned all references to discrimination against white immigrants. My Daughter needs to have a possible bibliography turned in on Valentines' day so any references to articles in this vein would be appreciated.

I just know this is going to jerk the teachers chain even more than DD's paper "Hunting: a beneficial environmental tool of game management" did during the reading of Most Dangerous Game.
[img]tongue.gif[/img]
No, I'm not picking the topics. I just help her support them.

Oh my, your daughter is far to smart for that bunch. Since when was Tolkein, Salvatore, Orson Scott Card etc wrong for a 14 year old?
Ok well when the teacher starts Shakespeare you better protest becuase some would consider that inappropriate for 14 year old children too. After all he wrote about teenage love in Romeo and Juliet( Juliet was 14) and even (ooh) bi-racial teenage love in Othello ( Desdemona was only suposed to be 14) God forbid we put THOSE kinds of ideas in our kids heads.

That is so ridiculous. I like the proposed title of her English paper. Probably would go right over everyone's head.

shondratasha · #7 02-12-2003, 11:52 PM

They did do Romeo and Juliet this year, the teacher decided to play the Leonardo diCaprio movie until the students protested that the Zefferelli was a better movie treatment. So they had to write an essay comparing the two movies. The Bard must be rolling considering that they were supposed to be discussing the play not film editing.

And this is the better public school that I drive 20 minutes one way to reach. The middle school in our neighborhood considers Shakespeare too advanced for 14 year olds.

kristin · #8 02-13-2003, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by shondratasha:
They did do Romeo and Juliet this year, the teacher decided to play the Leonardo diCaprio movie until the students protested that the Zefferelli was a better movie treatment. So they had to write an essay comparing the two movies. The Bard must be rolling considering that they were supposed to be discussing the play not film editing.

And this is the better public school that I drive 20 minutes one way to reach. The middle school in our neighborhood considers Shakespeare too advanced for 14 year olds.

The Zefferelli version of Romeo and Juliet was better. His version of Hamlet however SUCKED! It was all over the place, soliliquies misplaced etc. It also accentuates the Odepius complex rather well, that was or was not apart of the play. ( Depends on how you learned it.) There is a beautiful four hour version of Hamlet that is much better. The thing is, Shakespeare is much more accessable to us now because of people like Zefferelli and Kenneth Branagh. They have brought it to the masses. There are other versions of Shakespeare. "Ten Things I Hate About You." I am sure you know is a funny, albiet loose interpertation of Taming of the Shrew. It is geared towards teenagers mostly, but it is funny. There are good versions and bad and a good teacher will be able to draw on both for comparisons.
A junior high considers the Bard to advanced for fourteen year olds? Who's screwed up idea is that?
:eek:

shondratasha · #9 02-15-2003, 08:11 PM

Believe it or not the Kevin Cline version of Hamlet is one of my favorites. He did the casting right to my way of thinking. I like the idea of Polonius and his family being Moors. I would love to hear James Earl Jones give the "Never a borrower or a lender be" speech and that casting gives an interesting twist to the relationship with Ophelia.