A Colorado teacher has stirred quite a controversy over the whole country. Following the President's State of the Union message, Jay Bennish, geography teacher at Overland High School in Aurora, Colorado, apparently suggested that some of the things the administration has done were similar to those done by Hitler. A student, Sean Allen, recorded the conversation. The recording was given to a nationally syndicated columnist and to a radio talk show. All this caused an uproar. The teacher was suspended pending a hearing to see if he had violated school policies.
My first thought was "Why would a geography teacher give such a lecture?" It seemed much more appropriate for a social studies class. My second thought was "Why did the student give the recording to a columnist and talk show host?" Of course I can't answer these questions. My feeling is that this might have been a good discussion for a civics class. But the next step should have been a good discussion about the statements, bringing out reasons for agreeing or disagreeing. This could well result in some real learning with students seeing that life is complex and that there usually is no completely clear right and wrong side to a question like this. I think it is unfortunate that it was thrown into the media and became a yelling match with no good critical thinking going on. President Bush even became involved. When he was asked if he thought people should have the right to free speech in the classroom, he said that people do criticize him and that they should have the right to do so. He said that the ability of people to express themselves is a freedom we must protect. I hope he has the courage of his convictions, and I hope he will begin to be much more open in his administration.
The teacher is now back in the classroom. It is unfortunate that the student has felt that he must leave the school because of threats. We missed a chance for some real learning here.
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