NationStates Jolt Archive

from: http://www.jsonline.com/news/gen/jan05/296548.asp

MPS teacher rewarded inauguration protest

A Milwaukee Public Schools teacher rewarded members of an eighth-grade class for wearing black on inauguration day, an MPS official confirmed Wednesday.

"The implication was that it was a sign of protest against the inaugural," MPS spokeswoman Roseann St. Aubin said Wednesday of the incident at the Milwaukee Sign Language School.

The school's administration did not know how many students responded to the call to wear black, but it was reported that those who did were rewarded with pizza on inauguration day, St. Aubin said.

St. Aubin said MPS has a policy against political advocacy, and that the school responded to the incident according to that policy. But, because the incident was a personnel matter, St. Aubin declined to discuss how the school responded.

She confirmed that the teacher was still working at the school
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Crap like this has no place in a public school. Completely inappropriate and unprofessional. Teachers should keep thier political advocacy to themselves, be it Republican, Democrat, Libertarian or whatever.

So, she protested the inaguration by having the kids protest for her?

Although I can agree with the idea of wearing black on inauguration day, encouraging kids to do it I cannot.

Were the childrens parents consulted in this little bit of political activism? Did they even understand why they were doing it? Or did they just want free pizza?

She should be fired. Plain and simple. Students in a public school shouldn't even know their teacher’s political tendencies, let alone get pizza for protesting a duly elected president’s inauguration. Mind you I gave one of my teachers crap for celebrating Bush’s victory in 2000. I’ll gladly give a democrat crap for protesting it in class as well.

Well, the students should be allowed to protest, and they should be allowed to eat pizza...the exception to this being if the protest or the pizza is disruptive to other students.

The Teacher should allow her students to eat pizza, and she should allow them to protest...the exception to this being if the protest or the pizza is disruptive to other students.

The teacher should not REWARD her students for protesting, nor should she reward them for not protesting...the exception to this being if its part of a class project related to protesting.

Rewarding kids for protesting something unrelated to school activities should earn her a reprimand, but not get her fired. She screwed up; let her answer to the school board as to WHY she decided to do this. Let them decide if they want to keep her in the school.

She should be fired. Plain and simple. Students in a public school shouldn't even know their teacher’s political tendencies, let alone get pizza for protesting a duly elected president’s inauguration. Mind you I gave one of my teachers crap for celebrating Bush’s victory in 2000. I’ll gladly give a democrat crap for protesting it in class as well.

A lot of people would disagree with the idea that he wasw "duly elected", but you do have a point - punishment must be swift, severe, and immediate. Well, as immediate as MPS can practically make it. If they fire her as of the end of the year, that's all well and good, if they need that long to find a replacement. Oh yeah, and make her eat some of that pizza, with her most hated toppings on it...and if it's mushrooms, keep it far away from me.

from: http://www.jsonline.com/news/gen/jan05/296548.asp

MPS teacher rewarded inauguration protest

A Milwaukee Public Schools teacher rewarded members of an eighth-grade class for wearing black on inauguration day, an MPS official confirmed Wednesday.

"The implication was that it was a sign of protest against the inaugural," MPS spokeswoman Roseann St. Aubin said Wednesday of the incident at the Milwaukee Sign Language School.

The school's administration did not know how many students responded to the call to wear black, but it was reported that those who did were rewarded with pizza on inauguration day, St. Aubin said.

St. Aubin said MPS has a policy against political advocacy, and that the school responded to the incident according to that policy. But, because the incident was a personnel matter, St. Aubin declined to discuss how the school responded.

She confirmed that the teacher was still working at the school
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Crap like this has no place in a public school. Completely inappropriate and unprofessional. Teachers should keep thier political advocacy to themselves, be it Republican, Democrat, Libertarian or whatever.

Yet it's ok to eliminate God, Bibles, religious observances, religious symbols, "under God" when saying the Pledge of Alliegance, saying "Merry Christmas," anything remotely resembling support for "pro-life," anything resembling protest against the gun-banners, and God only knows what all else?

WTF is WRONG with this picture? It's no wonder so many parents are pissed off enough to home-school their children rather than subject them to this sort of biased, one-sided, mindless brainwashing passing itself off as "instruction!"

As Salvondia said. Maybe not as sever as firing her, but bad enough to get the message across to everybody that we DONT need teachers encouraging this kind of thing.
As I see it, its a parents job to teach their kids what to think. The teachers job is to give them what they need to understand it.

EDIT:
What school banned saying "Merry christmas"? Heh. My friends joked about that this year, we went around campus telling people to have "A nice non-denominational generic winter holiday." in very somber tones.

This is utterly shameful. Wearing black?.

They could have atleast burned a few things. What inaugeration are you all on about anyway?.

We should also expel the students who voiced an opinion contrary to the national interest. Any teacher who disagrees with the government should be blacklisted from teaching at any public institutions.

We should make sure that no subject that is not a product of traditional Christian values is not discussed in a forum where other facts could pose a challenge!

Yeah, I have no idea what inauguration day is.

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Crap like this has no place in a public school. Completely inappropriate and unprofessional. Teachers should keep thier political advocacy to themselves, be it Republican, Democrat, Libertarian or whatever.
As a teacher, I have a few things to say about this:

1. Teachers should not hide their political views. They should make them clear, and uncover any biases they may have. Students don't need fence-sitters as teachers. They need to know that one can have opinions about something, and still be open to the opinions of others.

2. Teachers should not FORCE their ideas onto their students (ie. teaching them, "this is politically right, and this is politically wrong".) Nor should they use bribery to get students to involve themselves in a political action (like pizza...so the kids who remained apolitical got to watch the rest eat it?)

Teachers need to allow for political diversity in their classrooms. They should encourage political debate respect the politics of their students (as long as none of those politics lead to harm). Punishing one group or rewarding another for their politics is reprehensible, no matter the teacher's personal politics.

She should be fired. Plain and simple. Students in a public school shouldn't even know their teacher’s political tendencies, let alone get pizza for protesting a duly elected president’s inauguration. Mind you I gave one of my teachers crap for celebrating Bush’s victory in 2000. I’ll gladly give a democrat crap for protesting it in class as well.
Knowing your teacher's political tendencies, and being bribed with pizza to follow those tendencies are two different things. Teachers are not apolitical...why pretend? Teachers are supposed to be professionals, however, which this particular teacher seems not to be.

it was a public school...fair enough

We should also expel the students who voiced an opinion contrary to the national interest. Any teacher who disagrees with the government should be blacklisted from teaching at any public institutions.

We should make sure that no subject that is not a product of traditional Christian values is not discussed in a forum where other facts could pose a challenge!
Careful...people will take you seriously...

As a teacher, I have a few things to say about this:

1. Teachers should not hide their political views. They should make them clear, and uncover any biases they may have. Students don't need fence-sitters as teachers. They need to know that one can have opinions about something, and still be open to the opinions of others.

2. Teachers should not FORCE their ideas onto their students (ie. teaching them, "this is politically right, and this is politically wrong".) Nor should they use bribery to get students to involve themselves in a political action (like pizza...so the kids who remained apolitical got to watch the rest eat it?)

Teachers need to allow for political diversity in their classrooms. They should encourage political debate respect the politics of their students (as long as none of those politics lead to harm). Punishing one group or rewarding another for their politics is reprehensible, no matter the teacher's personal politics.

Sinhue, you're a truly wise woman. Please move to North Carolina so you can teach my grandchildren! I'll pay you $50,000 US per year and a bonus of another $50,000 US for every one of them who goes on to college! :D

I WISH! SIGH!

Sinhue, you're a truly wise woman. Please move to North Carolina so you can teach my grandchildren! I'll pay you $50,000 US per year and a bonus of another $50,000 US for every one of them who goes on to college! :D

I WISH! SIGH!
Better yet, send them up here:) Then you can pay me $50,000 Canadian and I use it to buy myself some Tim Hortons coffee and a couple of donuts! (okay, okay, our dollar isn't THAT low anymore, but...)

Careful...people will take you seriously...

I'm sure that is inevitable. Where the blind lead, the sheeple will follow!

Onward ho!!

I think people are making too much of a big deal about it. I don't like Bush but I think it was wrong of the teacher to have the students protest. I don't see the relevancy of wearing black on inaugeration day. If she rewarded them for wearing anti-Bush clothes then I think she should be punished, but wearing black clothes isn't really protesting. Unless it has some significance that I don't see. what, like, It's the united states's funeral? I really dont get it.

Hmmm..

Seems like the MPS has more than it's share of problems. Cops had to break up a melee involving an estimated 100 students at one of their schools yesterday. Seems that there weren't very many teachers present, something about them not showing up because they hadn't been paid.
linky (http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/10752716.htm?1c)

I gather that a voucher system is in place in Wisconsin.

Doesn't seem to be working out too well.

Reinforces my position against such things.