This is just appalling. A middle school social studies teacher in Colorado was suspended for showing a 9/11 video on September 10th. The CNN-produced video, "America Remembers," was part of the prerequisite for his lecture on terrorism, a very apt and necessary lecture in our time, but apparently he was supposed to get permission from both parents and administrators first. Students protested his suspension, along with their parents.
As LGF reports, it gets worse: The teacher, Jason Ritter, was forbidden to teach anything on September 11th about the events of 9/11/01 except the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 and a standard lesson plan about the foundation of American government:
Jeanette Washington, a student curriculum administrator, dropped by Ritter's classroom [on Sept. 10th] while he was playing the video "America Remembers," and Ritter later was called out of class to meet with principal Cynde Fischer.
Ritter said he agreed not to show the video again. After a meeting Wednesday afternoon he understood he could answer questions only about Sept. 11...That morning, he said, Fischer told him he must limit his Sept. 11 discussion to the crash of United Airlines Flight 93, and then move to a regular lesson about the foundation of American government...
School officials told him they would sit in on the class, and when he protested, they told him he could follow their directions or leave, Ritter said. When he went downstairs to think about it, he returned and Fischer told him to leave, he said. He returned for a regular day of work Friday, but administrators asked him to leave again, he said.
He's back in the classroom now, thank heavens.
What in the hell were these administrators trying to control? Did they think that their 13- and 14-year-olds couldn't handle being told that we were attacked two years ago, or any discussion of why that might have happened? The video is sold through CNN's website and the costs of the video/DVD go to provide educational assistance to the families of survivors. It was meant to be an educational program.
Yet the administrators of the Cherry Creek School District have treated Jason Ritter as though his actions were unconscionable and his judgment regarding classroom curriculum uncertain. To demand that teachers refrain from mentioning 9/11/01 in the classroom is simply appalling. It's good to see that his students, and their parents, seem to be backing him; the worst anyone had to say is that maybe he should have sent a note home first. Perhaps he should have. But it appears that the school punished him for not following that procedure with slurs about his "emotional" preparedness for the classroom, which can only mean that they believe there should be no emotion attached to the discussion of events on 9/11/01. Given their suggested lesson plan - and this is for a social studies class, remember - it appears they desire no 9/11/01 discussion in classrooms whatsoever.
Appalling.
Update: Caerdroia has another post on this here. He's not too happy about it either.
Update: Teacher Jason Ritter is allegedly "off the hook," and is back in the classroom. The school is claiming that it gave him the option to discuss "the overall impact of Sept. 11 [and] the patriotism it inspired" in the classroom last Thursday, which contradicts Ritter's earlier statements. A true "miscommunication," or backpedaling from the school? Who knows?
Update: Letters from parents can be read here. Best quote: "Falcon Creek's action underestimates its students and ignores the environment in which they live." Indeed.
Posted by kswygert at September 15, 2003 08:55 PM