May 13, 2010
Tempest in A Teapot
An Oregon middle school teacher has publicly denounced the Tea Partiers - a grassroots political organization which opposes many of President Obama's health and financial concepts and actions - as "a loose affiliation of racists, homophobes and morons" among more offensive names.The school district placed him on leave, pending the conclusion of an investigation by the school district into whether he used school hours or computers to work on his anti-Tea Party website, and if his political activity was appropriate behavior for a teacher of middle school students.The teacher had announced his intention to embarrass Tea Partiers by attending their rallies dressed as Adolf Hitler, carrying signs bearing racist, sexist, and anti-gay epithets, and acting as offensively as possible, according to FoxNews.com.The Oregon Tea Party organization is quoted as saying that the teacher doesn't need to lose his job.  He just needs to have sensitivity and anger management training.I think they're just being politically correct.  He should be fired for sure.He has the responsibility of teaching and role-modeling the proper behavior for a citizen in a democracy.  Attempting to embarrass and destroy an opposing point of view is not part of the democratic process, in spite of the fact that it seems like the main means of discourse in our society at present.  And it has to stop   somewhere.He could have had his students do a project, learning about the positions of the Tea Party movement, and to critique them, with pros and cons as they see them (in spite of the fact that most kids their age pretty much just parrot what they learn at home).  Nonetheless, debates and critical essays are what he should be teaching, not "search and destroy."I hope he is fired ASAP.   Let that be a lesson!

Posted by Staff at 1:09 AM