cross-posted at skippy and various other places…
you may remember we wrote about the colorado teacher who was suspended on paid administrative leave after a student recorded part of his class (wherein the teacher compared and contrasted awol with hitler, among other things) and then the student shopped the tape around to various right-wing media.
well, the rocky mountain news reports that the teacher will be allowed to return to his class room on monday.
details, and more, after the jump:
overland high school teacher jay bennish will be back in the classroom monday, cherry creek schools superintendent monte moses said today in a press conference.
bennish, 28, has been on paid administrative leave after student sean allen made public a 21-minute, 40-second recording of part of the teacher’s lecture the day after bush’s state of the union speech.
the washpost has more:
officials declined to say whether social studies instructor jay bennish faced disciplinary action. his attorney, david lane, said bennish would be back in the classroom monday “with full pay”…
superintendent monte moses declined to offer specifics of the investigation or its findings, but said administrators and bennish now “have a good understanding”…
bennish later said the lecture was intended to stimulate his students to think critically. he also said he presents balancing viewpoints in class but not always at the same time. lane acknowledged that was a mistake…
bennish said he would continue to try to improve as a teacher and to encourage students to think critically.
“i will be back in the classroom on monday, and i am excited to continue to teach,” he said.
unfortunately, the new approach will apparently now conform to faux news malarky:
“jay’s teaching style will perhaps be, as some would say, a little more fair and balanced on a minute-to-minute basis,” lane said. “when you put out one side, put out the other then and there.”
for people too stupid to keep track themselves.
the cherry creek school district reiterates:
despite the disagreements that surround the incident, virtually everyone believes that controversial subjects should be taught in our schools, but always in a professional and objective way.
also, they are ready to “assist” the student who recorded the seminar “in making a positive re-entry into school, whether it be at overland or another school.”
whoops! sounds like the kid may not be welcome back at his old alma mater!
because nothing’s lonelier than a diary with no comments.
Glad to see it.
It’s too bad Bennish’s own attorney has to come out and throw a big tasty morsel like this to the wingnuts. It would be nice to know what Bennish agreed to also.
I never like to see anybody go through something like this but I’m head over heels at the outcome. And when 150 of Colorados biggest brats demonstrate for the cameras how to be an American and an independent free thinking one at that…..Well heck, it’s a great damn day. Teach On Jay Bennish!
It would be good if there were some way to tell how this teacher’s approach is changed or not by all this. I don’t feel sorry for the little christofascist stoolie who taped the class, (I’m sure under instruction from his father just for the purpose it was used), not going back to that school, but it would be interesting if the school encouraged him to come back and deal with his fellow students.
Hmm, the student may not even return to the same school? Sounds like there may have been more of a ruckus than we’ve been led to believe. There is a certain justice here, at least to that aspect.
I think he is not nearly as ‘repentant’ as it may seem (thank goodness).
The clip they played here showed him walking somewhere or the other, surrounded by media and students (many for, some against) and mentioned how his teaching would be more balanced together, instead of presenting one side, and then another etc…
Then the announcer says something like “Mr. Bennish says he won’t be comparing President Bush to Hitler anymore.”
…and then cuts to Bennish saying “Maybe next time I’ll just compare him to Mussolini, that shouldn’t cause as many problems”.
End of segment. Good for him 😉