Bob Schaffer
The tempest in a teapot about Bob Schaffer’s vote on a charter school issue demonstrates how desperate Democrats and teachers’ unions are to denigrate him...and how they can find nothing substantive with which to attack him.
Does anybody doubt that Schaffer, a long-time strong supporter of charter schools and competition in education, would generally oppose efforts to kill charter schools? To be clear, the vote in question was not on the charter school contract, but simply to require Denver Public Schools to reconsider their original determination to close the charter school. And if the vote was so questionable, why did it pass, given that Schaffer was just one of 7 votes?
Far more questionable than Schaffer’s vote are the anti-charter school votes of members of the Board of Education who were either members of the DPS Board (such as former DPS President Elaine Berman) or who received campaign contributions from teachers unions and other public school establishment organizations. If any vote seems corrupt, it is those votes.
The Rocky does itself and its readers no favors by letting itself be used by a partisan web site to attack Bob Schaffer instead of doing quality reporting and asking the important questions.
This letter has not been edited.
A good point! Bob Schaffer served our nation well as a member of Congress and would be an asset to the Senate.
Posted by Brian Stuckey on August 24, 2007 02:54 PMIf memory serves me right, the National Education Association stated in their most recent national conference that a few things they definitely want to abolish or marginalize are charter schools and home schooling. They also stated their desire to teach kindergardeners that homosexuality is a good thing. The NEA seems to be a lot more concerned with their funding and political clout than educating children, especially if it includes traditional things or those things that honor and repect the American heritage.
Posted by Jay on August 24, 2007 03:10 PM"They also stated their desire to teach kindergardeners that homosexuality is a good thing." What a lie. Please provide some documentation.
Posted by Docjay on August 24, 2007 04:26 PMNo Mas Bible-thumpers and God-Squadders!
Posted by centennialslavebehinddacottoncurtain on August 25, 2007 07:29 AMWe have liberal so called professors speading there cancer in our colleges for decades.Sending out students into the real world as total incompetent idiots.
Posted by Keith on August 25, 2007 10:28 AMWhen are you going to wake up. All politicians are liars, they could not get elected by gullible people like you if they did not do so. It always surprises me how people bitch after the fact but have no sense before the fact to use thikning in process of deciding who they vote for, I don't want to hear any of the crap from any side of the political spectrum, if you can't see that the legislators who live in a self created La La world that makes them think they are above we poor mortals by light years and who have not one damned idea how life is down here in the real world, then you to belong somewhere other than the planet earth.
Posted by Allen Campbell on August 25, 2007 04:49 PMI'm no fan of "Bible-thumpers" either, and I'm a big fan of Schaffer's. While he is a social conservative, you won't hear him out proselytizing or making social issues centerpieces of his campaign. He is focused on national security, lower taxes, education reform, and the critical issues of our time. I hope he is able to keep the left from pigeon-holing him incorrectly as just another member of the religious right because his important and his principles go far beyond his views on social issues.
Posted by Ross Kaminsky on August 26, 2007 08:53 PM"important" should have been "importance" in that last note...sorry for the brain cramp.
Posted by Ross Kaminsky on August 26, 2007 08:56 PMto Docjay
The National Education Association recognizes that the complex and diverse needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning students; and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender families and their children require the development of programs that promote a safe and inclusive environment.
The Association believes in efforts that provide for:
a. Development of curriculum and instructional materials and programs designed to meet the needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students
b. Involvement of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender educators in developing educational materials used in classroom instruction
c. Dissemination of programs that support gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning students and address the high drop-out rate, suicide rate, and health risk behaviors
d. Recognition of the importance of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender education employees as role models
e. Accurate portrayal of the roles and contributions of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people throughout history
f. Dissemination of programs and information that include the contributions, heritage, culture, and history of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people
g. Coordination with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender organizations and concerned agencies that promote the contributions, heritage, culture, history, health and care of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people.
Teaching Tolerance or Attacking Religion?
How far can schools go in teaching tolerance for gays and lesbians?
It’s the latest battleground in the culture wars. In the wake of several high-profile cases holding school districts liable for failing to protect gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (GLBT) students from peer harassment, many schools have adopted training programs intended to reduce harassment and promote acceptance of GLBT students.
Some parents find these programs objectionable because they conflict with their deeply held religious belief that homosexuality is sinful, and they don’t want the schools to undermine their parental authority by teaching a contrary lesson.