Discussion

• March 6, 2006

  8:44 AM

  RFS writes:

  Bennish is a wonderful teacher.

• March 6, 2006

  11:01 AM

  John Galt writes:

  Jay Bennish is the worst sort of teacher that a high school student can have.

  A good teacher focuses on the subject matter of the class and does not allow personal feelings to drive the class agenda.

  A good teacher NEVER delivers personal, political opinions for 90% of class time.

  A good teacher DOES ask for the opinions of his class and allows them to discuss their opinions.

  Only a left-wing, liberal moron or an uneducated fool would support a teacher as poor as Jay Bennish.

• March 6, 2006

  11:02 AM

  Steve Shermer writes:

  This was a sad political move by his parents who obviously figured this would be a great way to get their kid famous and, hopefully, a tv movie-of-the-week made about their story to help pay for his college education or something. This is just terrible. Teachers have to be able to teach. And, frankly, there is a lot of weird stuff going on in the country and nobody is doing anything about it or saying anything about it. We are all walking around in a daze. We are supposed to be a nation of free speech and free thought. Today, if you disagree with the current government, you are suddenly unpatriotic and possibly a terrorist. Huh? People need to go see Good Night, and Good Luck or get the DVD and watch it. It wasn't that long ago that our nation got totally out of hand with the fear of communist infiltrators into our government and lots of innocent people were tormented. Let's all take some time to read the Constitution of the United States and remember from where it came. It came from men who didn't want to live any more under the rule of a dicatator king. It came from men who believed in freedom of speech, press, assembly, protest, and yes, even, saying negative things about the current leader without fear of retribution. Teachers, of course, need to be careful given their influential position with their students, but, hey, the politicians in our country are influential, and there are many, many of them that have openly and continuously criticized this government and the way it continues to manhandle the nation and negatively impact our reputation with the rest of the world of which we, believe it or not, only make up a small percentage of the population. So, come on, let's be real. The next generation of students needs a dose of reality not passive/aggressive stuff that won't motivate them to continue to demand the best leadership, best decisions from that leadership, and best country the USA can be. We used to be the most highly beloved country in the world for we were always able to help others and to give everyone the dream of being an important contributor to the world. Now? Now what? We are know as the world's policeman? Is that the reputation we want? We are known as the greedy users of 2/3 of the world's resources? Is that the reputation we want?

• March 6, 2006

  11:21 AM

  Bill Murray writes:

  We had plenty of political discussions when I was in high school but they never made it to the radio or newspaper. We are truly living in a bizzaroworld. I don't feel sorry for the attention the student and his family have brought onto themselves. Did they expect that only the teacher would be crucified in public?

• March 6, 2006

  12:36 PM

  km writes:

  High school is a good time to learn that there will always be people trying to shove their opinions down your throat -- not just teachers, but also bosses, neighbors, relatives, in-laws, and pundits. High school is preparation for life, and in life it's important to know that you shouldn't believe everything you hear. Instead you should question what you're told and think critically to arrive at your own opinion. I hope kids emerge from this with the understanding that they are free to make up their own minds.

• March 7, 2006

  10:03 AM

  gayla writes:

  I remember seeing my own teachers being crucified for expressing controversial opinions over 30 years ago. Sad to see that things haven't changed much - and actually in today's swing back to the right, the atmosphere in the classroom (and elsewhere) is even more repressive. It's easy enough to reel off facts and read from the book and play it safe. It's much more difficult to find people brave enough to flout convention and actually encourage students to THINK and - gasp - form their OWN opinions! My support and admiration for Jay - and a great sadness for our children which now will have even less of a chance to be challenged in the classroom and be regulated to the great mindless masses that have seemed to take over popular thought and culture today......

• March 7, 2006

  3:36 PM

  Nicole writes:

  The best teachers I had did share their opinions.
  The point is to get kids to THINK and question authority. Don't forget what Hitler's people allowed him to do out of fear. Hitler was a real person, and people really let it happen--- I see people here constantly ignoring the actions of the GOP , much like Hitler's actions were ignored.
  We need more teachers like Bennish.
  I have a feeling that those on here that think he should be fired would also think he should have be applauded if he praised Bush. I'm sure that has happened in lots of classrooms without all of this ridiculousness.

• March 7, 2006

  3:43 PM

  Linda writes:

  Mr. Bennish has every right to say what he believes. But the rights bestowed upon Americans by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights carry responsibilities also. A citizen must exercise free speech, and all other rights, at a correct time, place and to the appropriate audience. A high school geography classroom was none of these for Mr. Bennish's remarks. As a parent I would be quite upset that my child was not receiving the instruction required to learn geographical knowledge necessary to pass the high school exit exam. Mr. Bennish behaved irresponsibly on these two points. I support teachers who challenge students to think and question what they hear and read, but it must be done in the correct context and forum.

• March 7, 2006

  8:59 PM

  Wayne writes:

  So-called "John Galt"
  Who is John Galt?
  This one must be a fraud...

  The majority of high school students really don't have an opinion that's worth a damn. They just don't have any idea what the "real world" is all about. Or if they do happen to have a strong opinion on any subject, depend upon it, it's simply a regurgitation of a strong-willed parent or two.
  This "John Galt" faker is an "Ayn Rand" disciple, self-styled no doubt, who doesn't have the intellectual honesty to admit that Zionism is parasitic, not productive.
  Of course, Ayn Rand didn't address this matter, either...
  

• March 8, 2006

  3:19 AM

  J.R. writes:

  The difference between Freedom of Speech and the rantings of Bennish: If I don't like what Mike Rosen says, I can merely change stations or turn off the radio. What alternatives are Bennish's students offered? I noticed at least once, when the young man took exception to Bennish's rantings, Bennish pulled a normal everyday liberal tactic by changing the subject, as if doing so won the argument.. Bennish exemplifies all that is wrong with the American public education system.

• March 8, 2006

  4:38 AM

  Arabica Robusta writes:

  I agree that balance is important in teaching. However, so is intellectual honesty and the recognition that we should not deny who we are as thinking people. Calls to 'stick to the subject' demonstrate a poor, 'teach to the test', perspective on geography and education in general. Geography is about spatial and temporal relations, of people and their environment, of states with other states or parts of states, of other human and non human groups (e.g. spread of Christianity and colonialism). Thus, comparing how the 'drug war' is perceived in different areas of the world is fair game. So is questioning the consistency of Bush administration choices about what countries to invade and occupy. On the other hand, it's easier to run a police state when people are only trained to care about grids on maps.

• March 8, 2006

  7:59 AM

  Charles Vairin writes:

  Polls are not an example of critical thinking. Perhaps only the debate should be enjoined. If you don't have an well formed argument, who cares what your opinion is. Shame on the Rocky for taking such a poll.

• March 8, 2006

  8:06 AM

  Marge writes:

  
  I for one, am proud of Jay Bennish for standing up for PRINCIPALS,which is something G.W. does not !!! Who do you think let Hitler get away with what he did ?? THE PEOPLE !!! George Bush & his GOONS are like him, they used peoples fears to get into their positions & again to stay there !! I feel like people have closed their eyes to everything he's said and done til now, when all the evil acts & lies are emerging,& he's trying desperatley to stop the leaks !!

  Thank god someone is finally standing up to this bunch.

  Everyone should know ( even school kids ) that too much power in anyone mans hands will lead to disaster.

• March 8, 2006

  8:08 AM

  Marge writes:

  I for one, am proud of Jay Bennish for standing up for PRINCIPALS,which is something G.W. does not !!! Who do you think let Hitler get away with what he did ?? THE PEOPLE !!! George Bush & his GOONS are like him, they used peoples fears to get into their positions & again to stay there !! I feel like people have closed their eyes to everything he's said and done til now, when all the evil acts & lies are emerging,& he's trying desperatley to stop the leaks !!

  Thank god someone is finally standing up to this bunch.

  Everyone should know ( even school kids ) that too much power in anyone mans hands will lead to disaster.

• March 8, 2006

  8:08 AM

  Marge writes:

  I for one, am proud of Jay Bennish for standing up for PRINCIPALS,which is something G.W. does not !!! Who do you think let Hitler get away with what he did ?? THE PEOPLE !!! George Bush & his GOONS are like him, they used peoples fears to get into their positions & again to stay there !! I feel like people have closed their eyes to everything he's said and done til now, when all the evil acts & lies are emerging,& he's trying desperatley to stop the leaks !!

  Thank god someone is finally standing up to this bunch.

  Everyone should know ( even school kids ) that too much power in anyone mans hands will lead to disaster.

• March 8, 2006

  8:27 AM

  Frank writes:

  Teachers should base their classroom instruction on FACT, not their opinions. Bennish's rant on this particular day had little to do with fact, and the Hitler analogy was totally out of context. To present a topic for rational discussion, such as the State of the Union speach, from the liberal and conservative perspective, both sides should be presented in a rational and factual way. While I believe that Bennish should only recieve a reprimand, he needs to understand that teaching (or preaching) ideology through classroom indoctrination is not what he is paid to do. Who is playing Hitler in that situation?

• March 8, 2006

  8:44 AM

  Darcy writes:

  A teacher has every right in the world to lecture about anything he feels is important. I don´t think most of the students mind having political discussions during a geography class.

  It is so tiring to hear all these right-wing people trying to make Bennish into something he is not.

  In my mind Bennish is a fine man with a strong belief in justice. A true patriot.

  Maybe he should pick better places to discuss politics in general, but it´s not wrong to have any discussion on any topic in any given class. Why, you ask? This is how you show young people diffrent sides of things. Making them use thier minds to be critical. By hearing adults talk about things they feel are important, they can make their mind up themselves. This is better than having kids that just doesn´t care. School should be educational and non-static. Not stupifying and static.

• March 8, 2006

  9:06 AM

  Lloyd K. Pearson writes:

  First of all, Bennish was not teaching a Critical Thinking Course such as many of us had in college. Nor was he teaching a Current Events course. Rather he was teaching a World Geography course.

  Unfortunately, many liberals feel that they have freedom to use a captive audience for the purpose of indoctrination. In this manner, they are very much like a prior generation who preached their propaganda to the Hitler Youth. Mr. Bennish was at least truthful when he stated on his application that he wanted to teach Democratic Ideals in our republic's schools.

  It is also most interesting that he chooses the moniker of "Playing the Devil's Advocate". To many people this would indicate a conscious decision to spread the mirror image of the Gospel. As a society, we have chose, correctly in my opinion, that our public schools are not appropriate venues for missionary activity whether that be from right wing Christian or Mr. Bennish’s left wing anti Americanism.

  His position in the classroom is to teach the curriculum that he signed on to convey to his students. Geography is an important subject for the student’s to learn for many reasons. This would include information about the emerging Pacific Rim trade block, the increasing relevance of South and Central America, and the horror of Africa’s current plight in addition to the Eurocentrc topics many of us were exposed to. Of course, this type of teaching would require classroom time, something that was sadly WASTED in his taped comments. There was no teaching about the cultural background, nor attempt to present a balanced perspective.

  Be honest about it – he was teaching his personal philosophy. He chose to do so from the position of power we as a society granted him – that of a classroom teacher. His student’s do not have the seasoning to effectively debate his leftist views. Rather, he fits the classic definition of being a bully, one who consistently chooses his venue against far less powerful opponents. The tests that are so hated by the far left measure how good of a job that Bennish, or for that matter, any teacher is doing in imparting the curriculum goals they are hired to teach. Most people do not cherish their “annual review process”, but it is needed to see if they are performing up to job standards.

  In my opinion, Bennish has repeatedly violated the trust society gave to teach his assigned curriculum. As such he needs at least two job sanctions. First, is a reasonable amount of time off without pay, and second, a removal from his geography classroom to a different venue where he is empowered to conduct dialogs. This second aspect would only occur if there is an available position in classes such as current events etc. After all, even his ardent backers should not expect another teacher in those arenas to be fired so that he can continue his liberal evangelicalism.

  Your friendly neighborhood conservative,

  Lloyd K. Pearson
  

• March 8, 2006

  10:44 AM

  Raminah writes:

  I still don't understand how this is a free speech issue when Mr. Bennish was "on the clock". Does this mean that anyone, from a bank teller to the McDonald's drive through window, has the right to express their opinions on their captive audience? People forget that no constitutionally guaranteed right is carte blanche- all have limits. Oft quoted example is that freedom of speech doesn't cover yelling "fire" in a crowded theater.

• March 8, 2006

  2:58 PM

  Justin Credulous writes:

  Bennish is a mental midget - it's funny that he cut his hair so he doesn't look like the pinko-commie hippy he truly is.

• March 8, 2006

  3:46 PM

  Mr. N writes:

  Raminah,

  Freedom of Speech never has been without limits as you know. From the very beginning there have been limits, with the classic example being shouting "FIRE" etc... However, within the recognized limits, the Freedom of Speech is absolute. That means that as long as the limits are not violated, all other speech is protected. Clearly Freedom of Speech is not completely eliminated just because it has limits.

  The limits the Cherry Creek School District impose upon teachers are simply that, additional limits. These limits do not remove Freedom of Speech from the classroom any more than the prohibitions on shouting "FIRE" removes Freedom of Speech in a theater.

  Mr. Bennish still retains Freedom of Speech in the classroom, just subject to more limits than outside the classroom.

  Politics were part of the course syllabus, and therefore had to be discussed in class. Mr. Bennish was required to present the liberal viewpoint to maintain balance. Mr. Bennish was protected by Freedom of Speech to choose how and with what words he presented the liberal viewpoint. That's how this is a Freedom of Speech issue.

  And there can be no comparison to Private employers, because Mr. Bennish is employed by a branch of the Government. This actually give Mr. Bennish MORE leeway, especially in the category of Political Speech. Protecting the Political Speech rights of government employees has additional special protection above and beyond that of a private citizen employed in the private sector expressing non-political speech.

• March 9, 2006

  8:48 AM

  Raminah writes:

  Mr. N.-

  Actually, your comments about being a Government employee are inaccuracte. See, I have worked for the Government for over 12 years. We are specifically proscribed from political activities and statements in our official capacity.

  If I understand you correctly, you believe that: 1) It was acceptable for Bennish to personally attack Bush instead of the administration in the context of a World Geography classroom, and 2) The manner in which he did it was acceptable. I don't believe so. For the former, he should have addressed the administration, making a list of points with supporting evidence. THAT would have been in the context of the syllabus. For the latter, his method was completely unprofessional and repugnant.

  For the record, I think Bennish is an evidently dedicated, committed teacher (we could use a few more like him); however, in this circumstance, he let his personal convictions (obviously deeply held) influence his teaching in the classroom. Rather than obstinately defending his every statement, it would be nice if he would take this as a learning opportunity.

  To be fair, Hannidy ought to do the same. Rather than releasing the tape to the media, he should have brought his concerns to Bennish and the school administration. If they had stonewalled, than perhaps releasing it might have been appropriate. As it was, he denied them the opportunity to address the issue.

• March 9, 2006

  7:03 PM

  jay diaz writes:

  awesome!

• March 11, 2006

  12:07 PM

  Zalman writes:

  Jay was only telling lt like it is. For this he is being destroyed by the supremisist bigots that can not stand the truth. America today, is being destroyed by these same extremist deceivers that gave the false intelligence about WMDs in Iraq.
  The Mossad motto is--"By Deception, Thou Shalt Make War". And they live up to it!!!!!

• March 12, 2006

  3:27 PM

  name withheld writes:

  Open Letter to the Editor:

  Thank you for pointing out the error Jay Bennish made with Lord Moyne's title in the 3/11/06 editorial "Unsatisfying end to Bennish affair". Bennish mistakenly called him the "British Prime Minister". Lord Moyne's title was British Minister Resident when he was assassinated by members of the Jewish Stern Gang on Nov. 6th, 1944. Other options would have been British Minister of State for the Middle East, or his given name Walter Edward Guinness. Bennish used the wrong title, but he was right about the history. He was right that the US did not give Israel to the Jewish People. God gave Israel to the Jewish People. Many Jews fought for many years and gave their lives to rebuild the modern State of Israel. It wasn't until 1948 that the US, along with a host of nations, gave the State of Israel the official international recognition so many had died for.

  Unfortunately this article leaves the false impression that this event did not happen at all. Please correct this oversight in your next edition of the Rocky Mountain News. Not correcting this oversight would be an insult to the memory of all those who died during the creation of the modern State of Israel, both Jewish and British.

• March 17, 2006

  3:26 PM

  Frank Furter writes:

  That little kike bastard allen needs to have his jew ass kicked all over the school and the street where he and his commie jew prick family lives! It would be a real shame if someone dumped sugar in their gas tanks or their home burned down!