This is a handout my daughter got in her political-economics class. She's in 10th grade.
Politics: It all really just boils down to this:
Issue:
Criminals:
Democrats:Give them a second chance
Republicans:Give them the swift sword of death
The Poor:
Democrats:Give them some food
Republicans:Give them the swift sword of death
Endangered Species:
Democrats:Give them protection
Republicans:Give them the swift sword of death
Dictators:
Democrats:Give them a way out
Republicans:Give them the swift sword of death
The uninsured:
Democrats:Give them health care
Republicans:Give them the swift sword of death
*The cost:Democrats: ,000,000,000,000,000,000 Republicans:.95 (cost of one sword)
Wow. Um.......which side is her teacher on???? Are they just trying to make a point, or what? I'm a little lost as to how this is "teaching" material....
You know, I had teachers who were very republic, or democratic and would say so. BUT they always made sure we knew the other side of the debate, and even let us decide for ourselves (theres a novel idea)
What exactly is she supposed to be learning right now?? What chapter of what book, etc?
The assignment was a grid, along the top the different political philosophies (radical, liberal, moderate, conservative and reactionary) down the side their are listed different issues (abortion, capitol punishment, leagalzation of recreational drugs etc). She has to fill it in with each sides stand.
The hand out was supposed to be a guide in filling out the grid.
Wow. So in a very tack way, her teacher was trying to get the class to understand the groups different stances. In a VERY tacky way....Have you called the school board yet? This is Soooooo wrong. How dare this teacher.
I know you don't want to make things difficult for your daughter, but I hope there is a way for you to make it clear how unacceptable that handout is.
Want me to call them? I will be happy to...... :-)
Ya know, I am ALL FOR teachers showing kids all sides of the story. They need to be exposed to stuff, so they can make their own choices. But there are ways to go about it! And this is NOT it!Not yet Crispy, I just saw it tonight. I will tomorrow.I would go to the teacher first. Then, the principal. It's best to follow the chain of command first!My daughter crossed out all the "sword of death" stuff and wrote down the real posistion of republicans. I was actually very impressed with her understanding of politics. We both realize that it might make her a target though. She's willing to risk that, she was quite steamed by the whole thing.
Yes, I would talk to the teacher first. I am always very careful to present both sides of the story or have them research both sides of the story. I try to remain very neutral, and it is very hard...I have been accused of being both because I like them to talk through the issues completely. Like Katie said...kids are smart and they need to make up their minds.
Start with the teacher first thing tomorrow, and then go to the principal. If the teacher blows you off...do tell them you will go up the chain of command.
Well good for her Link! If she doesn't want to be target, have her cross out ALL the biased views, and write a more historically accurate one. And I mean ALL of them. There will be no "you're playing favorites" that way.That's ALL that was on the paper, aside of the grid. But that's good to keep in mind for the future.
I wonder if that teacher will be hearing from a lot of parent's tomorrow.
Your daughter sounds like a very bright kid, with a wonderful understanding of how to go about getting a point across. Good for her! She appears to be better informed than the teacher who distributed that paper. The teacher may not like her answer to it, but I would bet that other students in her class will be taking a stand right beside her.
It sounds like you have raised a terrific child who is willing to stand up for what she believes in. Good job!
There's a good possability! She should make her own, with horrible misconcpetions about teachers in different fields.......you get where I'm going...
I wonder if the teacher thought what he did was okay, because in his opinion he made both of them sound bad. And he was trying to put down an extreme viewpoint, so the kids would understand what kind of description he was looking for (something solid and set in stone, not vauge)
I wonder if he didn't even have an agenda, he just thought that was the easiest way, and that he'd make them both out to be the "bad guys" so that no one could say he was playing favorties.
However, it seems to have bit him in the ass.
Linccn,
Sounds like you have a very bright and very brave daughter. I'm proud of her too and I don't even know her.
Sorry for being so brash earlier. I read your post and popped off without engaging the brain. Good thing you, your daughter, and all the posters had much better ideas than I did.
Please don't forget to let us know how it all turns out.
Signed,
Embarrassed
I'm going to show my daughter these p[osts. Good advice for her, and a lot of kind words that will encourage her.
Was it an assignment? It actually sounds like a joke. I would make sure I knew the teachers intentions before getting upset about this. Sometimes we get all upset about things that really aren't meant to be a big deal. Link I've never seen such a thing! I would get some answers from the teacher tomorrow. Good for your daughter for being so on top of current events. Most 15 yrs old would not persue this.That's ridiculous! A good sword costs more than .95! Especially whenGimpy
Yeah, the more I think about it, It must have been tounge-in-cheek.
It doesn't matter if it was a joke, as a high school teacher myself I can tell you that it's really not acceptable to be one-sided about an assignment. It's not regulated, like it would be if it was a religious discussion, but it's part of the "fairness in the classroom" that teachers are all supposed to stand for. It's one thing to let the students debate issues, I do that quite often, but in that situation I give them both sides and they make their own decisions. Hopefully it was just in poor taste and not actually intended to be read literally.Whoa!!! That was totally unacceptable. Fortunately, your daughter is too bright to be swayed by such obvious bias. You must be very proud of her.
That teacher was way out of line. I'd love to hear the result of all this, i.e., if other parents complained, if there was any formal reprimand, etc. Please keep us posted.
I will keep you posted. Left a message this morning, have not heard back from him yet.having 2 daughters in High School I would love to hear what the teacher has to say about this as well. Please keep us posted.
I think it's totally unacceptable. That paper should not even been allowed to be handed out to the students.
I too will be interested in hearing what the teacher/school has to say about it.
I highly doubt children that age understand "tounge-in-cheek". They are very easily influenced at that age and I'd be pretty upset if this is the sort of teacher that was influencing my children.
Before everyone gets their panties in bunch here....this was a joke and was