5 of 5

Write now Article Tools

Mr. Jay Bennish, a World Geography teacher at Overland High School in Colorado, was placed on paid suspension March 1, 2006. A student recorded him comparing President Bush and the State of the Union address to Adolf Hitler. This recording was played on a Denver radio station and sparked an uprising in the Cherry Creek School District.

Apparently, the student recorded a twenty minuet lecture on the topic of America, President Bush, the State of the Union speech, and possible "eerie similarities in the tone" that both these political figures used. Mr. Bannish asked his students, "Who is probably the single most violent nation on planet Earth?" Then he answers "The United States of America" (Pearson). On NBC's Today Show, broadcast March 6, 2006, the student who recorded this part of the class said that, "He is asking rhetorical questions that he himself is answering." The student went on to say that Mr. Bannish did not give the students time to answer. A representative of the school district addressed the issue by saying that Mr. Bannish was presenting a bias view. Officially he was charged with violating a district policy that requires teachers to offer different views of an issue.

In Mr. Bannish's defense his lawyer David Lane told the Today Show that part of the job of teaching is to provoke students into thinking about issues and getting them to take a stand. Mr. Bannish clarified this statement by saying his job is to, "challenge students to think critically about issues that are effecting our world and society.cognitive dissonance is one way to activate their minds." Mr. Bannish did say, toward the end of the lecture, that it was not his intention for the students to agree with his statements.

In the sixth edition of Teachers and the Law by Louis Fischer et al. several chapters address the issues that are raised in this controversy, but most important to Mr. Bannish's case would be chapter nine which deals with Controversial Issues and Academic Freedom. It states that, "Academic freedom includes the right of teachers to speak freely about their subjects, to experiment with new ideas, and to select appropriate teaching materials and methods." But, as it states in the following section of the chapter, courts have been recorded as supporting academic freedom that is relevant, age appropriate, and does not cause a disruption. It is clear that Mr. Bannish's lecture did cause a disturbance. Judge Johnson wrote that the rights of Academic Freedom are one of the

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Academic freedom and teacher choice in curriculums?
We want to hear your view. Write now!