Students walk out in protest of teacher suspension

The fact that Bennish is back in the classroom does not mean the admin found him blameless, or condones his actions. More likely, they are doing this to avoid a costly lawsuit.

Bennish is obviously very popular and well-liked by most of his students, as he mentioned their support many times.

Bennish wanted to set up his own "Welcome Back" party. Kids that age are easily influenced, and probably 80% of them don't know the real issues being debated. Of the remaining 20%, it is probably split evenly for and against him.

But any teacher who has such passion, in my opinion, is a valuable asset to the public school system.

Impassioned? Please. He asked rhetorical questions of the class and then immediately answered them without any chance of rebuttal. Sort of like a pep rally. Don't interpret a shrill, unchallenged voice as "passion."

The danger is that they can neglect to present the other side, and if that did indeed happen here, I doubt it will happen again.

You still refuse to face the truth. There was no dissenting argument presented. And don't take that 5 seconds of lip service he paid to dissenting opinions at the end of his rant as welcoming opposing views.

This isn't over yet. Bennish won't last long in that school district, now that he has been exposed.

Denver Talk Radio is now beating up on Bennish's lawyer big time while pointing out all his lies. Ya got to love it.

Bennish's lawyer is made a fool part 1

Part two Beating continues

[edit on 3/11/2006 by shots]

Sean's a total brat. I'm feeling less and less sorry for the kid.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
Sean's a total brat. I'm feeling less and less sorry for the kid.

Actually, I don't blame the kid at all... It isn't his fault that ADULTS have used him as a political tool.

This student didn't unilaterally cook up a scheme to publicly attack his high school teacher through the media. There was ADULT agenda holding his hand the entire way.

Originally posted by loam
Actually, I don't blame the kid at all...

Regardless of blame (which I didn't mention in my post. ), he sounds like a brat to me in the above interviews.

And I think you're right, he's being used. But like Cindy Sheehan, he seems only too happy to be used. But that's a separate issue.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
Regardless of blame (which I didn't mention in my post.

), he sounds like a brat to me in the above interviews.

Let me get this right you are basing this on the way his voice sounds? Ridiculous

And I think you're right, he's being used.

Can you prove that assertion?

[edit on 3/11/2006 by shots]

Originally posted by shots
Let me get this right you are basing this on the way his voice sounds?

No. Not "the way his voice sounds". I'm basing my opinion on what he says, how he says it, the attitude behind his words.

Originally posted by shots

Originally posted by BH
And I think you're right, he's being used.

Can you prove that assertion?

Can I prove that's what I think? I don't have to. I know what I think.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
Regardless of blame (which I didn't mention in my post.

Sorry, didn't mean to imply that you did.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
he sounds like a brat to me in the above interviews.

Yes...and bright too. It's unfortunate the lesson he really learned from this experience was that by tapping (or being tapped) into an adult political agenda, a student gets to not only publicly challenge his teacher for things he doesn't like hearing, but through the hysteria, also gets the opportunity to net some real-life consequences against the teacher...

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
And I think you're right, he's being used. But like Cindy Sheehan, he seems only too happy to be used. But that's a separate issue.

Of course, he is... My two year old behaves the same way, if he thinks it will buy him direct personal attention.

Like a beaten child all to happy to be beaten because it means it is being paid attention to. Sad, maybe if they didn't sound like well, Cindy Sheehan, and just happy to have people pay attention to them could be taken seriously, but nope.

Originally posted by shots

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
And I think you're right, he's being used.

Can you prove that assertion?

Oh, pleeeezzz....

How many high school students are granted a national media platform to complain?

Originally posted by loam
It's unfortunate the lesson he really learned from this experience was that by tapping (or being tapped) into an adult political agenda, a student gets to not only publicly challenge his teacher for things he doesn't like hearing, but through the hysteria, also gets the opportunity to net some real-life consequences against the teacher...

Well, apparently the media, the school administration, and a lawyer thought the allegations were serious enough to pursue further investigation.

The lesson he really learned was that if he complains about something, he can expect to be ostracized and criticized. His motives will be questioned and he will be subjected to name-calling by supposed adults. That's what this has taught him.

Originally posted by jsobecky
Well, apparently the media, the school administration, and a lawyer thought the allegations were serious enough to pursue further investigation.

Which resulted in what? (Weren't you just arguing in this other thread ( here ) that someone else might be innocent? You will note that in this case, the teacher still has his job...but I guess the school administration in now the problem too, huh?

The hysteria generated by this teacher's comments is ridiculous...plain and simple.

Originally posted by jsobecky
The lesson he really learned was that if he complains about something, he can expect to be ostracized and criticized. His motives will be questioned and he will be subjected to name-calling by supposed adults. That's what this has taught him.

Which reinforces the point I made...should he really be playing (or be forced to play) an adult game?

You also conveniently ignore the consequences suffered by the teacher and his family.

Originally posted by loam

Originally posted by jsobecky
Well, apparently the media, the school administration, and a lawyer thought the allegations were serious enough to pursue further investigation.

Which resulted in what? (Weren't you just arguing in this other thread ( here ) that someone else might be innocent?

You really need to work on your reading comprehension skills, loam. And your ability to recognize satire.

You will note that in this case, the teacher still has his job...but I guess the school administration in now the problem too, huh?

If you had read my previous replies on the school admin's decision, you'd realize that you don't know what you're talking about. Or maybe you wouldn't.

Originally posted by jsobecky
The lesson he really learned was that if he complains about something, he can expect to be ostracized and criticized. His motives will be questioned and he will be subjected to name-calling by supposed adults. That's what this has taught him.

Which reinforces the point I made...should he really be playing (or be forced to play) an adult game?

This wasn't a game; that's merely your uninformed opinion of what it was.

You also conveniently ignore the consequences suffered by the teacher and his family.

I don't care what happened to Bennish. He is an adult and failed in his duties as a teacher and as a responsible adult.

Originally posted by jsobecky
You really need to work on your reading comprehension skills, loam. And your ability to recognize satire.

I call BS. You've had Bennish guilty of everything short of child molestation even though you have very little information and even though the school board disagrees with you. Your comment was no more satire than this one is.

If you had read my previous replies on the school admin's decision, you'd realize that you don't know what you're talking about.Or maybe you wouldn't.

Why so nasty? Is venom all you've got?

This wasn't a game; that's merely your uninformed opinion of what it was.

Again, why the attack on Loam? He's certainly no more 'uninformed' than you are.

I don't care what happened to Bennish.

That's clear. You don't care about Bennish or the facts, just your interpretation of the story, which, I gotta say, looks like fantasy to me.

He is an adult and failed in his duties as a teacher and as a responsible adult.

Only according to the bitter people who want the 'liberal teachings' out of the schools and not according to the school administration, but I'm sure you know him better than they do.

Yeah, what BH said!

Jsobecky, I do not find your "pseudo-right-wing" Utopian ranting all that compelling. It also strikes me a bit like you are complaining that rain is wet.

Fortunately, the majority of the people who actually followed the FACTS of this story see it for the tempest-in-a-tea-pot that it is. There is no there, there. Plain and simple.

It must be a very cold place where you stand.

*echo on*

"Walk into the light....."

*echo off*

...and moving along

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic

Originally posted by jsobecky
You really need to work on your reading comprehension skills, loam. And your ability to recognize satire.

I call BS. You've had Bennish guilty of everything short of child molestation even though you have very little information and even though the school board disagrees with you. Your comment was no more satire than this one is.

Do you know what he was referring to, BH? A post in another thread; the one that discusses the Bush appointee accused of stealing $5,000 from two department stores by returning items he didn't really purchase.

I said, "maybe he's suffering from Buyers Remorse". Sarcasm. Satire. Whatever. I even inserted a lol smilie at that point.

loam interpreted that as me proclaiming the guy innocent and tried to tie it into the Bennish case.

See the disconnect?

The rest of your post is a fallout from that, and, well, if you start with an incorrect premise, your argument is built on sand.




[edit on 12-3-2006 by jsobecky]

We'll have to wait till at least April 6 to learn the true fate of Jay Bennish as a teacher. Apparently, the handling of the situation so far has the school board split:

Board
Angry members of the State Board of Education abruptly ended their meeting Thursday in a dispute over whether to condemn Overland High School social studies teacher Jay Bennish.
Board member Bob Schaffer offered the motion condemning Bennish, saying the Overland High School geography teacher's tirade against President Bush and U.S. foreign policy before a captive audience of students was irresponsible.
:
A frustrated Pamela Jo Suckla, the board chairwoman, finally exercised her prerogative to put the meeting into "recess," which is technically different from adjournment. She declared recess until April 6, the date of the next board meeting.

"I can see no action is going to take place," Suckla said before exercising the recess option.

Students from the school district are also fed up with Bennish:

Mr. Bennish was suspended from teaching by the Cherry Creek School District, my district. And while the district and I don’t see eye to eye on many subjects (they made me take the CSAP’s for eight years), I think that they were absolutely right to kick Mr. Bennish out.

There is nothing wrong with having an opinion. As Mr. Bennish’s lawyer and Mr. Bennish himself are fond of saying, the First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees us that right. But the classroom is not a protest march. It isn’t a letter to the editor, it isn’t a blog; it isn’t even a place for the peaceful petition for the redress of grievances.

The classroom is a place for the unbiased learning experience. Listening to Mr. Bennish, it was clear that he was angry. At the President, at the State of the Union, at Iraq, at numerous other causes. He was so angry that he argued with students who tried to bring up divergent viewpoints.
:
To all teachers, please, as a student, I ask you to leave your personal politics out of school. Get a blog, write a column, send a letter to your Senator, do anything you need to vent before school starts.
denver.yourhub.com...

Well here is something interesting on the topic of a student's potential motivation to falsely create controversy....

High schooler in trouble for lie on Web site

West Linn High School student Brandon Flyte told the world on his Web site that he was expelled for leaving a homosexual "snuggle scene" in a class film project.

It wasn't true, and now the teen is in real trouble with school officials because of the resulting turmoil surrounding his claim....

More...

He sounds like a bright, bored kid. He'll go far after he gets out of school, I'll bet.

That kid sounds like another lying brat out to get attention. He lied for attention, he's so bright!

He and Sean will make great FOX co-anchors.