Washington Teachers Under Fire For War Protest Participation
TUKWILA, Wash. - Students in Tukwila are rallying around a group of teachers in trouble with the school district for taking part in an anti-war protest.
That war protest turned into a full-fledged controversy at Foster High School in Tukwila. Should teachers have encouraged students to walk out of class to protest the war in Iraq? The civics lesson is now under the microscope.
The Tukwila School Board is sorting out whether anyone should be punished over the issue. A Foster High School social studies teacher remains on paid administrative leave after the district says he participated with students in a walkout and protest of the war.
The students rallied outside a school board meeting Tuesday night and rallied to the defense of their teachers inside.
“Why are we being punished, why are we being silenced?” asked one student.
Roughly 125 Foster High students walked out of class earlier this month to protest the war, part of a state-wide effort. But the Tukwila School District is investigating six teachers who may have encouraged the students, including the one who marched out with the kids.
“Even though he is a teacher, he has a right too,” said another student.
The district says teachers were warned not to participate, but says this is not about politics but rather student safety.
“To us, students leaving during the middle of the day, without parent permission, can be a volatile and unsafe situation,” said Jan Lande, Tukwila School District spokesperson.
At least one parent agreed at Tuesday night’s meeting agreed.
“If I was here at the school and I left, they would have fired me. You’re here to teach!” said one parent.
No word on when the investigation will be done or if punishments will be handed down. Some of the students who walked out had notes from home; others who didn’t were given so called unexcused tardies.
© 2007 King 5 News
A prudent teacher would have advised his students to not exit the class. A moderate teacher may view the safety of his charges paramount. But would a wise teacher do so?
Sometimes, it is necessary to throw out the old and do what is right regardless of the security of doing nothing. These students and their instructor, have overcome fear. They know what it is to be alive and at the same time awake to that living. Those that participated were never in any danger except from their only fear of being silenced.
…and the lesson here is to protest on your own dime not Corporate time.
So its not OK for students to leave class to protest an illegal war causing the deaths of thousands, but its OK to take students out of class to let the military show them the thrill of killing.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/11/26/5440/
REVOLUTION IS NIGH!
wake up America to the new America, Facist America under the control fo rightwing politicians backed by ignorant evangelicals.
One of the best lessons a teacher can offer is the importance of responsibly following one’s conscience. This is a civics lesson that will not be lost on the students.
Oh, to have each teacher in every classroom walk out to protest this war and have the students follow. Want to see DC get a backbone, and FAST? Courage, that is what many, many Americans still lack. They are self centered, apathetic, and fearful. I fear Bush more than I fear AlQeda running down my street.
“…to protest the war in Iraq”
Okay, which war are we talking about? The very confusion of wartime status causes difficulties.
1. The war against Iraq is over. We are involved in a post-war occupation at the official request of the occupied. (based on the AUMF Public Law 107-243)
2. The war against the guys who supported the guys who attacked us on 9/11 still goes on and yes, the legislation is written that badly (thanks for nothing, Congress!). It is reasonable to protest this war. First it would be good to find out if we’re still fighting this one. Do we know yet who supported the suicide attackers? It’s only been 6 years, which is longer than it took us to win World Wars I and II combined.
3. The war on terror was announced by the President but never declared by Congress. This unConstitutional war should be protested against at all times.
I’m not sure I would fire the teachers but I don’t really agree with them either. The best medicine for our present illness is good education, which the students can’t get by leaving school. Some other means of protest would be better.
It seems so reasonable to cover your administrative butt. After all, you can not condone breaking school rules. This response is applicable at all levels. Sign on to whatever the White House politicians require, on pain of it being said, you are helping the Enemy (whoever in the world that might be) or breaking the unspoken rules: It is not in good taste to see either the Emperor’s nudity or his crimes against the US Constitution. The students displayed courage. The teachers took risks. Not to let a teaching moment get away, perhaps someone can slip these students a few copies of the “White Rose” (”Die Weisse Rose”) about the Scholl siblings who were guillotined for distributing anti-Hitler leaflets through the ventilation openings in the ceiling of The Great Lecture Hall at the University of Munich. A question for all of us: What steps need to be taken before we arrive at that point in history? What does it take to arrive there? Which actions not taken?
The lesson that I take from this is that there are consequences for acting your conscience. Sometimes, the consequences are worth it.
It’s getting to be that time for those with consciences.
If the purpose of education is to teach, a walkout would certainly provide a ‘teachable moment’ because it would necessitate a discussion. And the exercise is something kids would remember for a long time after most other lessons are forgotten.
And, according to national polls, the majority of Americans are by now against this psuedo-war. Does the majority not have a right to be heard, when manipulating media bosses scream their minority opinion as silent journalists sit meekly by? When dissident voices called us back to rational behavior in 2002 and thereafter, they were sadly silenced in a world bent on conformity; but this is infinitely more ludicrous.
I liked America more when it was a democracy which supported freedom of speech.
After the “Call to Order” at the Tukwila School Board Meeting on the 27th of November the next item was a “Flag Salute”. My country right or wrong has never worked and its strange to support something as important as your country when it’s wrong. Jan Lande and the other Tukwila bureaucrats need to understand that killing people to solve problems doesn’t work and that protesting that is part of a good education.
Drop her a note, landej@tukwila.wednet.edu
A deeper analysis reveals that this incident is just one of many where the managerial class asserts the dictates of corporate power upon the remnants of the recalcitrant middle class, in this case represented by educators. We’ll be saying a lot more stories of unruly educators being put in their place by authority. One goal is to reduce teaching from a skilled trade to an unskilled one, allowing for privatization of our educational institutions.
But most of America is still wide asleep so don’t expect many to catch on.
If the school board was really concerned about exposing the kids to a potentially unsafe situation when they walked out they would thank the teacher that walked out with them.
Congrats to the kids and the teachers that took a stand.
No teacher should be required to spend decades educating children destined to be murdered, maimed or mindless sacrifices to the greed of Corporate Oil. Protest they must.
I’m going to have to dissent here. It was inappropriate for a teacher to walk out with the students. And it was inappropriate for teachers qua teachers to endorse or condone the walkout by words or actions; just as it would be inappropriate for them to condem it.
Schools are a captive environment where teachers are authority figures. While it is impossible and inappropriate for them to completely check their personal beliefs at the door, they should try to remain as neutral as possible in controversial political issues…in their role as teacher that is. They’re free to be as political as they want in their private lives.
I ask all of you to consider a reverse situation. Suppose it was 2003, just after the war started and a group of students organized a pro-war demonstration at a school (likely under the guise of “supporting the troops”); suppose teachers had activiely encouraged their students to participate and had participated themselves. Wouldn’t this be very intimidating to the minority of students who are antiwar and did not want to participate? Wouldn’t it be likely that such a student would feel coerced by their authority figures to act against their conscience or be penalized (such as by lower grades)? Such a fear might be entirely incorrect, but wouldn’t it be understandable?
So, how is the above situation different? Other than the teachers are on the antiwar side? In fairness to all students (including those who support the Iraq War, however much we may disagree with them), teachers need to do everything they can to remain neutral.
“You’re here to teach!” said one parent.
This is the equivalent to “shut up and sing”. Sieg Heil, Herr Parent. Your students will now be good Bushler Jungend…
How much more could a teacher teach?This a Civics Class 101!All those who believe otherwise would have backed the English during the Revolution.This is why it is so easy to pass a law like the patriot act and this new one “the violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism prevention act”.What a mouthfull of shit to tell us that we are being watched and they want to make it legal.Pretty soon The Constitution will have no use except as an antique. Tony
“Meeting physical force with soul force” Rev Martih Luther King
It’s important to learn to meet the physical force threatened by the power structure with the soul force from a community of spirit. The power of spirit is greater than the power of physical brutality.
Stand strong and develop soul force.
It’s just as important for students Against this immoral war to speak out against it as it is for those who are for it to speak out in defense of it!
Both sides should be able to speak about the pros and cons and who better to deal with it than those teachers and if there are NO teachers to speak in defense of this war then so be it!
A teachers’ place is to teach and what she or he teaches they should be able to do by example!
Dominick
Yes the teachers are there to teach, and this protest was certainly a teachable moment. Schools and school boards just have to calm down; protesting is a part of citizenship, just like taking the class on a field trip to a polling station or city hall. If students didn’t follow established procedure, then give them an hour of detention. The teachers might have to pull some sort of extra duty. But it’s clear that, for Bush supporters, this is a major slap in the face to them (another attempt to wake them up), and they want to punish people for disagreeing with them.
Militant liberal said:
“I’m not sure I would fire the teachers but I don’t really agree with them either. The best medicine for our present illness is good education, which the students can’t get by leaving school. Some other means of protest would be better.”
I totally agree with this opinion.. They could have done all kinds of things.. I do not see how walking out of school is a protest of anything. School is not war related. Where’s the tie in?
I thought of the movie Dead Poet’s Societ, where Robin Williams taught his students to think for themselves. But he didn’t have them walk out to do it. He used the classroom to teach them. Education is the best tool in fighting the injustices of the world…
I just don’t see how them walking out sends any kind of meaningful message? And to whom?
Government to School Board, “Shut Up and Behave”
School Board to teachers, “Shut Up and Behave”
Teachers to students, “Shut Up and Behave”
Very good, now let’s open our brand new editions of the US Constitution, rewritten by G.W.Bush. I think you will find this new version much easier to understand. The thinking is all done for you.
civil disobedience.
there’s a lesson for the school board, students, parents, teachers.
aquietman wrote: School is not war related. Where’s the tie in?
Read the recent CD article at http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/11/26/5440/ on military recruiting vans at schools. I’d say that schools are becoming very much war related.
I’ll never drive past Tukwila again without thinking, “Some bright kids there but too many of the adults are really dumb.”
rebelnow—well said—SHEESH!!! When a friggin walk out causes this much of a stir, we get a real lesson in just how passive, apathetic, clueless people are about such things as uhhhhhh…being an informed and involved citizen. The kids walked out of school to make a statement—how threatening is that?
When I was in college in the 60’s we were taking over Administration buildings and holding sit-ins, teach-ins, marches. We as a nation are sleep walkiing through life. We have lost so much soul that it is very frightening.
That anybody posting here is so damned casper milk-toast that you actually believe that a civics teacher can’t show kids what protest looks like, makes me weep for our nation. Where the hell is your commitment to free expression? These are high school kids, not 1st graders and if they don’t figure this out before they leave school, some of them never will. Your attitude is a great way to raise a nation full of sheep. I am thouroughly disgusted!!!!
The Teachers and the students should get together and watch two movies: ‘Sir, No Sir, and ‘The Christmas Truce’ of 1914 during the “war to end all wars”. After a question and answer period, the Teachers can have the students take turns in front of the class reading Dalton Trumbo’s ‘Johnny Got His Gun’. This would be ‘fair and balanced teaching’.
Ignorance ain’t bliss, folks. It is very costly in the long run.
Three cheers for the students at Foster High and elsewhere for doing the right thing, and for the Teachers backing them. When we were youngsters, we looked up to our teachers for all sorts of guidance. Taking the moral highground is imperative in a real democracy. Not unquestioned obediance to dictatorial power.
We are starting to see an American version of the ‘White Rose’ of Nazi Germany.
thanks starofthesea
aquietman writes,
“I thought of the movie Dead Poet’s Society where Robin Williams has his students think for themselves. But he didn’t have them walkout to do it.”
quietman did you forget the ending? The students stood atop their desks in defiance as an outraged administrator yelled at them to “sit down”. It’s the heroic moment of the film as the students stood, angry at an injustice and in solidarity with their teacher.
Thanks, Dermot, Starofthesea, and rebelnow–
pointing out the power of “soul force.”
Domination, repression, violence– can not ever be stronger than the high moral soul power of non-violennce.
I like the tone and substance (and literary and historical references) of this discussion. Thanks everybody.
No, I will not sit down.
No, I will not shut up.
–”So its not OK for students to leave class to protest an illegal war causing the deaths of thousands, but its OK to take students out of class to let the military show them the thrill of killing.”–
OR FOR THAT MATTER IT’S O.K. FOR STUDENTS TO BE TAKEN OUT OF CLASS TO TAKE TESTS, NOT FOR THEIR OWN ACADEMIC RECORD, BUT TO ASSIST IN SELLING READING AND OTHER PROGRAMS TO THE STATE AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS SO THAT bUSH’S BROTHER CAN MAKE SOME MONEY OUT OF IT. IT HAPPENED IN TEXAS, EL PASO ONE OF THE PLACES.
this isn’t about education, it’s about saving our children. i was teaching high school when we ramped up and declared war. i knew, just as many of the bloggers here knew, that the war was wrong….very very wrong, before we even went in. the kids i was teaching i had known and worked with for 3 years. we talked long and hard about going to war, and i was pretty damn honest about how i felt.
they were my kids and there was no way in hell they were joining up and going to iraq to get killed.
i still almost lost one. he was wounded by a roadside bomb. lost his hearing in one ear.
Going to a demonstration would be just about the most invigorating and exciting school excursion I could imagine. Instead of learning about democracy from boring turgid texts, actually going to see real people expressing their democratic rights must be the best civic education that the United States of Israel can afford. Teachers who do not take part in popular protests should be suspended for missing a golden opportunity to advance education. With the schools in the USI today, there is more danger in going to and from school, and being at school, from armed psychotic students and neighbourhood gangs, than from taking part in a demonstration carried out by some of the remaining sane, intelligent and emotionally balanced people left in society.
Love you guys in Washington state
Thank you for taking a stand against this immoral, illegal war and occupation against a country that was and is no threat.
“At least one parent agreed at Tuesday night’s meeting agreed.”
Whew! Gotta love that top shelf journalism! Notice how the word “agreed” was left in twice, such is the quality of the reporter’s writing.
Excelsior!
Was any child coerced to take part in the walkout? If not, there is nothing for the school board to be concerned about.
Were some children persuaded by their peers to take part against their parents wishes? If yes - stiff cheddar, parents.
As a parent, a student, and a teacher, let me just point out that the most valuable learning rarely takes place in a classroom. Folks who say “shut up and teach” must know nothing about teaching, and have evidently done little learning in their lives.
Cannon fodder don’t need educating. Citizens do.
A L L — What is obvious here, is that this has become “media worthy” for wider visibility and discussion.
Congratulations to those teachers and students
, and may we find more empowered to go even further.
They are young heros, not yet under the yoke of the beast masters, just getting their social conscience a workout for the challenges ahead. This object lesson of Civics and rightful action is amazingly powerful.
Namaste
__ __ __ __ We must be the change
__ __ __ __ we wish to see in the world __ Gandhi
“When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it’s a wonder I can think at all.” (Paul Simon)
More power to the students and teacher(s) who walked out of a mind-numbing classroom in protest of a soul destroying war. And thanks also to the good Germans who are upset about it. Their anger may help those brave enough to take a stand to think a little more for themselves.
“They torture and scare you for twenty-odd years, then they expect you to pick a career, but you can’t really function you’re so full of fear.” (John Lennon)
How would we feel if students and teachers walked out of class in SUPPORT of the war? Would we all be so quick to condemn the school board? Be careful, if you agree with the teachers actions hear, then you must support those teachers who would allow kids to walk out of class in support of the war also, right? I don’t think its a good idea for educators to be voicing their postions while on the payroll. I believe our educators should be issue neutral while educating our children. If not, this could be another very slippery slop.
I love this parent’s typical comment…
“If I was here at the school and I left, they would have fired me. You’re here to teach!” said one parent.
Yes, stupid. He was teaching! He was doing what you should be doing… teaching your children how to think intelligently about matters that will directly affect them and make decisions that are based on their own conscience.
Where was that parent when military recruiters set up their table w/ literature in the school trying to persuade these same kids to join the war machine?
Parents like this one are why we continue to send our young people off to wars for corporate America.
imagineusa: “How would we feel if students and teachers walked out of class in SUPPORT of the war?”
First, what kind of protest is it to “walk out in support” of an existing policy? I would certainly support the right of those students who support the war making their case.
Also, teachers supporting a protest action by students does not necessarily mean the teachers must take a side on the specific issue. In other words, “i may not agree with a single word you say, but I will support to the death your right to say it.” And while teachers should be careful about taking stands on “issues”, they MUST NEVER BE NEUTRAL when it comes to supporting our constitutional right of freedom of speech.
Just an aside: Electrons have a negative charge; protons have a positive charge. Those NEUTRAL neutrons are what make nuclear weapons work!
IMAGINE USA - Consider the possibility that there was no propagandizing or flag cheering BS going on, and that the students actually made up their own minds, and that the teacher in question was just supporting his students actual rights of self expression (and determination) — and yes responsibility also — to live within the consequences of their actions.
This is one of the principle goals of our education system to teach people how to think, and it’s one our countries largest shames how many adults never learned these lessons.
Namaste
__ __ __ __ We must be the change
__ __ __ __ we wish to see in the world __ Gandhi
This is a great news. As someone rightly pointed out, both the teachers and the students have come out of the shackles of fear and insecurity created by the socio-economic, political and religious system in the US. I strongly believe that the power to bring a positive change in the US system should come from the educational institutions, particularly the educators and the students. This is what made a difference during the Vietnam war. I am not underestimating the power of other conscientious citizens. This is the time where these conscientious citizens should rally around the teachers and students who are facing the point of the gun of not only the School Board but also the government. If that does not happen, even those who want to oppose the evil American system openly in order to bring a positive change will not venture to do so because of lack of open support from the masses.
Start a “SAVE AMERICA” campaign.
wow those teachers and students, should use the publicity to take it to the next step. organize a state wide high school protest.
If Tukwila Washington gets this attention, then the powers must feel threatened, which means that the kids are doing something right and they should roll with it.
Of course it’s the best lesson they could have, without exercising their voice where else do they have to turn?… Making bombs and school shootings.
Awsome. I applaud all those standing up to this BS war.
I hope this catches on and floods the nation with peaceful walk outs all over.
All sectors of the usa’s buisness.
If we stop working, theyll have to listen.
The Tukwila School Board doesn’t seem to fathom the meaning of “disobedience” in the term “civil disobedience”. Are they suggesting that students wait for government approval before protesting the war? There is a big difference between subjects memorizing the pledge of allegiance and citizens who understand the costs as well as the benefits of holding on to their birthright of freedom. The teachers may pay a price and I admire their character. I also think the students are on the right track if they remember the “civil” part of civil disobedience. With more students like this, the other side is going to lose.
DEEPA - Thank you I agree with your idea of rallying conscientious citizens and these student/teacher protests.
I also think that the universities and colleges of OLD, are preempted now with excessive corporate and federal funding controls and ideological pressure over the institutions themselves and the faculty, as the baby bommer’s population bubble has been burst for awhile, and those rich years are long gone.
When the other bubbles burst and ALL of informed students find out that the promised jobs and rosy future were propaganda - then we’ll see more news from the campuses and high schools.
Namaste
__ __ __ __ We must be the change
__ __ __ __ we wish to see in the world __ Gandhi
imagineusa, “educators should be issue neutral while educating our children”.
When I was in high school I had a very right wing history teacher, his views permeated all he taught, but most of us saw through it. I had an English teacher who taught Dylan’s poetry, and Ginsberg’s, as well as Whitman and Shelley, etc. He was very liberal, we saw through that also. Our eyes were opened to many aspects of thought, isn’t that the way it should be?
I know a few teachers who have left teaching because of the stifling environment of the educational system now.
Diversity of thought is essential for an informed citizenry and for democracy to truly work, but a very dangerous concept to authoritarian rulers.
This is the democracy of the U.S., liberty to the expression of opinion.
To criticize others states concerning lacking democracy by the U.S. cannot be taken seriously; pure propagandas.
I was teaching high school ROTC when that little punk Ollie was running for some office, one of my very christian students excitedly asked me what I thought about North, I said, to use an old soldiers expression, I wouldn’t piss in his mouth if his guts were on fire. The kid was not happy with my response and I’m sure it was relayed to any who would listen. Later, when Shrub (Bush the Lessor) was appointed to the WH, I was asked by a cadet in my class what I thought about this fact. I replied-If he walked through the door right now, I would spit in his face. I sent him my Bronze Star w/V from my time in VN later so he could play with it and think he was a hero and would not have to bomb the fuck out of any other country to show how tough a little AWOL punk could be. I told the kids that bush was AWOL and was totally unworthy of anyones trust.Not because he was AWOL, but because he lied and lied and lied about it. Any real vet knows that if he really did do his time, he would have pulled out his DD 214 (or Air Guard equivalent) to prove his service the same as I have to do in order to get something from the VA. Of course little rich punks never need anything from the VA, do they? I did this while working in a public high school in the state of WA and was never called on it. I resigned after shrub bombed Iraq. My students always knew how I felt about losers like North and Shrub and Rum-Dum, dickless cheney et al. I think it’s time for our next revolution, and at 68, I am ready to go back to being the Infantry soldier I was for 25 years. I am really pissed off!!
TimKidd summed it up for me… I would add that I think the students should be allowed to protest political events without fear of repercussions. If students walk out of class they should be supervised by a politically neutral teacher or administrator.
“Some other means of protest would be better.”
Such as ? If you expect any credibility as an opinion-taker on CD then elucidate your alternative “means of protest”
Lead , follow or get out of the way
Every high school student should read Civil Disobedience by Thoreau. Progressive change often has come only after a critical mass of enlightened people had the courage to engage in CD. If students cannot express dissent in school, they should walk out. If these teachers lose their jobs, there had better be a huge outcry from teachers’ unions, all unions, and the general public.