posted September 11, 2014 02:49 PM            

According to NBC4, the school system said the unnamed teacher in question will apologize after admitting to "extremely poor judgment" in the Venn Diagram assignment. District of Columbia Public Schools released a statement on the matter late Wednesday night.

"The teacher deeply regrets this mistake, and any suggestion to malign the presidency or make any comparison in this egregious way," the statement read. "The teacher admits to extremely poor judgment and short sightedness and will apologize to students. The school will also send a letter home to families explaining the incident and offering to address any additional questions should they arise."

The school system also stressed that the curriculum materials did not actually suggest comparing Hitler "to any other individual."

posted September 11, 2014 04:21 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by Catalina:
"Compare and Contrast"...sounds like an interesting exercise. Too bad the authoritarian school board acted to shut down innovation. As for using Bush, whom many of those kids may have heard compared to Hitler...why not? Is someone afraid the comparison might be too close? Or that it would be obviously debunked?

---

At least, you showed your true colors rather than obfuscate all the time

------------------
Want To Ask Any Question About Bible Prophecy? Go For it. It is Free, of course.

posted September 11, 2014 05:12 PM            

I have a LOT of big words. I am a book worm

------------------
Want To Ask Any Question About Bible Prophecy? Go For it. It is Free, of course.

posted September 11, 2014 05:17 PM            

No further comment

------------------
Want To Ask Any Question About Bible Prophecy? Go For it. It is Free, of course.

posted September 11, 2014 07:01 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by Catalina:
No of course not. Shame to hide the brilliance of your nastiness though, shall I repost your original bait or are you happy now?

---

I don't bait. I see the TRUTH of what is under the surface is all

------------------
Want To Ask Any Question About Bible Prophecy? Go For it. It is Free, of course.

posted September 11, 2014 07:22 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by Catalina:
No of course not. Shame to hide the brilliance of your nastiness though, shall I repost your original bait or are you happy now?

---

posted September 11, 2014 07:42 PM            

My thought on this assignment is that the word CONTRAST is important and indicates that differences were to be noted and not just comparisons to Bush. And since many people likened Bush to Hitler - whether rightly or wrongly - he is an obvious choice for kids who probably heard that when younger.

Had it just been COMPARE I would chalk it up to indoctrination but inviting CONTRAST is asking them to think for themselves. A daring and anti-establishment project which could as easily mean he is trying to debunk the political attacks (calling bush hitler) as support them.

posted September 11, 2014 07:48 PM            

Somehow, I knew that 10 minutes it took me to realize that was too late, I'd gotten sucked in, if only for a moment. It was conversational, which I suppose is appropriate given that LL is sometimes more of a chat room than a MB.

posted September 11, 2014 07:58 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by Catalina:
Shame on him for stepping outside the curriculum box lol

---

This is what I'm basing it on:

[img]http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/q90Gm6dhdRB3ch0GawUXTQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NQ--/http://globalfinance.zenfs.com/en_us/Finance/US_AFTP_SILICONALLEY_H_LIVE/DC_School_Asks_Stu dents_To-a0e9f1c8c1808c23627ac3837ccb5369[/img]

^^

Okay, the pic won't show here. Go to the article and click on the pic for a larger version to read the actual assignment. It says Bush abused his power as Hitler did and then demanded kids compare apples to oranges as part of an assignment. That's not education, Catalina, that's indoctrination. EVEN IF the comparison is justified, the assumption is thrown in by the very wording that Bush (and probably all Republicans by extension) is one who used his power to kill, and that tells kids if they want a passing grade then that's the idea they'll put forward. And if that wasn't enough then their assignment was to ONLY compare/contrast the Holocaust with the Iraqi war without any other considerations.

Furthermore, these are SIXTH graders. What do you think their books are going to say on the subject that's of substance? Nothing, therefore they can't make an accurate comparison/contrast. This was something the teacher threw in...hence why he's in trouble. Not for getting kids to think freely but because he was indoctrinating them with material not in the approved school books, that is he was using the classroom as his podium and thus abusing his own power as a teacher.

posted September 11, 2014 08:12 PM            

Sorry for the confusion

posted September 11, 2014 11:36 PM            

The content of those texts I cannot find. The assignment paper that is shown says

Now you have read about two men of power who abused their power in various ways. COMPARE AND CONTRAST... and we will discuss in our activity ..."

I understand that some people have a problem with mentioning Hitler in the same breath as a US PRESIDENT and there was much stink about disrespect for the Office. I don 't have any evidence that the teacher implied Bush was like Hitler EXCEPT in that he abused the power of his office( by going to war despite LACK of the WMD evidence that supposedly justified it)...a lot of people agree on that without likening Bush to Hitler. A lot of people disagree as we know.

Apparently the school did not suggest the comparison of Hitler with anyone and the text about Bush definitely was not suggested for this exercise. It was however a text approved by the school for use in some situation.

But COMPARE AND CONTRAST says LOOK FOR DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES between two men who could both be described as having abused their power. Something a lot of people seem unable to figure out!

Children of that age really haven't got enough knowledge or depth of thought, usually, to handle that and it was an error in that sense..but when I first read the story it just sounded like an exercise - for more sophisticated kids - in discernment in a society that admittedly is flooded with extremes and caricatures and shoddy reporting.

A discernment many adults don't seem to have which leads to a lot of jumping to conclusions and sheep-ish thinking.

The title of this thread says only COMPARE, like a lot of news stories...which when you actually read them say something else (as does this piece and as did the assignment).

posted September 12, 2014 12:45 AM            

Therefore, I'd be shocked if a textbook for sixth graders said Bush abused his power. Heck, ALL presidents have abused their power as far as I know, though they all have their apologists, sometimes with plausible (if often dubious) explanations that exonerate their abuses.

And that aside, they were directed to confirm the wrong doing...and compare/contrast to Hitler, an extreme to say the least, and ignoring that if there is wrong doing then what should be looked at is the legal and Constitutional standards of the United States (along with social factors) which don't really compare to Nazi Germany, and thus not particularly educational about either Bush or Hitler. Maybe if it were a political science class I could see it, but I just don't see US sixth graders taking polisci.

And I shouldn't have to explain how iconic Hitler is to evil in western civilization, or things like Godwin's Law and Reductio ad Hilterum (also known as "playing the Hitler card"). In short, there was no integrity being displayed here. If there was then they could compare/contrast all the major presidents, including Obama (who has continued and expanded some nasty habits of Bush) to Hitler as well, but the point isn't to educate or enlighten or inspire critical thinking but to associate Bush (and very likely all Republicans who have been trashing schools for years now at least *) with the ultimate evil.

posted September 12, 2014 01:33 AM            

The snapshot of the assignment, two big circles with a small overlap in the middle, one side Hitler and the other Bush. I can't read the Hitler side but the Bush side says "took us into Iraq even though there were no WMDs". Not enough to go on for a real discussion. The small overlap says "abuse of power". That and the little description under BUSH and HITLER are in handwriting so I guess the teacher wrote them. But the size of the overlap indicates they are more different than alike..to me

Sounds dodgy yes. But the school is vouching for the texts and I can't see what's in them .. so it's a question mark for me.

The whole argument about the WMD and Bush's intentions is way beyond 6th grade understanding so that in itself would be enough to bin the discussion if I were teacher. HOWEVER I listened to the news report online and my grandson - 7th grade - said WOW, there's no comparison. Hitler tortured people" so though he really doesn't know a lot of details yet, he is discerning enough not to swallow Bush being Hitler just because a teacher may have said so. His teachers obviously have NOT.

For all I know one of the kids has seriously anti-Bush parents who told him Bush was like Hitler and he mentioned it in class...and for all I know the teacher used that as a springboard to point out how bogus the comparison was.

So...do you have the texts in question? Because without them I'm not prepared to say what the teacher was or wasn't shoving down their throats.

I went to private school where American history followed the ancients in 8th grade. My American History teacher was a political conservative who debunked a lot of the patriotic all-is-rosy myths younger kids absorb. He was pretty cynical about some things but he never compared anyone to Hitler. Then again no adults compared any of our Presidents to Hitler in those days either and today they do.

All in all I think the title is misleading and the story that follows doesn't explain enough. I am against indoctrination while realizing that teachers have opinions and worldviews too, but most of all I am against convicting anyone on partial evidence whether I like them or not. And against "news" stories that are all about pushing the most sensational slant they can.

This is a story that should be told fully, it involves what is being taught in our schools and these days the "apologies for poor judgement/misspeaking/etc" are so common as to be inconclusive about whether someone is in the wrong or just sorry to offend.

posted September 12, 2014 10:20 AM            

Would this be considered Heinous if the names were changed?

We are treated here on a frequent basis to comparisons between Hitler and Obama...both "Socialists. ".!

posted September 12, 2014 10:50 AM            

You must be delusional.

Bush got a joint resolution of Congress to fight terrorism and also got a joint resolution of Congress to remove Saddam Hussein.

Bush also got a UN resolution which promised severe consequences for Saddam if he didn't immediately live up to his "cease fire" agreement.

Saddam didn't and he got those severe consequences the UN resolution promised.

"Bush abused his power"
Bullshiiit.

Bush is about as far from Hitler as it's possible to get. Only in the minds of delusional leftists....who are attempting to protect and defend their little Marxist Messiah O'Bomber, is Bush anything like Hitler.

Btw, Hitler was a Socialist. Just like delusional leftists...the usual suspects and accidental Americans.

It's disgusting and contemptible for an idiot teacher to assign homework based on a comparison between Bush and Hitler. This moron teacher should be fired and their teaching credentials yanked.

posted September 12, 2014 10:59 AM            

However you just underlined my point. You are happy to compare our current President to Hitler.

And be my guest, you are not a middle school teacher and your expressions of opinion as fact don't confuse those who have some history under their belts.

posted September 12, 2014 02:29 PM            

I'm going to let you show us all where I equated O'Bomber to Hitler.

True, they're both Socialists but I don't recall ever equating O'Bomber with Hitler.