Busy-ness

Since I last posted, Jay Bennish has been returned to the classroom with the "full support" of the Overland School administration. Cheers to everyone who brought a reality check to that ridiculous set of circumstances, including Principal Jana Frieler, who probably heard from more opinionated observers (myself included) than she cared to. Hell, I even heard from more people than I cared to on the topic. Check the messages readers left from the last post for an indication of the depths to which ideology on this topic sank. Still, it was an important issue and I'm glad to see the winds have blown in Jay's favor.

I was lucky to have Dave Zirin drop by campus to speak on the topic of the history of sports and resistance movements in the United States. If you're not familiar with his work, visit www.edgeofsports.com. Dave is a fantastic journalist, and regardless of whether you like or dislike sports, whether you're highly politicized or apolitical, his work is important to understanding both. Like it or not, neither sports nor politics are retreating from the American social fabric anytime soon, and we do well to consider their intersection, remembering athletes like the revolutionary Muhammad Ali (not the handled, sanitized shell of a man he sadly is today), Billie Jean King, Dave Meggysey, John Carlos and Tommie Smith, and celebrate athletes of our day like Steve Nash and Adonal Foyle, who use to positions to champion causes of social justice, rather than just advertise endorsements. I don't want to "Be Like Mike" at all; I'd rather be like Eton Thomas.

Off to Boston this weekend.

Put Jay Bennish Back In The Classroom

...and give him a raise.

Jay Bennish is a social studies teacher at Overland High School in Aurora, Colorado, where a student recorded him in class observing (among many other things) "eerie similarities" between George W. Bush and Adolf Hitler. Personally, I think a comparison between George W. Bush and King Leopold II of Belgium works on many more levels, but it's not my class, it's Bennish's.

Said student, 16 year-old Sean Allen, gave the recording he made in class to his father, who didn't like what he heard either, and promptly called the principal, who suspended Bennish from the classroom. Unbelievable. In response, over 150 students at Overland High School walked out of their classes in support of Mr. Bennish today. Very believable.

Looks like Overland High School has an administrative crisis on its hands.

I listened to Bennish's lecture, and you can too, here: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_3562969?source=rss. It was engaging and provocative discussion, and in my estimation, a productive learning environment. The student, Sean Allen, even tried to challenge Bennish at a few turns, and Bennish responded as an educator, not as an idealogue nor a propagandist. He encouraged the student's participation, and congratulated him on his engagement. That said, the kid had very little knowledge of what he was talking about, and as an educator, Bennish tried to help him put his ideas into a more informed context. That is the point of an education after all, though many believe it should merely reinforce the beliefs that are transmitted to us in between commercials on television.

I can only hope my kid has a teacher as passionate and informed as Mr. Bennish someday. My suspicion is that Mr. Allen and the administration at Overland who suspended Mr. Bennish would rather have some disinterested gym coach teaching Sean and his fellow students about the complexities of the world he lives in. Not me. If you agree or disagree, write to the Jana Frieler, principal of Overland High School at this address: jfrieler@cherrycreekschools.org.