Jay Bennish is a 28-year old high school teacher at Overland High School in Denver, Colorado. Donna Reddick is a business technology teacher who has worked at Miami Sunset High School in Florida for over 30 years.
One teacher was caught on video giving a 20-minute monologue on the evils of the United States of America—in a geography class, no less. The other teacher made a short statement for a student television project expressing her belief that homosexuality is wrong.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where this is going.
Less than two weeks after he was placed on leave, Bennish was able to resume his teaching duties at Overland High School. It’s completely understandable of course; all he did, for example, was speak of the “eerie similarities” between President Bush and Adolph Hitler, claim that capitalism is “at odds with human rights,” and sympathize with people who view the American flag as “no different than the Nazi flag or the Confederate flag.” Apparently Bennish did receive some sort of discipline, but the superintendent at the school declined to provide details.
As for Donna Reddick? Well, she’s not quite sure about her future right now. After all, she had the temerity to say she believed homosexuality was wrong.
The controversies over the two teachers are unique and not completely similar, but they nevertheless indicate a rather startling double-standard in the public school system today. Michelle Malkin may have summed the situation up best when she wrote a blog post simply titled, “REASON #92,456 TO HOMESCHOOL.”
The flap involving Reddick began when students in a television production class interviewed various people at the school regarding homosexuality. The interviews were part of a daily segment that is produced and broadcast throughout the school P.A. system after the regular morning announcements.
The segment on homosexuality took up three days. The first day, recordings were played of students who expressed support for gay rights. The second day, a school counselor talked about how people should respect others. The third day, some students expressed opposition to homosexuality, and Reddick spoke about her religious beliefs regarding homosexuality.
According to the Miami Herald, Reddick explained: “My perspective on homosexuality is that it is wrong according to the Bible.”
“God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of their sexual sins, which included homosexuality,” the Herald quoted Reddick as also saying.
That didn’t go over so well with certain students and school officials, and the teacher—along with the other students—quickly came under fire for their statements. Apparently policies on free speech and religious expression are being reviewed by school officials, and the teacher and students may face some sort of discipline.
“It was one of those things you hear and say, `What are you doing putting that on school airwaves?’” senior Christina Garcia de los Rios told the Herald. “Those who are gay were very offended, saying it was an attack on their entire life.”
As the Herald noted, the students doing the interviews students told Reddick the project was about “the non-Christian view of homosexuality versus the Christian view of homosexuality.”
You can be sure of one thing: any students and teachers at that high school who believe homosexuality is wrong won’t make the mistake of ever actually saying so again. But Bennish—the teacher who railed against the U.S. in a geography class—only thumbed his nose at his critics after being reinstated.
Saying he was “excited to be back in the classroom,” Bennish promised he would continue to use his job to “encourage democratic values in our society” and to “promote social justice, just as I have always attempted to do.”
If Bennish is really interested in encouraging democratic values and promoting social justice, he should pay a visit to Miami Sunset High School, where the thought police appear to be out in full force.
Sources:
1. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/education/14062839.htm
2. http://newsbusters.org/node/4392
3. http://michellemalkin.com/archives/004689.htm
0 Responses to “Editorial: What’s Wrong With This Picture?”