Thoughts, Thoughts,Thoughts: Free Speech, the Holocaust, and School
I slept surprisingly well given all the thoughts swirling in my head all day long yesterday. Perhaps I was exhausted from them. Some of you may have read my comment yesterday about the fact that Leo's teacher had confirmed that they do not believe that Jews were gassed in the Holocaust. This set off a bit of a storm on my facebook page when I put up the blog post, and eventually made its way to Smile Politely. I've been reading the comments ever since and have been pondering it all.
First, let me say, that I am not upset in any way with Unit 4 at this point. The principal responded to me right away both times I contacted him and took it seriously. No problems there. Both my kids have had some extraordinary teachers in Unit 4. Here and there some I wasn't as thrilled with, but at the very least I think they all have challenging jobs, work very hard, and are doing their best. I may be voting no for the referendum next week, but that is a specific issue, and in the larger sense I am a great supporter of Unit 4.
Many people in the comments on various pages, have questioned this as a matter of free speech. It is indeed, and the teacher certainly has the right to their beliefs, and the right to state them. However, couching it as a matter of opinion is a slippery slope. As somebody stated, could a science teacher say that in their opinion the earth is flat and be considered a reasonable, valid teacher? And yes, the students asked the teacher's opinion. They asked because there was a rumor that the teacher didn't believe entirely in the Holocaust, so obviously something had been said in the past. Also, these are 14 and 15 year olds speaking to a teacher. The teacher needs to know when it is appropriate to respond to personal questions, and in what way. In a broader sense, apart from the classroom, people obviously have the right to state their opinions, but they also must bear the consequences, as long as the consequences are within the law.
Others questioned why I didn't just let the school take care of it. I am letting the school deal with it as far as the classroom goes, but I believe this is a larger issue than just that of the school and the classroom. The teacher certainly has the right to state their beliefs, but I happen to believe that these conclusions are dangerous and if I don't stand up, despite my worries and fears, to dangerous things that are in front of me....well, than I am not my father's daughter. I thought carefully before releasing the emails but concluded that because this was a formal interaction between a Unit 4 parent and a Unit 4 employee writing to me in their role as a teacher, that it was acceptable to me to do so. Seth and I did agree not to use names at this point.
A few comments referenced kids running to their parents and implied they weren't thinking for themselves. THAT I would like to shoot down. Leo told us about this because he was frustrated and upset. He didn't ask for us to move forward, we did because we thought it was important, although we did get his o.k. before doing so.
Last but not least, I am so proud of my boy and the statement he wrote. He hates to write so after I read it I said, "Leo, you may not like to write but you write well." He paused and said, "Well, if it's something important to me I can." His grandfather's boy indeed.