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Milford cuts issues class as too liberal
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Milford cuts issues class as too liberal
Manuela Da Costa-Fernandes, Register Staff June 26, 2002
MILFORD - The school system is scrapping a social issues class a Board of Education member criticized as too liberal.
"It's biased towards the left. It sounds like it came out of (University of California at) Berkeley. It's anti-cop," said board member Kim Raseman, a Democrat. One parent said canceling the class is "censorship."
The elective class for high school juniors and seniors will be taught in the fall for the last time, and then replaced by a state-mandated civics class that school officials said covers much of the same ground.
Some school board members became concerned about the content of the class during a recent curriculum review.
Interim Superintendent of Schools Larry Schaefer decided to drop the social issues class and replace it with the state civics class after discussing with teachers the school board member's concerns.
Raseman said he never attended one of the classes and did not talk to the teacher or the students. He said he based his criticism on the textbook and the syllabus. He said he found fault with questions in the syllabus like "Does gun ownership increase violence in the United States?"
"If you're going to censor lies, it's not censorship," he said.
School board Chairwoman Joan Politi, a Republican, also was worried about the class. She also had not sat through one of the classes.
"I had concerns and wanted to see it a bit more balanced," she said. "I never asked for the class to be canceled."
The class' 10-page curriculum explores contemporary issues such as the environment, civil rights, medicine and individual privacy. Issues addressed include assisted suicide, homosexuality, abortion, gun control and reproductive technologies.
"It was to get kids to understand both sides of an issue," said Schaefer about the class, which has been taught in the district for about 10 years.
Teaching materials for the class include a textbook called "Taking Sides - Clashing Views on Controversial Issues," four magazines and journals, 14 videos and two guides, including one on "Tackling Gay Issues in School" by GLSEN (Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network) and Planned Parenthood.
Nine Web sites also were listed, including news organizations such as The Washington Post and 10 general Web sites.
Parent Mike Taylor said the class addressed several "hot topics" such as abortion and gun control and provided an important education component for high school students.
"This type of course gives ample time for discussion of both sides of the issues," he said. "We are presenting ideas. We don't all agree on issues. To stifle the course itself is censorship." But parent Margaret Povroznik was opposed to her son taking the class.
"It belongs in a college course curriculum and not at a high school," she said. "It was sounding very one-sided and the opposite side was not being presented." For example, she said that when the class addressed gun control, the Second Amendment and how to be a responsible gun owner was not adequately discussed.
Raseman raised concerns about the Web sites listed. He said The Washington Post was too liberal and the conservative Washington Times Web site should be included. "He had some concerns the Web sites were not balanced," said Schaefer, who shared Raseman's concerns with teachers.
In fall 2003, teachers will replace the course with a new statewide required civics class starting in about how government and a democratic society operate, Schaefer said.
"Teachers realized there were duplications in both courses. It was not necessary to have both courses," he said.
Politi supported the switch. "Why be repetitious if the new course is going to cover a lot of the same issues?" she said.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=4559857&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=7573&rfi=6
Manuela Da Costa-Fernandes can be reached at mfernandes@nhregister.com , or 876-6800.
cNew Haven Register 2002
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Manuela Da Costa-Fernandes, Register Staff June 26, 2002
MILFORD - The school system is scrapping a social issues class a Board of Education member criticized as too liberal.
"It's biased towards the left. It sounds like it came out of (University of California at) Berkeley. It's anti-cop," said board member Kim Raseman, a Democrat. One parent said canceling the class is "censorship."
The elective class for high school juniors and seniors will be taught in the fall for the last time, and then replaced by a state-mandated civics class that school officials said covers much of the same ground.
Some school board members became concerned about the content of the class during a recent curriculum review.
Interim Superintendent of Schools Larry Schaefer decided to drop the social issues class and replace it with the state civics class after discussing with teachers the school board member's concerns.
Raseman said he never attended one of the classes and did not talk to the teacher or the students. He said he based his criticism on the textbook and the syllabus. He said he found fault with questions in the syllabus like "Does gun ownership increase violence in the United States?"
"If you're going to censor lies, it's not censorship," he said.
School board Chairwoman Joan Politi, a Republican, also was worried about the class. She also had not sat through one of the classes.
"I had concerns and wanted to see it a bit more balanced," she said. "I never asked for the class to be canceled."
The class' 10-page curriculum explores contemporary issues such as the environment, civil rights, medicine and individual privacy. Issues addressed include assisted suicide, homosexuality, abortion, gun control and reproductive technologies.
"It was to get kids to understand both sides of an issue," said Schaefer about the class, which has been taught in the district for about 10 years.
Teaching materials for the class include a textbook called "Taking Sides - Clashing Views on Controversial Issues," four magazines and journals, 14 videos and two guides, including one on "Tackling Gay Issues in School" by GLSEN (Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network) and Planned Parenthood.
Nine Web sites also were listed, including news organizations such as The Washington Post and 10 general Web sites.
Parent Mike Taylor said the class addressed several "hot topics" such as abortion and gun control and provided an important education component for high school students.
"This type of course gives ample time for discussion of both sides of the issues," he said. "We are presenting ideas. We don't all agree on issues. To stifle the course itself is censorship." But parent Margaret Povroznik was opposed to her son taking the class.
"It belongs in a college course curriculum and not at a high school," she said. "It was sounding very one-sided and the opposite side was not being presented." For example, she said that when the class addressed gun control, the Second Amendment and how to be a responsible gun owner was not adequately discussed.
Raseman raised concerns about the Web sites listed. He said The Washington Post was too liberal and the conservative Washington Times Web site should be included. "He had some concerns the Web sites were not balanced," said Schaefer, who shared Raseman's concerns with teachers.
In fall 2003, teachers will replace the course with a new statewide required civics class starting in about how government and a democratic society operate, Schaefer said.
"Teachers realized there were duplications in both courses. It was not necessary to have both courses," he said.
Politi supported the switch. "Why be repetitious if the new course is going to cover a lot of the same issues?" she said.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=4559857&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=7573&rfi=6
Manuela Da Costa-Fernandes can be reached at mfernandes@nhregister.com , or 876-6800.
cNew Haven Register 2002
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878