As most readers of this blog know by now, Aragon HS has been identified as a school that indoctrinates instead of educates its students because Assistant Principal Silton (sic) obviously wishes to cultivate a cult of personality around President Obama. See this post for more over the top nonsense regarding yours truly, Commissar Silton.
There is a relevant 1980s music video, of course:
FYI, I have copied below the response I sent to the administrator(s) of hillaryis44.org. While I wrote this mostly for my own amusement, I really do want to live by the principles that I articulate in it. In other words, while I am very transparent in class about what is fact, standard interpretation, alternative interpretation, and my opinion, admitting the possibility of bias is not the same thing as being truly objective and fair to alternative points of view, and that is what I'm striving for. I don't think that goal is incompatible with being honest and witty, but if you think my balance is off, I'd like to know about it and not have you suffer in silence through my brainwashing. A former student recently sent me a link to this article relating to this theme, which I generally agree with.
To Whom it Concerns:
Thank you for teaching my point better than I could have ever hoped for.
I absolutely stand by my decision to use hillaryis44.org as an example of a bad political website in my AP Government curriculum. Nearly everything at your site illustrates conventional propaganda techniques, seemingly driven by a typhoon of bitterness and personal malice.
The first amendment is alive and well in my classroom; I'm about as anti-censorship as they come, and I have nothing to hide. I wonder if you have the guts to print this letter on your site in its entirety? Or will you censor it, quote it out of context, or ignore it?
I’m verbose as well as transparent, but my students know I respect them as young people quite capable of holding their own convictions. In fact, I got the impression that some of them resented your presumption that they were incapable engaging with and negotiating my course of study with a sense of perspective.
I do not respect hillaryis44, however. This place is a cesspool of conspiracy, paranoia, propaganda, and hyperbole. Exactly the sort of website to be on the watch for, from any extreme.
To be frank, most of my students are smarter than anyone participating on your site, and I had no trepidation about sharing news of your silly post about me with them immediately when I saw some in the hall at lunch. We got a good yuk out of it.
Those students that happened to follow the link I provided to hillaryis44 during the original assignment had universally commented about your breathtaking nuttiness. Those students that didn't happen to use that link (since the assignment was to discover their own favorite sites) will surely check you out now. You've totally demonstrated the perverse fun of trolling, unfortunately, which I'll have to un-teach somehow, but on balance I'm glad more of my students got to engage with this example than otherwise would have. What a terrific way to bond with my students! We may not know much, but at least we aren't blinded by hatred. That's a pretty good starting place for a Government class these days.
Aragon High School is a happy place of learning, full of talented faculty serving a diverse and supportive community. It is a wonderful place to teach. I have had a nice record of success there, and am confident the entire school community would get a good laugh out of your nonsensical accusation of indoctrination. I say 'would' because I doubt very many people will waste their time with it.
Alas, I am not a high and mighty Assistant Principal, just a teacher. Nor am I a communist -- far from it. Since your labeling me has no credibility, I won't claim damages. Instead, please accept my thanks for helping me bond with my new students. Maybe next year I'll pick out a different extremist website as a counter-model.
Or maybe not.
In any case, I will most surely be playing some Pink Floyd on Tuesday morning in class. I think it will be one of the highlights of my career.
regards,
Scott Silton
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6 comments:
Silton-
First of all, I believe that der commissar is, in fact, in town. And I have a question for you: What exactly did you say to cause such an uproar from the crazies? The HillaryIs44 people seem to think that you're a communist (a quite laughable comment, by the way). I thought that Hillary was a communist, so whatever you said must have sounded like an Engles original. I remeber during all the primaries hub-ub my parents hoping that Hillary wouldn't win because my dad, an opthamoligist, would be out of work!
However, I do appreciate your reply, I went on their website to try to talk some sense into them but they closed new user registration (the cowards!). I hope that class isn't *too* boring without my interjections, sorry for interrupting you all the time, it's a bad habit. Anyway, have a great blog year, I'll be sure to keep your communistically-indoctrinated students in line.
-Fmr. Sen. Max Bern (CA)(R)
P.S. That's a tree pointer, right? I want to see if I can beat your students.
Oh Max, don't be lazy... although my offending comments are buried in their now-revised post, they are there. My description of some of the people posting comments during the final phase of the primary campaign as racist set them off more than anything. I'll stand by that, although the best evidence is buried or gone by now. Their crazy attitude is plenty observable without that specific angle, and the point of this piece of this lesson was simply "there are crazy people on the internet worth avoiding." (Duh.)
Hillary and Obama didn't have many policy differences: no communist here. But then again, maybe everyone not to the right of Max is a commie. ;)
This is perfect justification for not really taking extremists too seriously. They're unreasonable and boxed-in fanatics. It's not just Hillary fanatics I'm referring too; this can include everyone.
Oh, and how do I make my username instead of part of my email appear in the comment(s)?
Yeah, i'm having that problem too.
-Amos Yan
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