Monday, March 06, 2006

Jay Bennish: Foolhardy Patriot

If you've followed the debate over intellectual freedom of expression in public institutions, then you probably know about the demonization of Professor Ward Churchill, a University of Colorado professor of Native-American Studies whose essay on the events of September 11, 2001 caused a furor that resulted in his abdication of his Department Chairmanship and his departure from the university. Churcill's essay basically asserted that the United Sates' foreign policy and economic imperialism has not won us many friends in the Middle East and in developing nations. He asserts that what happened on 9/11, horrific though it was, should not have come as a surprise.

Enter Jay Bennish, a high school social studies teacher in Aurora Colorado. in class, Mr. Brennish evidently made a cmparison between President Bush and Adolf Hitler. A student with a tape recorder snagged 20 minutes of the teacher's lecture and played if for his father who then registered a coplaint with the local school board. Mr. Brennish is now on administrative leave from his position. On the day his suspension was announced, students walked out of class in protest of the teacher's treatment by school officials.

None of this surprises me. What surprised me is the fact that the Colorado Education Association has refused to represent Mr. Brannish becuase he is not a member of the union. When I read this on CNN.com, I wrote the following email to CEA officials . . . .

"Tonight, on CNN.com, I read about the Colorado Education Association's refusal to represent Aurora, CO social studies teacher Jay Bennish in his suspension over comments he made comparing the President to Adolf Hitler.

As a fellow public school educator who has always been a member of my union, I must say that I am seriously disappointed in the decision-makers in the Colorado Education Association. Your decision to defend intellectual freedom in the classroom only when it involves a union member is precisely the kind of behavior that gives our organizations a bad name.

Whether or not a colleague is in our union or not, he or she is in our profession and the rights all teachers deserve are at issue here. Defending Mr. Bennish is not simply a matter of defending a dues paying member. It is a matter of defending one of our own--a fellow educator.

Please, reconsider your decision.

Respectfully,

Marc D Callan"

a chilling effect to say the least.