My students are watching Fahrenheit 9/11 in class right now

[Bucky]

All the Juniors and Sophomores are off taking the PSAT. So the four Seniors and three Freshmen in my webmaster class are watching a DVD of F911. I'm getting too emotional to watch it. So I'm checking in here. I gotta wonder what they must be thinking of the country we're setting them up to lead in thirty years. I owe them a hell of lot better than where it's heading today.

Too of the Senior guys in the class were having an argument earlier. One plans to go into the Marines, the other wants to be a Navy SEAL like his two big brothers. I really want to know what's going thru Leroy and Emmanuel's heads. I'm so proud of them wanting to serve their country. I've had another student go into the Marines and I saw what a huge difference the service has made in his character. It's not for everybody, but it makes a positive difference in the kids' lives and we as a country certainly need people like them, young people of good moral character, to serve our security.

But at the same time, we have a corrupt administration that's throwing their lives away. I'm fucking burning up here. It's eating me up thinking that these two guys could be sent off to guard some fucking oil patch on top of somebody else's sand for the benefit of the Carlyle Group and the Bin Laden family.

We won't have time to see the whole movie. The bell is gonna ring before we get to the most important moment in the whole film--how can we ask them to trust us ever again?

[Lorien]

1. I'll be interested to hear their impressions

of the film. Hopefully they can see the rest at another time.

[AVID]

2. Wow - did you have to get the film approved by admin - parents?

also - too/two first word second pargraph - freepers have fun with teachers' typos

[Bucky]

8. No, One of my students asked if he could show it in class during PSATs

Leroy (the guy who wants to be a Marine) asked if we could watch it. He brought his own copy, not my initiative. I also teach Tech Writing, so I've been pointing our Moore's propaganda techniques.

[sventvkg]

3. Good luck..I hope you don't get fired for trying so politically slant

your class...I wouldn't put it past the freepers to try to oust you for showing the film in school..I say fight the bastards and you are brave!! Take care.

[Bucky]

9. Nah. I'm providing a balancing commentary. And it's not my initiative.

But thanks for the warning.

[rman]

4. service may not be so bad for some people,

but war can screw up peoples minds pretty bad - "huge difference" indeed.

Do the students get to see the part where the soldiers speak their mind?

Maybe "War is a racket" would be an appropriate reading assignment.

WAR IS A RACKET
Smedley Darlington Butler
Major General - United States Marine Corps
http://lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm

[gratuitous]

5. Have Leroy and Emmanuel ever considered . . . ?

Joining the Peace Corps, or doing a couple of years with VISTA?

I'd also recommend a stint with Christian Peacemaker Teams or Brethren Volunteer Service. True, their alumni don't hold reunions in oak-paneled rooms, sitting in overstuffed chairs and sipping from snifters of brandy, but for building character and making a positive difference in their lives it can't be beat. There's the added benefit of making a positive difference in countless other lives as well.

[Bucky]

12. VISTA and Peace Corps require college degrees.

I think they both see the armed services as a means for paying for college. But again, I think the armed services is a totally honorable career. I'll sleep safer knowing young men like Leroy and Emmanuel will be keeping you and me safe.

[gratuitous]

14. Well, thanks

But they don't need to keep me safe, and I'm not asking them to. They must make their own decision, of course, but "keeping me safe" by shooting or bombing people isn't required as far as I'm concerned.

[CityZen-X]

15. Present The "Special Features"

Especially the testimony from the Marine. And please show the Chimps statements to the press after he and the Dick finished their lies and deception to the 9/11 Commision.

[FatSlob]

6. That is wrong.

Political indoctrination does not belong in the classroom. I'd be pissed if FarenHYPE or Farenheit 9/11 was being shown in any of my children's classrooms. You owe your students more than that.

[rman]

7. you are politically indoctrinated every day,

by watching the mainstream media.

difference is, F911 is based on truth, Fahrenhype is not, nor is most of what you see on TV.

[Bucky]

11. I've been pointing our Moore's propaganda techniques. I put balance in

I'm not about propagating slanted info in my class. But the student who asked if he could show the DVD also was reviewing a US Marines recruitment CD in class too. It's a balancing act, but I want my kids to be able to think and consider what's going on in the world. They get propaganda everywhere.

When Leroy asked me "how do you know the truth?" just a few minutes ago, I told him, "you read a lot, you think critically, you question what people tell you." I trust him to be able to do that. I hope I help him question the left and the right.

[FatSlob]

13. Thank you for the clarification.

You are right. Michael Moore is a fantastic propagandist. Perhaps the best since Nazi Germany's Goebbels (no, I'm not calling MM a Nazi, strictly comparing talent). The Republicans would love to have somebody so skilled. I'm glad he is with us.

[Love Bug]

10. Let them watch the comics under Special Features

There are some funny Arab-American comics under Special Features. That would be a good way to lighten the mood after watching the movie.