High school girl complains about final exam - she's a teabagger who didn't want to watch SiCKO

[proud2BlibKansan]

There is a very loud teabagger group in St Louis. This is their latest complaint.

KSDK -- A Francis Howell High School senior complained to her principal when her teacher made viewing the Michael Moore documentary "Sicko" part of the final exam.

Celeste Finkenbine, an active member of the local conservative movement, said her class was instructed to watch 'Sicko' and analyze different forms of persuasion used in the film.

Finkenbine, outraged about the assignment, went to her principal. 'Sicko' offers a look at healthcare system in the United States as compared to other countries through the eyes of Moore.

District officials said the teacher did not get prior approval to show the film, something which is standard procedure for teachers.

Superintendent Renee Schuster told NewsChannel 5 that there are consequences for the teacher's actions but she did not say what those consequences could be.

Missouri blogger Bob McCarty and a long list of other conservative bloggers wrote about the incident this week.

Finkenbine has been featured on McCarty's blog as a participant at the popular Tea Party rallies at Highways K and N in O'Fallon, Missouri.

In a video posted to McCarty's site, Finkenbine also claims the teacher called her a "teabagger" in front of the class.

Finkenbine was given an alternate assignment for her final. She read Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's letter from Birmingham Jail.

An interview from Bob McCarty's blog is below:

more . . . http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=202431

St Louis blogger Adam Shriver wrote a great piece on this incident:

THIS is Why the Tea Party is Dangerous
No, not because they're about to march down the street with torches and pitchforks.

No, not because they represent a large portion of the voting public.

No, not because they're all racists or they're all this or all that.

The St. Louis Tea Party is dangerous because their leadership is willing to lie, smear, attack, distort, persecute, and destroy people in order to get their way. And not only that, but our ridiculously under-informed St. Louis media is happy to help them do it.

The St. Louis Tea Party has been freaking out lately alleging that a teacher at Francis Howell High School was "indoctrinating" her students by asking them to watch Michael Moore's movie "Sicko" as part of their literature class and had previously called a conservative student a "teabagger." The story originated on Bob McCarty's blog, who highlighted the fact that the incident could "lead to termination" of the teacher and then spread to Dana Loesch's radio show, Andrew Breitbart's Big Government, KMOX's Mark Reardon, and finally was mindlessly passed along by KSDK.

<skip>

So in the end the reason the tea party is dangerous is that even as a relatively small part of the population they're able to terrorize teachers and whoever else stands in their way if they perceive those people as not sufficiently conservative. And they know how to use their connections in the local lazy media to perpetuate stories no matter how absurd or how disgraceful. Imagine what it would be like if the tea partiers actually were in control of some part of the government. What kind of witch hunts would they go on? How would they react to people who don't share their extreme ideology? They already justify everything they do now by pretending "well, that's what the liberals do." So given that they think that evil liberals are constantly victimizing them, is there any doubt that they would be willing to use their power to persecute those they disagree with?

http://stlactivisthub.blogspot.com/2010/05/this-is-why-tea-party-is-dangerous.html

[bluestateguy]

1. Or she could have used the assignment as a venue to make an informed critique of the movie

Unless she goes to a college like Bob Jones, Liberty, Regent or Hillsdale, it is likely that she will be exposed to many academic assignments that challenge her worldview.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. Stupid little girl didn't understand the assignment.

[Zebedeo]

8. Would you feel the same way

if the movie was The Silent Scream?

It would "challenge the worldview" of those who are pro-choice. Do you think schoolkids should be "exposed" to it as a mandatory assignment in school so that they have the "venue to make an informed critique" of the movie?

I don't think people should be forced to watch propaganda - whether I agree with the propaganda or not. But that's just me.

[salin]

14. Unless the task is about identifying rhetorial advices that are used to try to make

propaganda effective. It reads as if this assignment was about identifying persuasive and propaganda rhetorical advices. Choosing a piece that is meant to be polarizing such as silent scream (or Sicko) for students to view is choosing a piece of media where the devices should be easier to identify.

The whole point is raising awareness of recognizing propaganda - and I think that is a worthy lesson.

[csziggy]

19. Exactly - in my college level documentary film class we watched Nazi propaganda

As well as liberal documentaries, 1930s socialist movies,late 60s underground political movies, and less controversial films. Using extremely polarizing films made it much easier to spot the manipulation. And no one in the class considered any of the films to be so objectionable so as to not watch them.

[Zebedeo]

31. That's college.

No one is required by the government to attend college, or any particular college class. The OP was about high school. The government was forcing the students to watch propaganda. I think there is a difference.

[csziggy]

33. No, the point is that student at any level need to see a variety of items

To learn to objectively evaluate the methods used. In high school, I had to read "Uncle Tom's Cabin" - for it's time it was as much a propaganda tool as "Sicko". And with the political slant of my history teacher, I had to listen to her preach about how unfair to the south and their institutions this piece of propaganda. This was in the mid 60s, during the height of the desegregation fight, with the first black students in class that teacher had ever had. None of them walked out - they knew they had to stay. None of them protested her interpretation of the book, either. But they were forced to listen to this teacher distort the message of the book.

I guess if the teacher in the current case had taken the same tack and criticized "Sicko" for it's failings, the right wingers would be OK with using it. Little has been said about exactly how the teacher used it, just that it was used.

[Winterblues]

39. How exactly is Sicko "polarizing"?

It had not the slightest bit of partisanship about it that I could see. Every Conservative that actually watched it came away in agreement. I have heard no Conservative criticize it but then I don't follow National TV political programing.

[bluestateguy]

21. Sure

Part of education is being made to feel uncomfortable by the arguments of those of whom you would spend a lifetime opposing.

[proud2BlibKansan]

32. Bingo

[adigal]

36. Absolutely - that is what education is SUPPOSED to do

for you. So you can make informed decisions.

[adigal]

35. If it is not graphic, yes

I think it would galvanize pro-choice students into action.

[underpants]

2. She had the opportunity to actually point out the "persuasion" of the liberal media

but didn't have the tools to do it

this is more about the inadequate and dumbed down testing system of schools than it is about anything else.

[LuckyLib]

4. Can't do any critical thinking in schools, now can we? She's the perfect speciman of idiot

America -- protesting anything that requires her to read, think, and analyze.

[mynameiswhat]

5. While its a great movie.

idk if it should be used in school.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. Do you understand why it was used?

I thought it was a great way to test critical thinking.

[11 Bravo]

7. Would you feel the same way had the film been "The Birth of a Nation"?

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. Yes

It was an assessment that focused on critical thinking. The film itself is not what's important.

[allincompassing]

12. King's Letters from a Birmingham Jail is More than visual punishment

This poor little teabagger is about to get a mental haranguing unlike any she has ever been exposed to before. Kudos to the Teacher for coming up with the alternate assignment, I'm liking her tenacity in the face of opposition even more. Look people, when you have a choice of a couple of hours of Sicko, with the visualizations that accompany it, versus the written testimony of the man who uplifted our country out of segregation. Choose the former, because the letters from Birmingham is the longest letter King ever wrote, having to anaylize the thoughts of King, and present her interpretations in a cogent manner will literally drive this bigoted child insane.

This Teacher Rocks!

:yourock:

[Raine]

9. Obviously you have to stay away from anything that

might make you think, especially if you are doubtful about your own beliefs. :yoiks: I can watch anything the other side puts out because I'm not afraid to put what I believe side by side with the opposition's stand. :-)

[salin]

10. Er...propganda/persuasion is easier to spot when it comes from the opposite

opinion, than when it is one's own (as one can fall into "group think").

Good luck on the SAT - if you only are willing to read things to analyze the structure, author's purpose and rhetorical devices when the pieces being read fit your political philosophy.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. MTE!!

:toast:

[salin]

15. Hi!

Always glad to see you (and know that I am not crazy in my perspectives.)

[burnsei sensei]

16. Poor Celeste.

For some people, any variant of the truth that contains altruism really is a shot in the ass.

[Ramulux]

17. I guess I know a lot of teachers who should be fired

I watched Bowling for Columbine in high school and my brother has watched Sicko and Capitalism a love story at his school.

Maybe these movies are shown because they are informative and explain complex, important issues in a way young people can understand??

[jp11]

18. Way to not look at anything you don't agree with or that might challenge the views your parents

implanted in you kid. I watched Nazi propaganda footage and saw both US propaganda posters about the 'Japanese', southern racism posters, none of which I agreed with and it didn't make my head explode.

[Kievan Rus]

20. A lot of Teabaggers/right-wingers live in a little bubble

It's the reason they never read anything other than Free Republic and WorldNut Daily (even National Review is too liberal for them anymore), only listen to Rush and Beck, and only watch Faux News.

[OmahaBlueDog]

22. I'm not sure if I'd have been thrilled if my kid had to watch "Faith in the White House"

I'm not arguing that Teabaggers aren't idiots -- they are.

That said, Michael Moore is a hot button for a solid third of the population. The teacher should have known this would cause problems.

If you want to show persuasive propaganda, "Triumph of the Will" is the gold standard.

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. But if the point was to analyze the use of persuasion in the film

a film you disagree with is a far better choice.

I think this teacher sounds wonderful. I especially like her alternative assignment for this girl.

[OmahaBlueDog]

24. My fellow left of center plainsman

The King letters were an excellent follow up assignment, and I agree Sicko would have been a great opportunity for a Tebagger to present counterarguments and point out distortions (although Bowling for Columbine is far easier pickings).

That said, if my daughter had to watch "Silent Scream" (noted anti-abortion film) as part of her persuasive writing education, I think Mrs. OBD would have a major yelling match with the school, and I suspect many DUers would be right there with her.

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. Well abortion is a much more controversial subject

Not really the best comparison, IMO.

[marmar]

25. Wow. To be that young and that close-minded......

Hopefully she can break the chains when she gets to college.....if she goes to college.

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. Sounds like a perfect candidate for Liberty U!

[Dappleganger]

27. Our teachers are required to get prior permission before every single movie shown.

Doesn't matter what it is, it must be done. If no permission slip is signed the student doesn't watch it. If the teacher doesn't ask then the movie won't be shown. That goes for showing the Muppets to watching Food, Inc. (the latter of which was shown to both our teens during the past year).

BTW, I made (yeah, forced) our two older teens to watch 15 minutes of Glen Beck once (someone we all hate) in order to illustrate (IOW, *learn*) how bad logic can get you into a lot of trouble. We also discussed propaganda and compared his usage of it as well as Fox News in comparison to the Nazi Germany propaganda exhibit we went to in the Holocaust Museum in DC. I see nothing wrong with learning how the enemy thinks by watching and critiquing what they do, ignorant line by ignorant line.

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. We are discouraged from showing videos

but I teach elementary school.

And yes, this teacher messed up when she failed to file proper procedures for showing a film.

[SuperSloMo]

30. BF Skinner was right!

It turns out that we don't really "think" about "things", we just respond to the stimuli in our environment. If you see a Nazi film, you will become a Nazi, and YOU HAVE NO CHOICE IN THE MATTER. Shielding the youth of America from exposure to propaganda, unapproved opinions, science and other unwanted stimuli is an important first step, but it can't stop there. We must also teach them to put their own fingers in their own ears and loudly sing "La La La La, I can't hear you" all by themselves. For best results, give them half of a food pellet for fingers in the ears, and the other half when they have sung the song loud enough to drown out other voices. Whatever you do, don't let children, or anyone else for that matter, try to "think for themselves", "make sense of things" or even "make their own mistakes". That path leads to perilous levels of non-uniformity.

[adigal]

34. They are dangerous because they don't want to hear ANYTHING

that is not in agreement with their view of the world. It is worse than anti-intellectualism.

I hate the conservative philosophy, but I listen to Hannity and Limbaugh to see what insanity they are up to. My beliefs can handle others' talking points. I am strong in them.

I tell my students who disagree with an assignment to write about what is wrong or false about it. The only rule is they must use facts, not Fox News. They generally don't make the effort.

[NeedleCast]

37. Politicizing classrooms is a bad idea

No matter which side is doing the politicizing.

[adigal]

40. You need to make the students THINK,

I provide material from both sides of the fence. I show a liberal movie and a conservative movie. Guess which one is worse for use of propaganda???

How do you learn critical thinking if you never touch controversial materials? Some of the controversial materials used in English class:

Greek Mythology - incest, beastiality, murder, cannibalism, I could go on and on
Oedipus Rex - incest, death
Beowulf - mass murder
Canterbury Tales - don't even get me started, we don't do The Miller's Tale, but we do The Wife of Bath and Pardoner's Tale
Paradise Lost - Satan has a conscience
Romeo and Juliet - teen sex, double suicide
Hamlet - mother remarries in two months, Hamlet freaks out thinking about her having sex with Uncle
Beloved
Catch-22 - against war
To Kill A Mockingbird - uses the N word
Catcher in the Rye - disgruntled kid

I could write for another half hour at works the crazies in our country have objected to. A good education teaches kids to deal with controversial material, think about it and use it to make the world a more just place.

[NeedleCast]

41. I get that, I do

but it's exactly what the right is looking for to scream and shout about liberal teachers in the classroom "forcing" things on them (or their children). There are hundredes...thousands of good, controversial movies/documentaries out there that could be used but Moore is known for being a polarizing figure. The fact that the teacher seems to have circumvented the approval process for showing this film makes it worse.

...and while a lot of DU would probably say to the contrary, if this had been a book about a teacher asking kids to read a Rove or Gingrich book and write a critical study of the arguments used in the book, this thread would be covered in OUTRAGE!!!

[Manifestor_of_Light]

43. Moore tells the truth.

He has never been successfully sued for slander. He has his facts in a row and the best libel lawyers in NY go over his films very carefully.

People hate Kitty Kelley for the same reason. She tells the truth, is lawsuit-proof because she vets her sources, and some people don't like it.

[adigal]

38. Some AP Engllsh students protested a question, many by

refusing to answer it on the exam. Ridiculous. It was by a Palestinian American literary theorist and cultural critic, and it had to do with a rift forced between a human being and a native place.

AP students are supposed to be able to deal with college level material, even controversial material.

[melm00se]

42. regardless of the film's topic

I see two issues here:

1) the teacher did not get prior approval before showing the film.
2) the student claims that the teacher called her a "teabagger" which can be construed as a sexually derogatory term.