Fort Wayne South Side High School in the tank for Obama with KKK posters
Posted by Dan in UncategorizedUPDATED: 11:40 a.m.
Principal Smith just called me back He stated the drawings were the result of a government social studies class. It involved discussions concerning political satire, how political satire is used, and why it is used.
As a result of that lesson students were asked to make a satirical drawing (not poster) that would be provocative. The teacher (a student teacher) posted the drawings on the wall They were drawn on 8.5 X 11 sheets of paper.
Smith also stated that actions have been taken against the student teacher, but it was not being turned over to the Fort Wayne Community School Board, it was being handled internally (whatever that means).
Smith would not release the name of the student teacher.
This weekend SAT’s were held at South Side High School. I received the following in an email regarding a couple of drawings in one of the rooms where SAT’s were being held.
One of my children went to South Side High School for his SAT and was in room A214. There were 2 drawings hung up, one was Klansmen walking around with McCain signs and the other one was McCain = Death. This is real interesting for a Fort Wayne Community school. There were others hung up but not as outrageous as this.
I’ve been trying to figure out a way to get into the school to get pictures, but as I was planning my sneak attack, a concerned citizen who was also notified called the school yesterday and spoke to principal Mr. Thomas Smith about the posters.
Smith told the concerned citizen he went to the room and retrieved the KKK/McCain poster, but could not find the McCain=Death drawing. He told the concerned citizen it was part of a student/teacher class project of drawings in ink. Smith told the concerned citizen he took them down.
The student also noted that the person working the door had on a Fort Wayne Community Schools ID tag with an Obama sticker placed on it. The concerned citizen has contacted school board members regarding the incident, and I will update on that once I hear more.
I called for principal Smith today and had to leave a message. That was at 11:03 a.m. I told his secretary I was running the story and would like his comment on it. Once I get the call back (assuming I do), I will update this post.
AWB
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We wonder why the students at Southside have the lowest graduation rate in the city. It is evident that the Teacher does not and the Student Teacher has no clue what satire is. If this happened at Northside or any other schools, heads would roll. I do not find the Klan to be satirical in any form. If they would have been carrying Obama signs we would have never heard an end to the out roar. Where is the Ministerial Alliance, the NAACP and the Urban League on this; where is the outrage, where is the protesters and where is the investigation by the school, nothing, and it will be handled internally; what a double standard?
One can only wonder what the John McCain satire drawings included of Obama, one can only guess. This is only half of the story, El Fatel, where is the outrage?
Student-teachers learn by experience, and I am certain a lesson was learned in this incident. At minimum the student-teacher engaged the students, provoked learning, as I am curious if 50% of America even knows what satire is, and made students think . . . imagine that, students engaged in current political thinking. Again, that particular poster should not have been posted, however, the teacher has learned the lesson, although we should be curious about the other McCain satirical posters!
CML
Mr. Langley:
The point is the teacher who this student teacher was teaching under should have stopped it the moment it was turned in.
Maybe AWB can find out if there were any derogatory signs reference Obama, if there were they should not have been posted either and should be taken down. This cannot be glossed over as a learning experience for a student teacher or a student learning about current events. One thing that is lacking in some people is common sense and knowing the difference between what satire is and what it is not. Would you thought it was just a learning experience if the signs the Klan were holding said Obama or Obama = death, neither one is funny, the McCain or if it would of said Obama. Let try a little common sense
The principal is trying to “stonewall” this at his level. I am sure there has been contact with the “locals” downtown and they want to keep clear of this one because so many are so far leftwing they would have agreed to such taking place.
The point is the FWCS School Board should take a firm stand on this issue. Either it is OK or not.
Student teachers are supervised by regular teachers and the admin of the school. They are not just turned loose with their own course plan and no checks and balances. So that story washes well only in the gutter water running down the street.
If Dan is reporting what the principal stated correctly that this was a result of discussions concerning political satire follow along. It was done in a government social studies class. Dahhhhhhhhhh! When did sketching and drawings of cartoons become part of social studies? What happened to the kids who where not gifted in art sketching (which is subject of its own)?
Someone at Southside should be fired for a lack of oversight and/or supervision of a student teacher, if that is what happened. Also the School Board should tell one Super. this stops now and if it is repeated again any place in FWCS the teacher, the principal and herself will be looking for new jobs. That is how you stop this crap. The Super should be informed of such in a public hearing so the community has no doubts on the position of the school board. Anything else will indicate the School Board finds this acceptable conduct.
Everyone voting for FWCS School Board members should keep this in mind and before they pull the lever, push the button, or mark some ballet think about how they reacted to this issue.
From my limited experience with the profession in public schools, usually student teachers are given a half term of limited supervision to get a grasp on the capabilities of teaching without someone leaning over their shoulder or breathing down their neck all the while through.
As far as the actual lesson plan, at its roots (no pun intended) makes sense. The issue should not be the fact of the teacher doing the lesson but the fact that the students have the mindset that results in such a “poster(s)” to be created in the first place. Should the posters have been left hanging (sorry bad pun)? No probably not, but this is an issue not of the lesson or the teacher/student teacher or even the administrators, but of the students and how corrupted their sources of information and their ability to discern the information presented from whatever source are becoming.
Or just maybe, they were given an opportunity to express their world view. Then, much like the times of yore, because we dont like the way they see things, we censor them and wonder why they dont trust the establishment or care to vote rather than challenge the them to think and be able to explain their position. And of course now this poor young student teacher is being made out to be the FWCS scapegoat and rumors are flying about racial indignation when in fact all it is is history coming back full circle twice over. Looks like the chickens found the roost.
The lesson plan, which provided practical experience to a perpetuated principle or idea, is good. The issue that should scare us more is that the students still identify with the KKK and death rather than Martin Luther King and having dreams.
As a student at South Side I can say that the teacher overlooking the student is a great teacher. However sometimes I do see her ‘roaming’ the halls with another teacher that also has a class. It has been a big joke especially the past two years. To be honest, I find nothing wrong with these as a teenage student. They are both correct, but not politically correct(no pun intended).