My son's 3rd grade teacher told him that George Bush did NOT start the war...
 

And that the war was started when the twin towers were crashed into. What really pisses me off is that I pay a shitload of money for both of my sons to attend this private school, which is a completely secular, non affiliated school that is supposed to emphasize academics. I'm definitely not paying to have some woman (whose husband is in the airforce btw) to brainwash my son into believing her political views. If anyone has the right to do that it's me, lol. But seriously, I think that her job is to present all sides of a situation and teach my son how to think for himself. So I've set up a meeting with her to discuss this, but I've been told by a few people that I'm way out of hand with this.

What would you do, would you just let it go?

Did you contact whoever is above her?

murder/suicide . . . it is the only viable solution

Discussing it with her is definately the right step to take at this point.

I'd print out what you just said and take it in person to the head of the school and ask him or her what they're going to do about it.

That's what I'd do.

murder/suicide

if you really think about it, this is a fantastic op for boy you and your son!

you said: "I think that her job is to present all sides of a situation and teach my son how to think for himself."

Isn't that what she has done? Your son listened to her, went home and asked you a question

boom!

thinking for himself

I thought about that, but I really want to try to this as amicably as possible because my son does have to spend the rest of the year. I don't want her to transform into a mega bitch.

Presenting sides are great, but only if they are grounded in reality.

:helpme:helpme

Your doing the right thing

True! I guess I can pat myself on the back for that, thank god he's not easily brainwashed. But the problem that I have is I don't want to completely discredit her in my sons eyes, I thought that would cause confusion. But perhaps teaching him not to accept every statement as a fact, even if it's from a teacher, is teaching him how to think for himself.

I think that you need to discuss your concerns with the teacher and find out exactly what was said. If at that point you get nowhere then I would contact his/her superiors.

Do NOT let it go! You're doing right!

good for her

tell your kid to stay out of politics

I'm definitely planning to do that, the little shit has been known to misquote people before, lol. But knowing that her husband is in the airforce definitely makes me believe that she could have said something like this. I come from a military family, and they all think the same way.

I want my child to be aware of the realities of the world, I don't want to raise some ignorant idiot like so many others out there. But he didn't bring up politics in class, she did.

That's how I'd handle it, too.

Apart from handling the child as you already have.

Teachers are there to teach children about the factual world, not made up crap... You should definitely have a word with her before she warps more young minds into believing bullshit stories.

I'd be interested to know how the subject of the war came up in 3rd grade?

I remember only a few things about the third grade. One was a riddle the teacher asked that I got right. "What comes after cheese?" "Mice!"

But I CCCERTAINLY dont remember discussing Vietnam!

It is a teacher's job to follow the school's curriculum. At the thrid grade level I would be concerned if there was any deviation from this.

Ask those above her if she is authorized to include her husband's political views in the lessons.

I shot up heroin into my groin in 3rd grade and gave bj's for 5 bucks to old smelly men.


Your kid needs to grow up

What I find odd is that she is talking about the war to a 3rd grade class. Isn't that a bit early to get into subjects that heavy?

:thumbsup

I got night classes at the local highschool.

In the room where they are teaching the class there is a clock and right below it a republican elephant largely printed on 8x11 paper.

The room has a larger poster near the teachers desc its one of those posters that is a photo collauge of the US dollar all the smaller photos that comprise the US dollar are photos of dead indians and photos from world war 2.


Public school...

hate to say it but she's more correct than you are. The people behind the 9.11 attack had openly declared war against the united states prior 2001.

That said, I also think that Bush took the war to Iraq without just cause when solely based on Saddam's supposed support of terrorists behind the 9.11 plot.

Gut feeling would be to confront this teacher but you have to ask yourself if it's worth it if the teacher singles out your child for ridicule or just gives him a hard time afterwards. Are you going to raise a stink when they tell your son that Christopher Columbus discovered America though there were already tons of people here? Pick your battles and talk to your son about your side and let him make his own opinion about things and I think you'll win out in the end.

history teachers have also taught american children for decades that the american indians sold the country to the english for beads.

Tell him that the war may have been started when the planes hit the twin towers, but that America responded by waging war with a country that had nothing to do with it.

1. Bush doesn't have the ability on his own to "start a war"
2. Which war was she referring to? Aren't we fighting in Afghanistan because of the towers?

Well that's exactly what I think is wrong with this country. The bs they teach in the history books. That's a big reason why we have so many brainwashed idiots who still think Bush is doing a good job. If we don't learn the truth about history, then it's easy to repeat mistakes.

Why did they declare war though?

If you are a conservative, it's because they hate our freedoms. If you are a liberal, it's because of our actions against them spanning decades.

How do schools choose which one to teach, or do they just skip that part and begin the lesson plan with 9/11?

Exactly my thought.

Actually some other kid in class brought up the subject.

Schools need to begin the lesson plan way before 9/11, way back to the Iran Contra Affair, the shit we did playing puppet with the Iranian Shaw, selling guns to both Iraq and Iran....and even way before then.

This really isn't a matter of who's right and who's wrong. We could be here all day arguing that point. The point is that as a teacher she should present all of the sides to the story and encourage the kids to think for themselves.

Is she trying to brain wash them? Was it just a moment's comment? If it was something your son picked up from a one-time comment, Id say let it go. She has the right to her own opinion and you weren't really there to see the context of the conversation. Just teach your kids otherwise if you disagree.

Now if she's whipping up class lectures on the subject, then yea, Id get in contact with the principal.

In all fairness, your son's in the 3rd grade. He may or may not be telling you or even absorbing everything they talked about. :winkwink:

And I think it's PARENTS who are responsible for teaching kids to think for themselves. :2 cents:

You should compare US textbooks with that of Canada or Europe.
You'd be surprised just how different history is around the world depending on who's writing/teaching it.

They should teach both and leave it up to the individual to choose which should be weighted more. But both are factors.

The truth is in the middle. Many in those countries see our lifestyle as decadent and an affront to their religious way of life. In that respect, they hate our freedoms. But that alone isn't what compels them to want to suicide bomb us. The other truth is that we have meddled in their affairs for years pitting one faction against another and arming them, installing puppet regimes, sanctions, etc.

We should 1) stop meddling in their affairs 2) open trade and continue buying their oil. They need us more than we need them. They have huge oil reserves and need to sell it to make their money. This would lessen "terrorism". It's only increased doing it by invasion and more political games.

If they want to live without the same freedoms that we share in the West, that's their perogative.

Maybe you will get lucky and next week she will teach them about how 9/11 was planned by George Bush and how he personally blew up the towers and shot a missle from his limo into the pentagon, then used his body double to read a book to children in class to throw us all off.

You're very right, it's a parent's responsibility to teach kids how to think for themselves, but it's also a teachers responsibility. That's why they call them teachers.

I'd take this opportunity to read my first book.

Write a letter to the administration that you do not appreciate your child being filled with propaganda and you would like to be sure this will never happen in the future.

Saddam Hussein started the war by invading Kuwait, trying to assassinate a US President, possessing WMD, using WMD against civilians, using WMD against his neighbors, hiding WMDs, murdering hundreds of thousands of his own people, and then defying the UN for 11 years.

9/11 made the US hyper-vigilent about the Mideast and terrorism.

Maybe the teacher was outlining the events that lead up to the point where we find ourselves at war with Iraq (which did start with the towers falling) and your son misinterpreted it?

BEFORE YOU START a conversation with that teacher, you need an independent witness in the room. a Mediator of sorts. Politics can get out of hand fast. Keep in mind that you are there for your son, NOT yourself.

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

wow, there are a lot of things wrong with the situation you are in, i would certainly go there and voice my opinion that i want ALL politically motivated teaching and talk as far away from the class room as possible!

Go back earlier to when Britain had taken control of the oil reserves in Iran, until Iran began to forcefully take control of their resources back.
Then Britain turned to the US for help... and the US said no... until election time. Then they sent in a certain young CIA agent by the name of Kermit Kennedy to stage the CIA's first covert "coup" and undermine Iran's attempts.
Thus turning over the oil reserves, once again, to Britain and now also to the US.

This lasted several years until once again Iran stepped up to revolt... Iraq seized the opportunity to step in and stake their claim. The US actually helped Iraq at this point against their common enemy.... by supplying weapons. Iraq still found it difficult, so they borrowed money from Kuwait.

When Kuwait demanded repayment, Saddam turned his sites on Kuwait and attacked them.

The US then turned their backs on Iraq and came to kuwait's aid.