N.C. School teacher browbeats student over being a McCain supporter

N.C. School teacher browbeats student over being a McCain supporter

www.youtube.com

Teacher Diantha Harris browbeats McCain supporting student, Kathy,in Ashville N.Carolina grade school. The poor girl is obviously distressed over the teacher's line of questioning and belittling her choice of candidate in front of her school mates.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is just great. A Teacher who is not only lying to her student, but making her cry for having a parent served our country in Iraq. This woman should be fired from her job immediately! If this is the kind of change we;re going to get, than these Obama people can keep it.

Its also interesting that we had to see this video of own classrooms from another country.

www.youtube.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

That's not right!
Those are like 6th graders!
That woman crossed the line with her students!
God help N.C.

[edit on 7-11-2008 by Clearskies]

I don`t see anything wrong with talking about politics in school, but, to put a kid in a situation like that is wrong. If I were the kid, I would have given that teacher a run for her money. I would have told her that I was very proud of my parents for serving their country like they are. Her parents are just doing their jobs, no matter who the president is, and no matter where they are stationed, and they will continue to do so even after Obama takes office. It`s no ones concern, not even the teachers, who these kids or their parents supported. For a teacher to tell a kid that it`s ok to say you support McCain, and then turn on that kid is no more then baiting them, just to make yourself look good, and it would be no different if it were the other way around. It`s no wonder so many kids today are having trouble with school.

Discussing politics in school is well and good. But to browbeat and to essentially try to tell students who they should like is just wrong. IMO the choice of who to like should never even be brought up at all. What ever happened to secret ballots and who you like being no one else's bussines.
I'm betting this is a public school displaying typical public school's repression of free thought. Typical

The school board would be on the line in this, if they don`t get the teacher under control. If I was one of the parents of this kid, the school board would be in deep crap for allowing this to take place, with a camera even.

reply to post by Marcus Calpurnius


Man, I was ready to just lay the lumber down and belittle this teacher. Then I saw the video and I was waiting....waiting....waiting for the brow beating you were claiming.

Now, granted, I was not happy with the pressure that child was put under. I would and am outraged by that. That child did not know how to answer the questions but the teacher didn't brow beat her.

And lies? You mean about McCain saying the war could last another 100 years? If that is the lie then you obviously missed him saying that on many different occassions.

Now, there have been instances throughout this nation where kids who openly said they were supporting McCain (and let's face it, mainly because their parents did) were attacked verbally by other kids. The STATE should NOT be in the schools. The only place for politics in school is in history and any debate classes.

The only other part that I saw that was wrong was when she finally got someone to admit they supported McCain that she said what she did. Again, not a place for that in the schools.

So, though this wasn't good, it wasn't as outrageous as I was lead to believe.

reply to post by dariousg

And lies? You mean about McCain saying the war could last another 100 years? If that is the lie then you obviously missed him saying that on many different occassions.

First of all, that was a quote said once and it was exaggerated way beyond what McCain meant by it. He was just trying to get the point across that we we're staying till the job is done.

Secondly, she told the little girl, "Your daddy will have to stay in the military for 100 years". Not only is that not possible, but its simply not true.

Lastly, this woman did exactly what our media does. Shes very critical of the republican, but go with the flow when it came to comments about Obama. Its this idea that only one side have a critical eye.

Yet we are not allowed to question the will of Obama almighty. This is the sort of Marxist, Maoist BS that will destroy this country.

I can't believe a board full of folks interested in conspiracies could be so easily duped. They had you worrying about "dubyah" when the real threat is right in front of your collective noses.

The real threat is the entire lot of them. "Them", "they", those who would enslave the world so they can live in avarice and don't fool yourselves, Obama is a them.

YEAH , this jsut ticks me off.

When i was in 4th grade it was Clintons 2nd term election and i was the only person in my class who voted for Clinton. Everyone else voted for bob Dole. LOL. But my teacher asked me why and i got hell form everyone saying i was a dumb ass. but oh well i proved them wrong.

but my teacher supported us and we were all the better, but this teacher should be fired. thats uncalled for. thats emotionally scaring for a young child.

I wonder why the teacher would even bring up this in a class of children this young. Should she not be discussing the history made at that point with a woman VP pick and a black man running for pres?

It was okay for the one to say he was for Obama because he wanted a black president but not okay for the girl to want McCain because her parents were choosing him? Why not if asking this sort of question ask them about real issues or leave the whole thing be. Who cares what the skin color is of the person running, it does not matter what your parents are voting. But really though all these kids know is what they hear from us adults, mostly their parents.

Politics like this do not need to be in the class room. The teacher was obviously pushing the girl to side with everyone else. You could tell her bias when she first heard McCain and said “Oh Lord” and then “Oh Jesus”. What really does it matter who these kids think would be the best president when most know nothing about the issues at hand.

I don’t think she should be fired but suspended for a time without pay might teach her to keep her personal politics out of the class room. It was nice how she kept saying it is okay and then saying stuff like “Oh Lord” when she hears McCain. I am not surprised though even when many teachers try to not show support to their students you can see that they do. I thought it was illegal to push a political agenda in a class room, if not it should be. Teachers are not paid to push a political agenda they are paid to educate. It is up to the child/person to choose their own political agendas.

Fat-ass teacher needs to step back from the buffet table just a bit and unf**k herself. She's saying one thing (that kids can have their own opinions), then nailing their butts to the floorboards when they present their opinions.

Typical liberal eduction system. Nothing like hooking the kids while their young, like the tobacco industry!

The GOP were slaughtered in the last election in part because a great deal of their nagative message ignores the fact that most human interaction occurs beyond mere verbalization.

Obama's education policy is designed to address the issue of a decline of quality of teachers - a decline overseen by eight years of ideological conflict between a government dismissive of the value of public education, and an education system fed up with continuous imposing of political agendas.

McCain's education policy was written by a speechwriter.

As a former teacher, I am dismissing out of hand the notion that it's normal for teachers to proactively inculcate political values in the classroom.

If the school district hasn't fired her partisan liberal ass, they should do so immediately.

Wearing a pin for Obama and expecting the kids to be impartial.

reply to post by Marcus Calpurnius


Which is why I didn't completely pull back on my anger. What this teacher did was wrong. Plain and simple. I do not disagree with that. However, I have seen these tactics from both sides. It's not only a democrat issue. It's a basic tactic utilized by both parties and it's a matter of brainwashing enough people to buy your party. Period. There were lies flung about by both sides. I guarantee that they all KNEW they were lies too but Obama deflected the lies against him in a much better way.

It is just sad that any person in a position of authority over children should be allowed to talk politics at all unless, as I stated in my first post, it is a class on politics.

Just an FYI, I live in a VERY conservative small town in Ohio and my kids were subjected to the opposite view. Not saying it was in line with our view or not but it is still not right.

As for McCain saying only once about the 100 years, I can remember him saying that a couple times when asked about the war. I DO understand why he was saying it but I also know that he was pretty much parroting what the Bush administration started saying a week or so prior to him publicly saying it the first time.

People won't listen to what politicians say and think "Oh, I bet he meant that in a figurative manner!" *snap their fingers*

That is yet another reason he lost and lost in a HUGE way. Obama, regardless of what I feel about him and his policies, outspoke McCain in a major way. He made McCain look like a bumbling old man that struggled with finishing a line of thought. It sucks but that is how it was. That is why Obama is the president elect.

Originally posted by jsobecky
If the school district hasn't fired her partisan liberal ass, they should do so immediately.

Wearing a pin for Obama and expecting the kids to be impartial.

The problem is, most school districts are going to be more for liberals. You know, bigger government means more money for the schools. That is why this teacher will only get a slap on the wrist in the worse case. We need to remove the state from the school system completely. It will mean out of pocket expenses for the parents and such but so far, they are destroying our education system thus destroying our future as a strong country.

Sickening. Except that now that Obama has won, teachers like this probably feel they are entitled to belittle any and all Republicans, even the children of Republicans, now matter how young they are.

I agree, this sick individual masquerading as a teacher should be fired, immediately.

This is the latest "Official" stance on this person (refusal to call her a teacher is intentional):

I was shocked when I saw the clip of an interaction between a Cumberland County Schools teacher and her students as posted on YouTube. While neutral discussion of the political process is appropriate, at no time, particularly with elementary students, should a teacher infuse his/her political views into the discussion. Most disconcerting was the military slant that made its way into this discussion. We are a military community, serving over 15,000 military students and their families. We value the sacrifices, not only of the military parents but also those of their families.

More from the Source

Curious to see if they can her...

Originally posted by Clearskies
Those are like 6th graders!
[edit on 7-11-2008 by Clearskies]

Actually according to a different source (where I heard about this a few days ago) they are 4th graders.

The teacher is undermining the parental authority of ALL these kids' parents, even the Obama supporters' parents would (hopefully) not like her teaching disrespect for the military. It is not the teacher's job to impart her personal political views. Certainly it is inappropriate for her to teach children to disrespect soldiers and publicly humiliate a student because their parent is in Iraq. The child should be proud to have a parent in service - or at least that is the way America has been since the beginning. Apparently not any more.

How evil.