Free America

Granted, this was not such a bright move on the teacher's part -- and I don't think I myself would have done it, given that a soldier fighting a war has enough problems -- but what sort of lesson has been taught to these students?

Teacher apologizes for kids’ anti-war letters
Air Force Times
By Karen Jowers
Times staff writer

New York City education officials have apologized to a 20-year-old Army private after a sixth-grade social studies class in Brooklyn sent him a batch of letters criticizing U.S. troops, the war in Iraq and President Bush.

After Pfc. Rob Jacobs received the letters in South Korea from 11- and 12-year-olds in early January, he called his father.

“He was very upset,” said Rob Jacobs Sr. of Middletown, N.J. About nine of the 21 letters were filled with anti-Iraq war diatribes and were critical of troops, accusing them of killing Iraqi civilians and even predicting very few troops would come home alive. The soldier wanted to call the children’s teacher, but his father had a different idea — he called the New York Post, which broke the story Feb. 21 and printed excerpts from some of the letters.

^snip^

Michele Higgins, a New York City Department of Education spokeswoman, said the teacher, Alex Kunhardt, has taken full responsibility and has received an official letter of reprimand.

http://www.rightnation.us/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t71282.html


[Hat tip to one of my students, recently returned from Iraq]