Kid refused to stand for Mexican national anthem

[JoEsMhOe]

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/opinions/letters/3_4_el25_vvbedard_s1.htm

I am the father of the young man who did not stand for the singing of the Mexican national anthem during a cultural awareness program at Larkin High School.

I have been constantly asked to explain the details of the event, and it is in response to these individuals that I offer the following facts.

Some of the students, my son included, were compelled to attend this assembly. The Mexican national anthem was printed on fliers and handed out to the attending students. The Mexican flag was marched in and placed on a podium by itself. The attendees were then asked to stand and sing the Mexican national anthem.

My son was not alone in his refusal to stand. Statements given to me by other youths and parents put the number of refusals at close to 20.

Larkin staff members immediately confronted the seated youth. Some of the students were threatened with in-school suspension; most of the seated students were intimidated into standing.

My son explained to the angry teacher who confronted him that he did not see a U.S. flag on the podium and he did not believe they were going to sing our national anthem. This teacher stated, "They have to stand for our national anthem, so you have to stand for theirs."

My son stated in response, "Yeah, but they're in our country."

The teacher called my son a punk and sent him to the office. The administrator in the office supported the teacher's demand and told my son that he could have made a more intelligent decision. My son was not formally disciplined. The teacher who confronted my son defended her actions to her students during class the following week.

I called Larkin principal Richard Webb to express my disappointment and concern. I described the manner in which my son had been treated. I was told that my son should have stood and that the school stood by its right to have this assembly in its chosen form.

I then exercised my right as a citizen and addressed the school board.

The press was present at the board meeting and media awareness snowballed from that point forward. Some of my statements to the board included, "I am disappointed that those responsible for creating an assembly intended to educate and sensitize Americans also felt free to act insensitively with regard to our culture. It is permissible to present another country's anthem alongside ours and receive standing respect. It is not reasonable to expect or demand that Americans stand and display respect for another flag and country in absence of the American anthem or flag."

I also asked the board to consider two positive actions. "First, encourage Larkin High School administrators to not underscore one culture to the exclusion of others. This ill-conceived mandatory assembly did nothing but widen the current schism. Second, I would ask the board to lay down some principles for future assemblies. While it is good educational practice to teach about other cultures, it is not an acceptable practice to require mandatory response to the patriotic elements of those cultures."

I was appalled by Webb's printed statement. Apologizing only for the "unfortunate spotlight" placed on the school does not acknowledge the process that brought the spotlight. Lack of proper oversight created an assembly that offended a large number of people. Teachers behaving badly guaranteed parental follow-through. Administrative silence and denial has perpetuated their arrogant image.

Trivializing the incident and belittling those it concerned has only confirmed Webb's lack of grounding with the community.

Since Dec. 8, 2004, educational institutions receiving federal funding are required to hold an educational program pertaining to the United States Constitution on Sept. 17 of each year. This year, Sept. 17 fell on a Saturday.

Our high school apparently chose on Sept. 16 not to hold an assembly on the Constitution of the United States, but to educate our youth on the patriotic elements of another country.


- Bedard is an Elgin resident.

The Principal's Responce
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/opinions/letters/3_4_el08_ltrwebb_s1.htm

People supporting the kid
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/opinions/letters/3_4_el19_let-donoho_s1.htm

Here is the question.

Do you think it is fair for the kid to stay seated? Or do you think that the child should have had stood up?

I think that, yes it would have been strange to stand for another county's national anthem, but sometimes you have to repect other countries, and this what you have to do. One thing that should have been done is that there should have been a U.S flag in there, not just the Mexican flag.

[Sikawtic]

We don't even have to stand for our own. It's our right to choose. Why then would we have to stand for another country's anthem?

[UnHoly-Assassin]

There are some things you just can't respect, or at least I can't, and such includes a demand to respect another. If a person yelled out, "MEXICAN B!TCHES!", I would understand punishment. But I do not understand if one does not agree with another on opinions. What are they gonna make us do--MAKE us respect them? Oh the hypocripsy.

[Neo]

Wow. And the staff at that school didn't see any problem with this?

Gosh.

Dont know what to say.

-Neo

[The_Maker]

This is ridiculous, since when do we (the students) HAVE to stand up and sing another countries anthem in our own country with the absence of our own flag?

Communism is everywhere my freinds =/

I respect that kid and his actions, that teacher needs to get her head screwed on correctly and learn how the Government REALLY works and that no, just because you should respect other countries, does not mean you need to sing their anthem on your own ground, let alone without you own flag present. Un-Holy and Sik are right in my opinion.

I bet that teacher is one of those "The more we understand each-other, the more we can be freinds!" people who think if you are nice to someone else they should be nice back. Foolishness.

You do NOT have to sing other countries anthems because it is polite on your own soil, and you certainly should NOT have to show respect to other countries.

I hope that teacher gets fired. :mad:

[GenocideAlive]

Teachers frequently run awry with their fiefdoms and begin to hybridize their belief structures into that of the school curriculum. When administrators are called in, they typically back the teachers for fear of reprisal. Only in some of the more severe circumstances do administrators do anything besides act as liasons for teachers. This story is a good example of it.

If my kid did something like that, I might consider either legal action or changing schools if it got out of hand. Otherwise I'd see about ripping the superintendent a new one for holding some sort of forced "culture" assembly that's pretty much not their business to teach nor force on my kid(s). I'd also make sure that teacher got it from both ends for calling my son names, and have him out of her class/control.

I think this fiasco has done more harm than good to the kids involved, sadly.

[Aquarian]

Why sing or stand up for another country's national anthem when you don't even know it...?

[The_Maker]

You're missing the point Aquarian, the point is the teacher didn't have the right nor authority to tell the student to stand up and sing the Mexican anthem yet she tried anyway.

[Morkeliph]

Once again, GenAl and I are on the same page. Here are some points where I might add my opinion though:

First off, I don't know that most teachers are very well educated to begin with. I'm sure a few tests involving most students majoring in elementary and secondary education would illustrate this point (yes, a broad generalization). Education is the easiest major in college, virtually anyone can make it through with minimal intellectual effort. From my observation, most education majors' homework consists of the same sort of bust work your teachers gave you in elementary school. No wonder teachers are so good at giving it. Perhaps the low pay correlated with being a public educator contributes to the problem. In teachers were all rich, then more people would want to be a teacher, there would be more competition in education majors, and quality instruction and the requirements to become a teacher would improve. I, however, have a hard time raising teachers' salaries currently because in my opinion, most current teachers don't deserve it. Pay should be relative to performance, and performance must be determined by improvement in student performance from the start of the school year to the end. I think many students go through classes without really learning anything, or at least not the intended material, and our system just pushes them through rather than ensuring that they really have learned anything.We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.Additionally, it has been my experience that the "academic" label associated with being a teacher creates a sense of superiority in many educators, and they assume that they know more than you. "Because I'm a teacher, I'm an intellectual." This, I'm afraid, is rarely the case. A more appropriate statement might be, "Because I'm a teacher, I'm a charlatan." Giving this sort of person power to discipline a child is dangerous, and we have seen an example of why. This sort of abuse of authority is unfortunately common in our public schools, and I'm sure almost all of you can think of personally observed examples.