Yesss..they deserve to be fired!!!..

[sistuhchey]

and loose their teaching creditinals!! (Ha-Ha my azz!!) now laugh @ that!! 3 white male teachers!!

L.A. teachers suspended over Black History Month celebration of Simpson, Rodman, RuPaul

March 3, 2010 | 6:30 pm
Three teachers at a South Los Angeles elementary school have been suspended for allegedly encouraging students to celebrate O.J. Simpson, Dennis Rodman and RuPaul for Black History Month, officials said Wednesday.

Children at Wadsworth Avenue Elementary School were carrying pictures of the men at a parade Friday on the school playground, said Los Angeles Unified School District spokeswoman Gayle Pollard-Terry. She said Supt. Ramon C. Cortines learned about the incident Tuesday and had the teachers, who are white, pulled from their classrooms pending an investigation.

The suspension is without pay for the first three days.

“The superintendent believes there are better choices,” she said.


Other students were carrying pictures of President Obama and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The teachers have not been identified and could not be reached for comment.

District officials did not provide details about what the teachers did, saying the investigation was still ongoing. .Some community leaders aren’t satisfied with the suspensions and are calling for the dismissal of the instructors, who teach 1st, 2nd and 4th grade.

“I just can’t fathom what these teachers were thinking of except to make a mockery of African American history,” said Leon Jenkins, president of the Los Angeles branch of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People.

L. C. "Chris" Strudwick-Turner of the Los Angeles Urban League likened the episode to a series of racially provocative incidents at UC San Diego, where a Feb. 15 off-campus party mocked Black History Month. “These kinds of things build on each other,” she said. “When something like that happens in [San Diego] and there is no immediate consequence, that emboldens others. That’s why I was glad that LAUSD took them out of the classroom right away.”

Pollard-Terry said Simpson, Rodman and RuPaul were included on a list of prominent African Americans approved by the school for study during Black History Month. She said the three teacher were believed to have suggested at least some of those names for the list. Strudwick-Turner said the Urban League has been told by people who attended the parade that the teachers had been asked to instruct their classes on a notable African American and that they had Simpson, Rodman and RuPaul.

The district had dispatched a human relations and ethnic diversity team Wednesday to help the school prepare lessons that are “more appropriate for Black History Month,” she added.

--Alexandra Zavis

[Tastey]

I saw this on Bossip and I have to disagree. They should not be fired.

O.J. Simpson was AQUITTED on murder charges. Whether your believe he was guilty or not...he still was a NFL star who broke some records and made history.

Without that, he made history with his trial.

Rupaul has made history as a major star who is a drag queen.

And Dennis Rodman as made history as a ball player.

I realize we want to celebrate only "good" black history...but that's as dishonest as not celebrating it at all.

No historical figure has a totally clean moral slate, and black history should not be about morality or what we think is "perfect".

It's about history.

[missbuttabutt]

I'm torn on this one. While it can be seen as making a mockery, my first thought was that Dr. King was an adulterer, President Obama used to (and I think he still does) burn it down something serious [Look at them black ass lips] and a lot more of our heroes have some pasts that many of us would question.

Being a figure of Black history isn't about being perfect or without a couple of strikes; it has to do with the impact you've made on our community and the world as a whole. It's unfortunate that the people he chose for students have become more infamous than famous for their various quirks, but they're still a part of our legacy.

[Admin]

2 drag queens and a killa? LOL, looka here. I do not think that should b fired but 3 days? How about 3 weeks? I agree w/Chey, not FUNNY......Bitches!

Holla

[Tastey]

It's not pick a black hero month...it's black HISTORY month. Whether we like it or not, those people are part of our HISTORY

[Brightness]

I can see why or how this could push buttons but I'm finding it tough to call more than a foul.

(some) Black folks cheered & high-fived OJ's acquittal like it was an noteworthy accomplishment if that wasn't an embarassment not quite sure how marching in a parade with a picture is that much worse...

[misha]

Their history is Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington.
What should it be Dan Quayle, Billy Carter, Jefferey Dahmer?

Bitch boo bye.

[Andre98]

The district needs to explain why they had those names on an approved list, I cannot buy the deflection that good and bad is part of our history. Especially when you make up pictures for display, its not a mere discussion of the highs and lows, it's for lauding the best of role models. For debate about the sunny and rainy days in Black History, let that be in classroom workshops. And on the technicality of Simpson's trial verdict, that's like the first verdict of the LA cops/Rodney King beating. In both cases, as in the trials of those that murdered Chaney Goodman and Schwerner, the 1870 U.S. Force Act was necessary to bring deprivation of civil rights convictions to salvage some sense of justice, so in fact, Simpson is legally culpable.

Besides, this is on the elementary school level? I can see high school discourse on the complexities of the imperfect role models, but with small kids? Sure, one could argue that observances of Yom Kipper and Passover are Jewish with no apologies, so some delving into religious history is warranted, but Easter observances are more geared to a hopping bunny and coloring eggs than risking clashes between religious groups. Same with Halloween. Do you go with a more benign focus on trick or treat, and making jack o' lanterns or delve into the macabre beyond the dress up and spooky entertainment aspect of ghosts and witches?

The only one I'm torn on of the three is RuPaul. There is a dignity to maintain in these official celebrations, and RuPaul is an entertainer like Eddie Murphy or Chris Rock. But it would be similarly clouding the reverence of the observance if they chose to display Murphy as his Klump or Norbit characters. Also, you could make note of aspects like comedy without playing uncensored clips of Murphy, Rock, Richard Pryor, or Def Comedy Jam. Lil Wayne and 50 cent, among many others, are Grammy recognized musical artists, yet I would not pick their images for a parade on the elementary level, in the company of Thurgood Marshall and Colin Powell.

Simpson's positive contributions will always be tainted by the murder trial. That is a sad fact, whether one thinks it was a fair verdict or not. Rodman's behavior in the latter art of his career and life also casts a shadow on any achievements due to his abilities on the court. There are plenty of other sports icons. To choose Simpson and Rodman for the approved list, the governing body had, in my opinion a lack of foresight, and by that fact they should not be able to penalize the teachers.

If there was no official approved list and a student chose to highlight RuPaul or let's say, "Ms J" Alexander from "America's Next Top Model", I could see a big story on whether image politics trumps a student's personal sense of whom inspires them. That would still lend itself more to a Jr High or High school venue

But what I am more interested in is whether the teacher(s) involved had a cynical attitude that drove choosing Simpson or Rodman specifically for the parade picture exposure. I have to give them the benefit of the doubt that they could not have been deliberately impudent and trying to pull a gag that they hoped no one got but their similarly cynical ilk. A friend of mine works at an ad agency, and a few years ago, her bosses wanted to have a way to tie in MLK Jr's holiday, with slogans like, "I have a dream, that one day, we can save 20% on (this and that)", selling cars or mattress for their clients in newspaper ads. She could have gone on with it - maybe no backlash would have come. But she anticipated that those that saw this as reducing his remembrance to commercialism would take up arms, although that is the case in so many other holiday dates on the calendar. She advised her bosses that it would risk causing a controversy. They seemed oblivious, but scrapped the idea.

It's worth noting that she is White, as was nearly her entire firm, and I am curious as to who is white or black in this news story. The story said it is South LA, so is the school predominantly Black? Black history observances would take on more weight, rather than a White school that might be brushing it aside, getting it over with as an obligated function of the month. Not that all majority White schools treat Black History celebrations as token necessities of the curriculum, but I could see some smartasses inserting a Marion Barry image, or Jimmie Walker in his JJ character in mid-"Dynomite" pose, and later giggle with their fellow Limbaugh/Glenn Beck/Imus followers that they got over with a zinger and the nappy heads didn't even notice.

But again, bottom line, the opportunity was handed to them on a silver platter if such names were on an approved list and the list makers are clueless. That second line of common sense defense, or concern for potential backlash that the ad agency scenario had was not implemented. And again, especially in the elementary grades, every teaching point takes on a larger influence. I can still remember things teachers professed in 4th and 5th grade that were flat wrong. Not necessarily on a racial theme, but it was their personal opinions and not delivered with the proper context.