Fair or not fair? High School Teacher Pushes....

[one_voice]

Breedism and Hate, Assigns “People Should Not Own Pit Bulls” Paper

Apparently breedism, the canine equivalent to racism is alive and well at Osbourne Park High in Virgina. A teacher there has assigned their students to write a paper entitled “People Should NOT own Pit Bulls”. The students have asked repeatedly to write on a different subject and have been denied.

The teacher’s response: “Yes, this is the paper asking students to use the topic “People Should Not Own Pit Bulls.” When we began this project, several students mentioned that they owned pit bulls. I said that they didn’t have to BELIEVE people should not own pit bulls, but for the sake of this four paragraph research experience, I wanted them to use the four articles/sources I had provided to discuss two reasons why owning pit bulls could be dangerous.”

*snip*

http://bslnews.org/2011/05/06/high-school-teacher-pushes-breedism-and-hate-assigns-people-should-not-own-pit-bulls-paper-call-to-action/

Thoughts?

edited to add this great picture:

[Drale]

1. Personally I don't know why people would want to own a pit bull

They are really ugly dogs, same with Chihuahua, but thats just my preference.

[MadHound]

7. Ugly is in the eye of the beholder,

But the fact is that they are really sweet, intelligent dogs, who are, despite the bad rap they get, quite good with people, especially children. Before the great pit bull scare, the AKC consistently rated pit bulls as the best family dog around.

[tblue37]

24. I think both breeds are adorable--and very personable. nt

[dsc]

2. I think it depends on the purpose of the assignment

if it was to summarize the article then I don't see a problem. If it was to make them believe that pit bulls are evil then it is.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

36. The educational goal could have been achieved with much less of the appearance of an agenda

The refusal to allow other topics is a giant red flag

[NYC_SKP]

3. Apart from the topic, "pit bulls", writing an argument from the opposing point of view can be...

...a worthwhile writing and critical thinking activity.

I don't know, of course, if that's the spirit in which this assignment was given.

:hi:

[one_voice]

12. That's what I was thinking...

When my son was in high school, they had to do papers on controversial topics...abortion, gay marriage, assisted suicide..etc. They had to take a "pro" or "con" stance, the teacher determined which stance they'd take with no info from the kids. My son was assigned assisted suicide, he had to take the "pro" stance.

The assignment really made him see things he hadn't before. It didn't change his mind on how he felt, but he understood the "other" side a little better.

I'd have an awfully hard time doing this assignment.

[MadHound]

4. I don't think that this is fair,

I can, sort of, understand the point that the teacher was trying to make, namely that you don't have to believe people shouldn't own pit bulls, but that you should argue the point in an analytical way. This is basic Debate 101. Hell, back in the day when I was in debate, I argued for increased oil drilling and in favor of our current form of capitalist health care, even though I didn't believe in these positions.

But I think that the teacher has set this up rather poorly, and it comes across not as a debate format, but rather as an indoctrination format. The other side simply isn't presented, and the students are constrained in their research.

[BillyJack]

5. This could be a BEAUTIFUL opportunity for the students to be creative.

They already know that the 'premise' of the paper is wrong.....a creative mind could have a lot of "fun" with that. Perhaps that was what the teacher was 'going for'. Probably NOT, but s/he should get a load of it.

[petronius]

6. I think it's probably a good educational experience to have to craft a persuasive

argument for something you may not believe in. More of us should do it, actually - it helps you understand your own opinions that much better.

Whether this is 'fair', however, would depend on the grading and how it fits in the overall curriculum...

[hypocrisyandlies]

8. I completely agree with you...

I see this more as a lesson in how to write persuasively, even if you don't necessarily agree with the position. The fair part all lies in how the teacher is assessing them.

[tammywammy]

30. +1 n/t

[dalaigh lllama]

9. It would have been more challenging and less irritating

if the teacher had split the class in two, with one half researching the pros and the other half researching the cons, then had a proper debate.

[cherokeeprogressive]

10. A very good excercise in critical thinking. A lot can be learned by walking in the shoes of someone

you disagree with.

Not unfair at all.

[baldguy]

11. Orchid expresses her opinion.

[BillyJack]

13. Courageous teacher (whether he/she knows it or not).....

Not "teaching to the test".

It makes me :-)

[AlabamaLibrul]

14. Thought: Couldn't care less. Teacher shows a lack of critical thinking skills nt

[Very_Boring_Name]

22. Part of critical thinking is being able to argue opinions that you don't believe.

"I believe one thing and anybody who disagrees lacks critical thinking" - Your method = no critical thinking.

[Codeine]

15. We had to do that all the time.

Being able to logically analyze and write about a subject from the other side is a basic critical thinking skill IMO.

[deek]

16. Having a difficult time discerning the pic...

what is going on here?

[one_voice]

18. I couldn't get the picture any larger...

here's a link to the original picture. I just thought it was sweet..

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Paws-for-Hope/117645058264848#!/photo.php?fbid=10150579340315621&set=o.45564118207&type=1&theater

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. It's a research paper

I'm not understanding the problem here.

[msongs]

19. pit bulls are status dogs = "look at me, I own one" nt

[Quantess]

20. I was assigned to argue why Andrew Jackson was a great president, in High School,

Against my opponent who was assigned to argue why Andrew Jackson was a lousy president.

The teacher was very impressed by debate, and decided that I won.
He also commented, in front of the whole class, "I guess you're not an airhead".

[saras]

21. It's a school paper - they're often SPECIFICALLY assigned against one's beliefs

If I were in this situation, I'd write a hysterical, manipulative, racist, sexist screed that I could demonstrate to be very closely related to documents shown by polls to be effective.

And I'd raise holy hell if I didn't get a good grade for it.

or maybe, if I liked the teacher otherwise, a paper arguing for all pit bulls to be owned by a worldwide pit bull society that has the power to take the dogs away from deficient owners and train them properly, only returning them if the owners pass behavioral tests.

If the teacher wants me to write a paper justifying the genocide of pit bulls, they'll have to ask more directly. And they'll have to expect a paper that uses the word genocide positively to describe the process.


It does seem odd for the teacher to assign the SAME loaded political position to the whole class, though.

[handmade34]

23. unless the teacher has a

hidden agenda, this is an excellent exercise... in my ethics class I had to argue against abortion and physician assisted suicide, both of which I personally support whole-heartedly

[left is right]

25. Way back in 68

I had to write a persuasive paper for the election of Richard M Nixon. I always thought that the other class members were randomly assigned Nixon, Humphrey, or Wallace. But I was assigned Nixon because I had previously voiced a negative opinion of Nixon

[WinkyDink]

26. "Breedism"?? What's next, "Legumeism" for people who hate peas?

[baldguy]

28. Dogs are not at the same level as vegetables.

You're trying to belittle the fact that a small group of extremists want to conduct a genocide against this particular breed.

[WatsonT]

39. generally people who hate peas are content not to have them

rather than passing city ordinances banning them.

[exboyfil]

27. Typical in debate

Half your rounds are for the affirmative (supporting the resolution) and half are the negative (against the resolution). Indispensible skills for critical thinking. I regret my daughters' High School does not have a debate team. I argued against several things which I personally believe in as part of the exercise (the one I remember most was arguing against the third middle mounted brake light - a very good idea).

[Stevenmarc]

29. Well if I had to write “People Should NOT own Pit Bulls” ......

It would go something like this

“People Should NOT own Pit Bulls”

If they are idiots like Michel Vick who mistreated the breed for his own personal pleasure.


Just because you are assigned a topic doesn't mean you need to take it to some preconceived conclusion, that's how one develops critical thinking skills and while I don't particularly appreciate the topic there is a part of me that actually finds the concept of forcing a student to take on a difficult topic instead of running away from it rather refreshing in this test driven education system.

[Obamanaut]

31. My recent pit bull story, as posted in the pets forum

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=243&topic_id=44760

The lady that lives at the end of my road works at the nursing home where my MIL lives. Several days ago someone raked up all the leaves in her yard, bagged them and left them to be hauled off.

Miz O asked her one day at the nursing home if I could have them, because I till them into my small garden, and of course she said sure.

The next day she was in the yard with her huge pit-bull-looking dog, and I pulled up on my motorcycle and told her I'd get the leaves that afternoon, and asked her if the fierce looking dog was fierce, and she said 'not really.'

Later, when I pulled into her yard on my riding mower with the trailer attached, the dog came up to sniff me. I got slowly down and sat on the ground, and the dog actually came and sat in my lap, and looked real happy to get her neck/ears/head scratched.

It took four trips, with about 10 bags each, to get all the bags, and each trip cost me a dog-lap-sit.

My fur-kids did not like the new smell associated with an 80 pound (my estimate) lap dog.

[Taitertots]

32. Boo hoo, some children have to write about an opinion that is different from your's

Dogs are inherently dangerous and attack millions of people every year.
http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Dog-Bites/dogbite-factsheet.html

Pit Bulls are responsible for a disproportionate number of fatalities.
http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/images/dogbreeds-a.pdf

[HopeHoops]

33. That's just sick. I've known a lot of pet pit bulls & mixes that were sweet gentle cuddles.

Granted they were rather LARGE sweet gentle cuddles that could down a bag of dog chow in one sitting, but they were as nice as any golden retriever I've ever met. ANY dog of ANY breed can be turned into a mean nasty shitbag if they are treated poorly. Inbreeding is a problem with a lot of breeds, not just pit bulls by any means. That's why german shepherds/mixes often have hip displasia (sp? - obviously wrong).

I think the real reason there is a perception that pit bulls are all dangerous is that when one of them DOES go wrong, it does it with jaws that can slice through a steel girder. It doesn't make the news when a toy poodle bites someone.

That teacher seriously crossed the line there. A student should be able to object and receive an alternate assignment for an opinion piece. It would be completely different if the assignment was phrased "Should people own pit bulls or not?"

[KittyWampus]

34. They should be allowed to write Agree or Not Agree positions on the topic. Even better-

randomly assign pro/con to students.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

35. meh, i had to write papers supporting ideas that i did not believe in

position papers are not about BELIEVING what you are writing but proving you can write to support a position with research...

make em write it...

sP

[aikoaiko]

37. Fair: Its just an assignment. She didn't ask them to take an oath

Assignments are not personal.

[WatsonT]

38. He could have assigned a paper and allowed them to choose a side

and grade them on their use of logic and facts to base their case.

Generally it's not good for force an opinion like this on people.

/also I've been bitten by chihuahuas far more than by pit-bulls.