A good reason to homeschool in North Carolina. Diantha Harris.
110708 UPDATE: Not only did the superintendent issue a written statement earlier today, he actually cut a clip and put it online in the expectation that all the righty bloggers who linked yesterday’s video would eat this one up and help spread his exercise in damage control for him. The superintendant.
Some bloggers on Thursday wrongly identified Harris as an Asheville teacher. She left Asheville in 2004 and now teaches fifth grade in Cumberland County.
A crew from Sweden’s public broadcasting company STV visited her classroom in May for the documentary “From Bill to Barack.”
The film aired Monday on Finland’s Swedish-language Channel 5.
In the video, a student tells Harris she is supporting Barack Obama because he’ll make good changes to the country.
“Now, can you tell me just a little bit more, like what type of changes?” she asks the student.
The student says, “Like not having a fight between Iraq and having soldiers killed.”
Harris nods in approval. “So in other words Barack is going to end that war in Iraq,” she says.
She then asks a girl who said she was supporting McCain to speak up because her father is in the military. The student remained silent.
“It’s a senseless war,” Harris says in the film. “And by the way, Kathy, the person you are picking for president said that our troops will stay in Iraq for another 100 years if they need to.”
Harris on Thursday said she wasn’t advocating for one candidate over the other. The film’s producers asked her to talk about politics that day and that she discussed the presidential race and all the races in North Carolina, she said.
Harris said her comments of “Oh Lord” and “Oh Jesus” were her way of engaging students to spur discussion.
The film does not show how she stuck her tongue out and threw up her hands when one student said he supported Obama, she said.
Harris was a subject in the film because former President Bush visited her home in 1992 after an invitation from her then-husband Roy Harris, who was serving on the Asheville City Board of Education.
She had not seen the documentary or the blogs until she was contacted by The Citizen-Times.
November 6, 2008 at 10:20 PM
And after this class was over, she probably loaded all the Obama supporters on the bus and took them down to vote, several times. The way this “election” seems to have been conducted, I’m sure a little thing like being ten years old wouldn’t make any difference. I really feel sorry for the McCain kids. They were brave to speak up. This teacher is just a bully, like most Obama supporters.
November 6, 2008 at 10:29 PM
She probably registered dead relatives as well.
November 6, 2008 at 11:02 PM
The reality of Black Power. Frigging Nazis!
I pray some parent said, “Not to my kid, you don’t.”
November 6, 2008 at 11:32 PM
I would have had her teaching certificate revoked for not following state curriculum.
November 7, 2008 at 1:23 AM
I’m hoping what happens is a free for all at the next school board meeting. Around here the one thing that gets people exercised is some twit messing with their kids. I really do fear that this “teacher’s” actions will not be an isolated incident, and I hope that a whole lot of parents who supported McCain see or hear about this video.
November 8, 2008 at 1:27 AM
[...] Reason 142 to Homeschool: Obama Teachers Won’t Bully Kids Who Support McCain « Mcnorman’s Weblo… [...]
November 8, 2008 at 3:44 AM
One word…..homeschool
November 8, 2008 at 4:19 PM
Sadly this is not an isolated event, the same thing happened in my nephews classroom.
I can only imagine how that poor little girl “Kathy” felt at the womans (I’ll not call her a teacher) comment about her Father in the military, that little girl and her family deserve an apology and the class a new teacher.
So very sad.
November 8, 2008 at 8:53 PM
Khug…this is not what education is supposed to be. Education is knowledge. Knowledge as we all know is power. To show dissent in this manner tacitly implies that the child’s awareness of their own knowledge is unimportant. That she knows nothing. We cannot allow this to happen in America.