I think you are incorrect at blaming the teachers for this. There are reasons to believe it is social media that is driving it.
Particularly in the case Charlie cited where the students were acting against a teacher who was not defending or excusing Hamas but, on the contrary, had posted and demonstrated in support of Israel.
I think you are incorrect at blaming the teachers for this. There are reasons to believe it is social media that is driving it.
Particularly in the case Charlie cited where the students were acting against a teacher who was not defending or excusing Hamas but, on the contrary, had posted and demonstrated in support of Israel.
It's very likely that social media contributes to the problem, but I think we both realize that it is way more complicated than the contributions of a single source or even multiple sources. I still contend that there are teachers at the high school level that add to the disharmony by their actions and speech -- intended or unintentional. My main gripe, though, is aimed at professors and administrators at the postsecondary level. When I attended college back in the dark ages the Vietnam war was at its height. My professors allowed some anti-war protesting in class (and outside-the-classroom protests were something to behold), and obviously some professors took part in the protests too, but all retained control of their classrooms; students did not call the shots like it appears to be happening these days. Yes, we did disrupt some classes, but most of us knew that there could be some serious fallout for our actions. I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones, I was a member of YAWF and graduated into the SDS, but I got away with it.
As for Mr Sykes' specific example of the high school teacher showing support for Israel, the other teachers and the administration showed a dereliction of their duties. The bedlam continued for two hours with minimal, if any, attempts to restore some sense of order and decorum. The students were allowed to spew out the hatred they must have been taught by their parents unabated. I can't believe that most of the student protesters actually understood the slogans they were shouting; I'd wager that fewer than 15% realized that they were promoting genocide when they repeated "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." They see Hamas as freedom fighters, not terrorists, because that is how the media -- including social media -- is portraying them: Hamas good, Israel bad. Young minds soak up everything, and if there are no adult voices disabusing them of their hate-filled rhetoric it will become ingrained and continue to be passed down to future generations.
Even young adults need to recognize that there can be repercussions (positive or negative) resulting from their actions.
I think you are incorrect at blaming the teachers for this. There are reasons to believe it is social media that is driving it.
Particularly in the case Charlie cited where the students were acting against a teacher who was not defending or excusing Hamas but, on the contrary, had posted and demonstrated in support of Israel.
It's very likely that social media contributes to the problem, but I think we both realize that it is way more complicated than the contributions of a single source or even multiple sources. I still contend that there are teachers at the high school level that add to the disharmony by their actions and speech -- intended or unintentional. My main gripe, though, is aimed at professors and administrators at the postsecondary level. When I attended college back in the dark ages the Vietnam war was at its height. My professors allowed some anti-war protesting in class (and outside-the-classroom protests were something to behold), and obviously some professors took part in the protests too, but all retained control of their classrooms; students did not call the shots like it appears to be happening these days. Yes, we did disrupt some classes, but most of us knew that there could be some serious fallout for our actions. I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones, I was a member of YAWF and graduated into the SDS, but I got away with it.
As for Mr Sykes' specific example of the high school teacher showing support for Israel, the other teachers and the administration showed a dereliction of their duties. The bedlam continued for two hours with minimal, if any, attempts to restore some sense of order and decorum. The students were allowed to spew out the hatred they must have been taught by their parents unabated. I can't believe that most of the student protesters actually understood the slogans they were shouting; I'd wager that fewer than 15% realized that they were promoting genocide when they repeated "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." They see Hamas as freedom fighters, not terrorists, because that is how the media -- including social media -- is portraying them: Hamas good, Israel bad. Young minds soak up everything, and if there are no adult voices disabusing them of their hate-filled rhetoric it will become ingrained and continue to be passed down to future generations.
Even young adults need to recognize that there can be repercussions (positive or negative) resulting from their actions.
fnord