We don't need no thinking citizens

There is a lot of buzz about the kid who taped his teacher's "rant" in where he supposedly compared President Bush to Hitler. Well first you can go to this link:

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_3560566

And listen to the whole thing yourself (takes about 20 minutes)

Now, do I think the teacher was ranting - no. Do I think he was as balanced as he could be - no. (Although listen to how many times he said - 'That is a good question..' - in a very calm tone of voice.) With hindsight, would he have done this different - sure. However, all the focus is in the wrong place.

The teacher told the kids he was trying to teach them to think. Now I don't know much about the class. It might have been average, it might have been an honors class - I just don't know. What I do know is that in less than 2 years (these kids are 16) they will be able to vote, fight in the military and in some states drink. They may be able to get married, buy a house, start a business. Some people are outraged that a teacher, with opinions, can be teaching such impressionable kids. Well the outrage should be, that these students are at least 2 years behind in learning to think. How can we expect them to be active participants in our society, if hey never come up against someone who challenges them, or forces them to defend their beliefs.

Wait a minute, [satire on] there is a study that says the human brain is not fully developed until age 25. If this is the case then we should change the voting laws, drinking laws, driving laws and even the military age to at lease 25 years of age. Let's face it, the reason the drinking law is so low is not because we think they can handle it, it is because if you are old enough to go and fight for your country, how can we deny your right to drink? Well, who will go to fight? How about we send those over 55 to fight. Think of the advantages - since most over 55 are not in good shape, most will probably not survive combat. Well, that will help our Social Security and Medicare problem, as opposed to a young adult who may survive to need lifelong care. [satire off]

Maybe, rather than worrying about the teacher, we should worry about the kids.

20 min