I mean that quite literally: principals, as you recall, aren't closely supervised and can do anything they want without any accountability.
Newsome apparently learned of the panel only after the occupiers had signed in with the school's secretary—and district procedure generally calls for principals to sign off when outside groups are brought in, especially to talk to kids younger than high school age, Shelby says, acknowledging the way it all went down was awkward.
"I would classify Occupy as a political group. If you're going to bring in an outside political group, that's okay," he says. "It'd be fine for them to talk to sixth- and seventh-graders. But I know if we had Occupy come in to talk to a middle school class and we didn't let parents know that was going to happen, there'd be a very good chance we'd have some very angry parents."
I asked him if the same rules would apply to a different political group, like, say, the Tea Party. "Absolutely."
Principals are really big on being notified of everything and being insistent on parental consent. This guy could be a good guy and not retaliate against the teachers; on the other hand, he could end up being a typical principal who is all about his image and to hell with the staff.
WSWS:
In the first week of December, a Portland Occupy education group invited by a sixth-grade teacher to speak to his class was ordered by a school official to leave shortly after their presentation had ended and discussion with the students had begun. A petition circulated to protest their removal and defend academic freedom has garnered wide support.
Fools. Unlike postsecondary schools, there is NO such thing as "academic freedom" in K-12 education. Teachers have to do what they are told--or else.
Any protest is likely to fail.
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