"Let me control the textbooks and I will control the state."

Anti-Islamic literature was handed out during a lecture and a teacher was suspended. Now that teacher won't be allowed to teach at Enloe and that has some students upset.
"I think that it was a little harsh& he's a really good teacher& and we don't have enough good teachers to kick them out of Enloe." Enloe freshman Saira Butt is talking about the fallout from a lengthy investigation at Enloe High School.

Longtime teacher, Robert Escamilla is transferring to another school. He was suspended after a controversial guest speaker he invited to class handed out anti-Islamic pamphlets.

One of those pamphlets characterizes the Islamic faith as demonized. Another urging young girls to avoid marrying Muslim men. Parent Tariq Butt says the teacher's transfer to another school isn't punishment enough. "Escamila has done this sort of thing before I think he's kind a serial abuser of the trust parents place in the system."

The Wake County School System issued an apology saying, "The presentation of the guest speaker at Enloe was unacceptable and very regrettable. However, because of it, I believe we have clarified expectations and provided better guidance and support to our teachers regarding the appropriate use of outside resources."

The entire incident has changed the rules for guest speakers in Wake County classrooms. Now a principal has to give final approval on speeches, books or films outside the curriculum.

If a guest speaker goes off topic, the teacher must intervene. Something Saira says might have kept Escamilla at Enloe High School. "I just thought it was wrong to give everybody who didn't know Muslims that impression if it's not true."

The title of this blog entry is a quote from Adolph Hitler, "Let me control the textbooks and I will control the state". It is a very true statement.

Am I the only one who notices this type of situation (teaching skewed opinions) is a common argument against homeschooling? I've often heard, "Homeschoolers can teach anything they want." Hmmmm, well.... yes, we can. HOWEVER, we are the parent of the child and are the only people on the face of this planet responsible for the upbringing of our children. As such, we (and we alone) should instill our values into our children. But teachers? No way. Not their kid, not a proper school lesson.
No, I am not saying I agree with this lesson. Quite the opposite actually. I am saying this "lesson" should have never been allowed to fill public school time. Really, which of the R's does this fall under? Reading, writing, math???

It's suggested often that homeschooling parents need more monitoring to ensure things like this don't happen in a private homeschool. However, is that really the answer? This "lesson" took place on school grounds! Who could be more monitored than a public school teacher? Oh, that's right..... I guess they're not really monitored well enough after all.