How terriable! School kids now a days have too few role models that are real, to them the lates star scandels are more real than what happened to grandpa or a teacher who makes things fun by INSULTING a great acheivement. I agree this is an outrage!

Uuurrah! Give ‘em hell, Major!

Well Done, Major Hatch!

An excellent talk by Senator Webb. I cannot describe how happy … and relieved … I was, to see Virginia elect him to the U.S. Senate. I hope he and Mark Warner will continue John Warner’s illustrious record as champions of our armed services community and its/their needs.

There is a responsible limit to any freedom, including the academic freedom to teach, and the “teacher” in question clearly violated it.

She ignored the Four Freedoms and the Atlantic Charter … let alone all the hideous atrocities of then fascist militarist Japan … that our people were fighting a world war for. She mocked our dead and wounded not just of Iwo Jima, obscenely. There is NO excuse for that.

She should be publicly censured by her administrators and students’ parents … and fired.

Well done, USNI, in bringing this to public attention.

I didn’t see any comment on the fact that the McDonald’s logo is in Arabic. I suppose this was some comment on the Iraq War. Extremely poor taste by someone who probably does not know anything about the actual incident. A Chicago Tribune reporter recently showed flag raising photo to his colleagues in the newsroom. A third did not know what is was and others could not identify the location, just that it was World War II.

So, at what school was this? People need to know so they can avoid having their children attend this school.

I have received a response from the principal. If he has no objection, I’ll post the school’s statements here.

The statements are unconvincing, and if there is no apology and withdrawal/deletion of the perverted image, I must continue to believe real action should be taken in this matter.

All those men that gave their lives so that this “teacher” could spout this nonsense? Maybe that person should Google the words teacher and propagandists, seems they’re confused as to which is which. Teach the facts; let the student form their own opinion.

I would hope that this caused an immediate response that this is inappropriate from the community. I don’t wonder that with this level of education that many young people today have no idea why December 7, 1941 is an important date. They likewise cannot tell you when World War II took place, who was involved and why this cataclysm took place. Where is this school located ?

With the feeling that the Langley school administration would probably like to cover up this embarrasing matter, I sent the following letter to the co-presidents of the Langley PTA in the hopes that they, as Americans, will not let it be buried.

The addressees are to my letter are: Andrea Sotte and Stacy Wood

Ladies,

As a veteran and an American, I wish to make you both aware of an action by a teacher at Langley that I consider to be despicable. The photograph of Marines raising the flag on Mt Suribachi represents all of the best in American servicemen and their sacrifices to keep our nation free while simultaneously fighting two wars oceans apart. To substitute a McDonalds sign written in Arabic for the American Flag and then present the image to high school students for any reason goes beyond the pale. This teacher owes an apology, not only to the students, the school, all men and women who have served so bravely in our military but to all Americans.

The image and letter by Major Hatch to principal Ragone were posted on the information page of the US Naval Institute, a professional military association and forum for issues on national security located on the grounds of the United States Naval Academy.

I for one would like to see that apology in written form sent to the US Naval Institute so that it may be published for all to see.

The page on the USNI website that shows the picture, letter and some of the comments from USNI members and readers follows. I believe that both principal Ragone and you will hear more on this after the next monthly issue of Proceedings magazine reaches the more than 50,000 members of the Institute.

http://blog.usni.org/2010/04/04/from-our-archive-and-now-hear-this/?utm_source=Publicaster&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=April%202010%20USNI%20newsletter

I agree with Ken. Following my retirement from the Navy I did go into teaching as an NJROTC instructor. One of the most prevalent statements from my students was that in comparison with their U.S. history class, our history lessons were much more detailed and much more interesting. My students WANTED to learn more about the history of the U.S., and enjoyed our detailed approach to it. Additionally, many teachers in our school who were opposed to NJROTC had no interest in learning what NJROTC was really about, closing their minds to what they were supposedly inspiring their students to do…LEARN.
Unforunately, many of the history texts currently in use in high schools are written with a “slant”, and touch very lightly on major conflicts, particularly WWI and WWII. The emphasis on standardized testing performance and on “teaching for the test” in many high schools leaves little room for electives that inspire learning and help to satisfy young curiosity.
Hopefully the efforts of Major Hatch, Mr. Pino, and others will awaken the administrators, educators, and parents at Langley H.S. and other schools and districts nationwide to the responsibilities of role models to appropriately balance respect for the Flag and the Country with First Amendment rights.

Without going into specifics, this now seems to me to have been a deliberate provocation which was inevitable, if you know something about the teacher.

Either the administrators were negligent and didn’t do a background check, or they share her attitudes.

Action SHOULD be taken.

Hey Joe, I had a history teacher just like you back in high school. All his tests were essay questions. He managed to give me a C+ the first six weeks (which raised my parents eyebrows) and the next six weeks, I was determined to beat that revisionist SOB. First test I got, I was given an F. Brought that sucker home to my mom. Next morning, I’m in history, and the PA says that the teacher and I are to report to the principals office. My mom is there, and shes waiting with a stack of my favorite history books. She had the principal go over my test answers. The teacher got his a$$ chewed out and told he better have a good reason for giving me a bad grade the rest of the year. His only mistake was messing with a 15 year old with a passion for history who’d also managed to make his way through a fair chunk of Ann and Will Durants history books.

So take your mind meld bullstuff and go home with it and leave it there. Your job is to TEACH the COURSE to the kids, NOT REWRITE history, you freakin’ tool. It’s no wonder that kids today are dumber than a box of rocks when jackasses like you are teaching them.

Thank God I had a lot of good teachers that gave a damn.