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Republicans left a message at King Middle School in Portland
May 11, 2010 11:50 am
PORTLAND — Students in King Middle School's "Four Freedoms" learning expedition are getting a first-hand education in free speech after last weekend's state Republican convention.
While the convention was held at the Portland Expo, GOP organizations from Maine's 16 counties were each given private meeting spaces in King classrooms.
One of those classrooms is run by Paul Clifford, an eighth-grade social studies teacher, who said he was surprised when he returned to the room on Monday to find that a poster celebrating the labor movement had been removed and replaced with a Republican sticker.
The poster had the following quote from union leader Eugine Debs: "Intelligent discontent is the mainspring of civilization born of agitation. It is agitation or stagnation."
"In it's place was a large sticker that said 'Workers Vote Republican,'" Clifford said. "I thought it was cute until I realized the poster was gone. We can't find it and it hasn't been returned."
The amusement further diminished when Clifford found a note on his desk.
"(It) said 'A Republican was here," Clifford said. "And then it said, 'What gives you the right to propagandize impressionable kids. A Republician.'"
The note was an apparent reaction to several student-made collages in the classroom, Clifford said – personal expressions related to a specific expedition.
Clifford said the classroom was used by the Knox County Republicans, the group largely credited with convincing the state party to adopt a platform calling for abolition of the Federal Reserve and Department of Education, and closing the nation's borders.
Clifford said he was further surprised when some Knox County Republicans called the school to complain about the collages and copies of the U.S. Constitution in his classroom. The documents were donated by the American Civil Liberties Union, and contained a special section on Miranda Rights. They were stored in a closed box on the floor.
"We allowed someone to use our building. They came in and searched our stuff. Stole a poster. Left our building trashed. And then called us to complain about what they found when they searched our house," Clifford said.
Sue Ward, the assistant to the school superintendent, said it is not uncommon for political parties to use public schools for their conventions. Groups are typically charged for staff time associated with operating a school building on an off day, but Ward said the Republicans were not charged, since they only used the building for a few hours on Friday.
Clifford said other teachers also reported problems following the convention. Complaints about litter and stray fliers were reported throughout the school, he said.
Neither Principal Mike McCarthy nor Maine Republican Party Executive Director Christie-Lee McNally could not be reached for comment.
Clifford said he is using the incident as a teachable moment for students. Sometimes people believe in their own ideas so strongly, he said, that they forget that others have a right to their own point of view.
"This is not an opportunity to trash somebody," he said. "We know this is not something that would be condoned by the Republican Party. This type of stuff happens on both sides of the party line."
Randy Billings can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 100 or rbillings@theforecaster.net
Comments
GrammyofWandA says:
Abby Burnett says:
Caitlin, they didn't have a problem with the fact that they had the Constitution in his room, but they had a problem with the fact that the ACLU. The few people that were "peeping" around in his room should be dissapointed and disgraced about themselves because they are adults and they should know better, and they are representing a huge group of people. Teachers and parents teach us not to steal when we are very young, but to be all grown up and stealing things from a school that they let you use, thats just wrong.
-Abby
Caitlin0Lowell says:
I guess I should have clarified my comment about the ACLU donated copies of the Constitution. I understand that they were donated by the ACLU, and in general conservatives tend not to agree with the ACLU. However, what I don't understand is why they were upset that a classroom accepted donated materials that merely stated the law. If a document is just stating what's already Constitutional law (or a Supreme Court case, as I imagine the Miranda rights section probably includes), then it's valid regardless of who donates it. I wouldn't be upset if a classroom accepted copies of the Constitution donated by the NRA, just as the Republicans ought not be upset that these copies of the Constitution were from the ACLU. It doesn't matter who donates it-- copies of the law are copies of the law.
Donald_B says:
Aaron: Your statements are outrageous and have personally offended me. I am a graduate of King Middle School and am currently a senior at Casco Bay High School, graduating at the top of my class. During my three years at King, I received the most balanced education out of all my other years in the Portland public school system, which I have attended since kindergarden. I had a wide range of teachers, many of whom were openly conservative and expressed their political views in class. All the teachers I had at King played a key role in my education at the time, regardless of their political affiliation. To say a teacher hates America is a slanderous and hurtful statement, and you should be ashamed of yourself and your fellow Republicans who were graciously given the opportunity to use the school free of charge. A balanced education will expose children to their right to create their own views, and as citizens of the United States, all teachers, including the one who decorated the classroom you saw, have a Constitutional right to express their views without persecution. The poster that was stolen needs to be returned, and you and those responsible for the theft should issue a heartfelt apology to King and its teachers.
Caitlin0Lowell says:
I'm a junior at Deering High School and I was in Mr Clifford's social studies class in the 8th grade. I participated in the Four Freedoms project and it was probably one of the most interesting, thought provoking projects I took part in. Mr. Clifford's class wasn't about indoctrinating students, it was about learning the facts, and then discussing and forming your own opinions. Conservative views were just as welcome as liberal ones, and there was proof of that on the discussion blog we had. I don't know whether to laugh or be angry about these actions by members of the Republican Party. I think it's very disappointing that members representing a major political party think it's not only acceptable, but sending a good message to steal property, poke around in a classroom, and then complain about what they found while they were stealing the property. I don't understand why the Republicans had an issue with finding copies of the U.S. Constitution. I don't know what could possibly be more patriotic than discussing the nature and extent of rights. Mr. Clifford never hid his political views, and I appreciated that. They were always presented as opinion and not fact, it was always open to thoughtful discussion. I think it's important to be able to learn someone else's political views, and then decide what you agree with and what you disagree with. If the Republican Party now views balanced political discussions in a social studies classroom as indoctrination, then I don't know how they want to teach informed citizens.
Monica.Littlefield says:
I’m a eight grade student at King Middle School. Mr.Clifford is my homeroom teacher and my social studies teacher. Are expedition is about the four freedoms. I think at this age we should know what are rights are. We have the right to speak about how we feel? Well thats all my teacher was doing . He was saying what he believed in. The Republicans had no right to go threw his stuff and take his belonging. The poster that kids made in the past are not anti-american or anti-religious. Kids where explaining how they felt. I think this school is a really GREAT school ! Teaching us are rights is a good idea. They’re trying to teach us that we have the right to say what we wanna, we have the right to believe in what we want . NO ONE can stop what who believes in. I don’t think its right they took away something that meant so much to my teacher ! It might not be the Republicans belief but it is Mr.Clifford’s and he deserves to believe and express how he feels !!!
Abby Burnett says:
I am a student at King Middle School and I think that King has the best education in the State of Maine, even for people who don't like school. They teach you the stuff that you need to know and at the same time, they have fun with it. I don't think that any of the people in King hate America. Every student in the building gets the education that they need, no matter what type of person you are. I am one of the students that found the letter sitting on the desk and I thought that it was just downright rude. The teachers decorate their rooms according to what they believe. It is their freedom of speech. It fits into our expedition. I still think that it was rude of the republicans that were using Mr. Cliffords room to go through his stuff, steal his poster, and put up a republican sticker. Its just "un-american". People should be entitled to their own decisions and beliefs.
- Abby
tiresias says:
As a teacher, I'd like o address a couple of the posts thus far: yes. classrooms may be a bit of a mess on Saturdays; many of us are exhausted at the end of the teaching week and (myself included) come in on Sundays or early on Monday to prepare for the coming
Aaron: I have no idea what goes on in the classrooms in your county, but down here we try to put different ideas out to students and let them express themselves. Were you to come in to my classroom, you would see posters celebrating Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, AND the works of Gilbert & Sulllivan! You would also find student-created posters, pasionate if not always grammatically accurate, opposing the Patriot Act, child soldiers in the Congo, and book banning in schools. Come by and I'll
lgive you a compilmentary copy of the Constitution - I keep a pile on hand. How do you think that students learn to think critiacally? Ceratinly not by the kind of mean-spirited thinking and acting of which the State Republican Party members were gulity last weekend - and, for the record, I am a registered Republican here in Maine. However, I am ashamed of how my fellow members treated the students at Nathan Clifford Middle School.
DenaW says:
As a State Committee Woman in Maine's Republican Party and a member of the 2nd Congressional District who used that building, I am EMBARRASSED AND ASHAMED that individual members of our group chose to use this opportunity to express their own views and act in their own behalf with no consideration how it would reflect on the whole. I will personally apologize although none of my county's group did it, I hope. I must say the rooms were just vacated by students and were a mess when we arrived...crowded and a very poor place for our meetings. And it was not our job to clean the rooms before we left. BUT we absolutely should not have removed anything (STOLE!), left any additional mess or acted like immature, holier than thou judges. Again, i am ashamed for whoever did that and I HOPE those involved will learn from this, return the poster and apologize, not only to the teacher and the school, but TO THE REST OF US who will now have to pay the price for their actions.
anni says:
Gosh Aaron, you seem to have gotten quite a negative vibe from the "special Projects" room. I am not sure what you were using the classroom for, but did it not occur to you that the fact that the school opened up the room for you was an indication of freedom and "balance?"
You so sharply criticized the teachers "decorations" and made assumptions not based on real information but on your perceptions, not only of this teacher to whom I doubt you actually spoke to, but of the school community and the students as well.
By labeling things with words such as HATE and DISGUST you reveal yourself as one who judges and stereotypes rather than searches for reasons behind actions. If hate and disgust are what you as a Republican bring to the table, rather than a respect for freedom of speech and thought, you reveal unprecedented self-serving narrow-mindedness.
Paul Clifford says:
Thought folks might want a little background about the Four Freedoms learning expedition...
This is a write up from the Portland Museum of Art in 2005.
Four Freedom Collages
King Middle School
At King Middle School in Portland, eighth grade students explore the concept of freedom by first looking at Norman Rockwell’s famous illustrations of the four freedoms, printed in the Saturday Evening Post in 1943. These images of Freedom from Want, Freedom from Fear, Freedom of Speech, and Freedom from Worship were inspired by Franklin Roosevelt’s State of the Union speech in 1941.
As students examine these images and what they meant in the 1940’s, they study the concepts and meanings of freedom today through variety of reading assignments, discussions with guest lecturers, movies and other research. Students then express their personal experiences and reflections on the ideas of freedom through a variety of writing and visual art projects, culminating with the Freedom Collages seen in this exhibition.
Based on imagery gathered from a variety of contemporary media and commercial sources, the Freedom Collages are striking commentaries about the nature of freedom in the United States today. The Portland Museum of Art is pleased to display these collages in conjuction with the Becoming A Nation exhibition as a way for students and visitors to reflect on how our nation’s founding ideals reverberate today.
- Portland Museum of Art Write-Up 2005
My hope is that we can all take into consideration that the students at King will be reading these posts and that this could be a great opportunity for them to learn from all of the adults that choose to participate in this activity.
Thank you,
Paul Clifford
rationalthought says:
An anonymous note left on a desk is a gutless act.
As for the posters from 2005, I wonder if they were on display for the last five years, or were recently brought out of storage. If the former, I wonder if Clifford believes that these images have no effect on the viewers. Certainly Rockwell's paintings evoke an emotional and intellectual response. Images are very powerful. One would hope that all classrooms would initially be free of any ongoing displays so that students might, if only briefly, shut out the onslaught of images and blogs and internet postings, and media, when they contemplate and evaluate any subject material. Otherwise, there is a clear and persistent message viewed on a daily basis. (I do not know if the American flag is present in classrooms, these days, but, even as a child, I wondered that we needed a symbol to remind us of all we held, and hold dear). That, in my opinion, is wrong.
An open mind is, optimally, what one brings to a classroom. The teacher's role is to introduce students to the most objective material available, presenting all sides. I read one student's post stating that critical thinking is encouraged at the school. I'm uncertain that that students understands what "critical thinking" entails. It is a method that be taught. The teacher is in a position of authority. The saying used to be, "Question Authority." I'm not so sure that one would feel comfortable challenging a teacher about the manner in which he or she presents issues if they were sporting a peace symbol or Bush tattoo, so to speak.
On the other hand, the Republican Party representatives acted with astonishing immaturity and ignorance, and, as I read their post-incident comments, I fear for the country, the state, and the cities and towns in Maine. Then again, all parties seem to have members who have dumbed-down to a point that is embarrassing. It's all quite a mess.
All the more reason to present a clean slate -- train in thinking critically -- research many original sources, (not the ubiquitous copycat internet information), -- and have open discussion. And, please, teachers, let your personal beliefs overpower the classroom. I look forward to receiving more background information.
PS Everyone should be cleaning up after themselves. Good grief.
chris coose says:
Aaron Prill says,"They could have been more courteous with how they made their point. "
The could have acted like the unpaying guests they were and left the place cleaner than they came.
They came like a pack of dogs and left their stink all over the place.
A couple weeks ago Principal McCarthy earned the principal of the year award and my daughter receives an education in that school that we couldn't find anywhere else.
AaronPrill says:
It is too bad some people from the Knox County GOP did that... They could have been more courteous with how they made their point. However, the point to be made is our kids are indoctrinated with EVERYTHING BUT the Conservative view point- and this was a middle school! I am a Waldo County Republican, and the room we used was even worse- it was called the "Special Projects" room and the teacher decorating that room obviously downright hated America. But we didnt touch anything in the room, just talked disgustedly among ourselves and conceded that with this being a Portland Public School there was no hope for those poor kids to get a balanced education.
momof4 says:
Aaron, I'm based out of the "special projects room" (actually, it's just called the "projects room") and I happen to love this country and this school. I'm not sure what is in the room that made you think any of us hate America. Could it be the definitions of "mean", "median" and "mode"? A map of the world? Or perhaps the stickers on a file cabinet stating "peace", "I read banned books", "vote no to end discrimination", or "No farms, no food"? ....BTW Aaron, what would you like us to do with all the papers and pamphlets for a particular republican candidate that you left scattered all over our room? We've picked them up for you and would be happy to recycle them unless you'd like them back.
momof4 says:
Aaron, I'm based out of the "special projects room" (actually, it's just called the "projects room") and I happen to love this country and this school. I'm not sure what is in the room that made you think any of us hate America. Could it be the definitions of "mean", "median" and "mode"? A map of the world? Or perhaps the stickers on a file cabinet stating "peace", "I read banned books", "vote no to end discrimination", or "No farms, no food"? ....BTW Aaron, what would you like us to do with all the papers and pamphlets for a particular republican candidate that you left scattered all over our room? We've picked them up for you and would be happy to recycle them unless you'd like them back.
Donald_B says:
Aaron: Your statements are outrageous and have personally offended me. I am a graduate of King Middle School and am currently a senior at Casco Bay High School, graduating at the top of my class. During my three years at King, I received the most balanced education out of all my other years in the Portland public school system, which I have attended since kindergarden. I had a wide range of teachers, many of whom were openly conservative and expressed their political views in class. All the teachers I had at King played a key role in my education at the time, regardless of their political affiliation. To say a teacher hates America is a slanderous and hurtful statement, and you should be ashamed of yourself and your fellow Republicans who were graciously given the opportunity to use the school free of charge. A balanced education will expose children to their right to create their own views, and as citizens of the United States, all teachers, including the one who decorated the classroom you saw, have a Constitutional right to express their views without persecution. The poster that was stolen needs to be returned, and you and those responsible for the theft should issue a heartfelt apology to King and its teachers.
"...you would see posters celebrating... the works of Gilbert & Sulllivan."
Just what I figured. A bunch of thespians!