[LM_NET] Gen: vent, defacing books

[Darlene Yasick <lib027yas@SBCGLOBAL.NET>]

Last period yesterday  a teacher brought me a book he had been browsing through and 
asked what I did when people wrote in books-- especially if I thought the person 
who wrote in it was a teacher. I looked the book over. Many pages- ten or more were 
written on in red marking pen. It was obviously from the style and tone of the 
writing that this was not written by a student and I was pretty sure who had 
written it.( our government/economics teacher) The book was a landmark supreme 
court book on Vitale v Engle on prayer in school. Comments were made on the text 
including the chapter which presented the arguments of those who opposed prayer in 
school; surprisingly nothing was commented on in section of those who were in 
support of prayer. Example of comments under a picture of Congress starting a 
session with bowed heads- "Hypocrites! Both House and Senate have full time 
chaplins"
   
  I was simply furious- I take it seriously that we have an obligation to present 
both sides of an issue whether I agree or not and this book did just that. I don't 
get angry but I was livid about this.( I usually will do nearly anything to avoid 
confrontation) I marched down to this teacher's classroom after school got out, 
held open the book and asked if he recognized the handwriting. ( No accusations, I 
did keep that much cool.) He smiled ( in his "charming " boyish way) and said "yes 
it's mine" I really just lost it then and went on about why would you write in a 
book, if you have a problem with a book take it up with me don't wreck the 
material, do you realize that the chapter was a report of the case as presented not 
an author's point of view. etc and wound up with why would you do such a thing? ( 
think I was yelling by this time.) He said he was just trying to " help a student" 
understand the text!!! I replied that you don't do that by writing in a book that 
doesn't b!
 elong to
 you. As I turned around he said send me a bill and I said I intended to do just 
that. 
   
  This man is extremely conservative, his government classes are not taught in an 
unbiased manner by any means. Kids are only exposed to his point of view and other 
viewpoints are ridiculed. I thought that teacher had the same obligation that we do 
to present both sides of an issue. What if anything should I do now-?- I do intend 
to send him a bill. Everytime I think of this I get angry all over again-- don't 
think I have my emotions quite under control these day. Should I bill him and 
forget it or what? I think I'd better check other books in the section too. Darlene


Darlene Yasick
Media Specialist
Hopkins (MI) High School
lib027yas@global.net

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