Just got back from an open house at my son's high school. It's one of
those deals where you follow your kid's schedule and go from class to
class for ten minute intervals.
As I passed one classroom on the way to my son's history class, I spotted a huge poster of Che Guevara on the back wall For a great primer on who Che Guevara really is, read this fine article by National Review editor Jay Nordlinger). Other (smaller) pictures included Malcom X, Mao, Stalin, Hitler, Martin Luther King, and Ghandi. As the teacher (young and enthusiastic) was standing outside the door, I asked about the prominence of the Guevara poster. She replied, "Oh, students bring in stuff all the time and I'll put it up. We like to focus on agents of change throughout history."
I asked her if the students were aware of just who Che Guevara was. She said, "Yes, we talk about his revolutionary views and his part in political and social change." I asked if she also mentioned to the students that he was well known for not just overseeing executions, but also personally taking part. She replied, "Well, no, we tend to focus on the aspects of political and social change that these people have brought about."
The conversation went around the block a couple of times before I got back to the executioner part of Che's resume. As the bell was going off that would signal the beginning of the next class and the end of our conversation, she said (and I kid you not!), "Well, you know, one man's executioner is another man's freedom fighter." Wow.
As I passed one classroom on the way to my son's history class, I spotted a huge poster of Che Guevara on the back wall For a great primer on who Che Guevara really is, read this fine article by National Review editor Jay Nordlinger). Other (smaller) pictures included Malcom X, Mao, Stalin, Hitler, Martin Luther King, and Ghandi. As the teacher (young and enthusiastic) was standing outside the door, I asked about the prominence of the Guevara poster. She replied, "Oh, students bring in stuff all the time and I'll put it up. We like to focus on agents of change throughout history."
I asked her if the students were aware of just who Che Guevara was. She said, "Yes, we talk about his revolutionary views and his part in political and social change." I asked if she also mentioned to the students that he was well known for not just overseeing executions, but also personally taking part. She replied, "Well, no, we tend to focus on the aspects of political and social change that these people have brought about."
The conversation went around the block a couple of times before I got back to the executioner part of Che's resume. As the bell was going off that would signal the beginning of the next class and the end of our conversation, she said (and I kid you not!), "Well, you know, one man's executioner is another man's freedom fighter." Wow.
