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Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Displaying Flags from Multiple Nations

By Jeralyn, Section Social Justice
Posted on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 02:46:38 PM EST
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In the most ridiculous item of the day so far....

A seventh-grade geography teacher at Carmody Middle School was suspended with pay today when he refused to take down three foreign flags on display in his classroom. Eric Hamlin said the flags of China, Mexico and the United Nations were relevant to the unit on the fundamentals of geography he teaches during the first six weeks of the semester. He's used the same display for most of the nine years he's taught in Jefferson County, Hamlin said.

The foreign flags are in addition to the standard U.S. flag found in all classrooms.

Mr. Hamlin was escorted out of the building. Stupid is as stupid does, and Jefferson County apparently hasn't learned from Columbine yet that intolerance breeds hate and worse. I wonder if Tom Tancredo will praise the decision.

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    Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Displaying Flags from Multiple Nations | 30 comments (30 topical)
    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#1)
    by kdog on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 03:14:17 PM EST
    Shoot...my high school history class had a whole book full of foreign flags. Better go burn that sucker. Not the America I learned about in school...thats for damn sure. If the principal can't understand that the intention of the law most certainly does not apply to geography classrooms...he needs to go back to high school civics. I think the law had something more like a Russian flag on a post office in mind...but I'm no high school principal.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#2)
    by desertswine on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 03:20:27 PM EST
    Hamlin has more than 50 flags that he uses during the course of the year. He asks students to consider the symbolism different countries put on their flags, such as the stars and stripes on the U.S. flag.
    Sounds like a creative and innovative teacher to me. This ranks among the stupidest things I've ever heard.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#3)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 03:32:21 PM EST
    Stupid is as stupid does
    Couldn't agree more. Insanity. This type of story always makes me wonder if it isn't the result of some sort of a personal conflict between the two parties...

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#4)
    by Sailor on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 03:51:19 PM EST
    Jeffco Public Schools spokeswoman Lynn Setzer said Schalk believed Hamlin was in violation of a state law on display of foreign flags on public property.
    WTF!? What the heck kinda law is that! And how xenophobic do you have to be to get rid of a geo teacher for displaying flags!?

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#5)
    by kdog on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 04:08:08 PM EST
    What the heck kinda law is that!
    A useless, unnecessary one among many my friend. And this fine principal gives us a great example of what happens when useless, unnecessary laws are passed.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#6)
    by jen on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 04:27:54 PM EST
    So, you can teach world geography as long as you don't teach them about ... uh.. other countries?

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 05:40:41 PM EST
    then the next time a foreign dignitary visits the white house, and gets behind a podiom at a news conference with his countyrys flag let's make sure the teacher gets escorted out too.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#8)
    by dutchfox on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 05:41:34 PM EST
    Sounds like Mr Hamlin would be escorted out of a school in Florida, too.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 05:56:52 PM EST
    It's interesting how you find this offensive yet when schools in Texas and elsewhere take DOWN the American flag and fly the Mexican flag your OK with that. Interesting indeed.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 05:59:08 PM EST
    AKEWOOD, Colo. -- The Jefferson County School District said Thursday that it has reinstated a geography teacher who was placed on paid administrative leave because he refused to take down foreign flags hung up in his classroom. The school district said Eric Hamlin will be back in class at Carmody Middle School and so will his flags. Hamlin said he needs to think about whether he wants to return to the school or not.
    Sounds like the school figured out it was being a bit silly, too little too late.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#11)
    by scarshapedstar on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 06:27:31 PM EST
    It's interesting how you find this offensive yet when schools in Texas and elsewhere take DOWN the American flag and fly the Mexican flag your OK with that. Interesting indeed.
    My god, you've caught us. We're all closet Mexofascists. Seriously, though. There are things a teacher should be fired for, like intimidation, or teaching lies over science. But displaying the wrong piece of colored cloth? What, exactly, is the problem here? Whatever your response, it basically boils down to magical thinking: that flag's gonna make the Mexichinoislamonazi come in the middle of the night. Jesus. That kind of thinking should have gone out of style in the Bronze Age.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 07:05:25 PM EST
    Oh dear.... for over 15 years I used foreign flags in my Grade 4 and Grade 2 classrooms as weekly "mystery flags". My students were to locate the countries, name their continents & earest ocean, name their nearest neighbors, and provide other information in an open ended extra credit assignment. Am I in trouble? We even stood "our of respect" for the foreign country's anthem when we wrapped up the assignment at week's end. Am I a bad (now retired) teacher?

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#13)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 07:09:32 PM EST
    Gosh. Looks like I AM a bad typist.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 07:16:02 PM EST
    Our favorite restaurant's bar area is surrounded by 50+ national flags (it's a fish place owned by a Greek, who has defined the business in our city for the last 15 years). I love sitting under those flags. The bartender can name them all...here in the deep south it's kinda like going to Europe in 10 minutes! What a wonderful escape! I wish I had a geography teacher with that kind of enthusiasm when I was in high school. I guess, I'll have to rely on my favorite bartender to educate me...while he's at it he also recommends some wonderful international wines to go with my fish dinner...which makes it all the more fun!

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#15)
    by dutchfox on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 07:23:20 PM EST
    When I was in Fifth Grade, we were studying all the South American countries and each student had to make a report on one country. I chose Ecuador because my father had been their during his merchant marine days. My family lived in New Hampshire, but I took a school vacation trip to visit my aunt in NYC. She took me to the UN to purchase an Ecuadoran flag. This was nearly 45 years ago; I still have that flag.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#16)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 08:54:30 PM EST
    Dutchfox. Thanks for the link, that is one extremely scary read.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#17)
    by jimcee on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 09:43:04 PM EST
    Flagly dopyness. I always have loved flags because they generally represent the nature of thier national being. A hammer and scycle = all workers will be screwed but their labor will be noted on the national flag. A swastika? Bad news for a bunch of folks including those who thought this flag was a good symbol of thier nation. Love the spinning wheel that is India's flag. Over all I really like the US flag because it is crude, symbolic and has a lasting meaning. The British Union Jack has many of the same adjustments that the US flag has had but it has always been an imperialist flag where as the US flag has been a direct representation of the country. A country's flag can be changed with a country's politics but most stable countries adjust thier flags according to recent politics. An example is Saddam added Koranic phrases to his flag to sucker other Islamic dupes. And we can see how well that worked out for Iraq.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#18)
    by Al on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 10:37:47 PM EST
    The principal should have read the law before making an ass of himself. It says
    This section does not apply to ... The display of any flag or representation thereof described in subsection (1) of this section that is part of a temporary display of any instructional or historical materials not permanently affixed or attached to any part of the buildings or grounds described in subsection (1) of this section.
    I hope the teacher sues his pants off.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#19)
    by bernarda on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 01:33:16 AM EST
    Mark Twain had his own idea for the American Flag, only this time for the bloody American colonization of the Philippines. He suggested replacing the white stripes with black and replacing the stars with skull-and-crossbones death's head. That is a good idea for today's Bush Junta.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#20)
    by Jlvngstn on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 05:56:21 AM EST
    Nationalism and militarism were the bedrocks of Hitler's Germany. "Why do you hate this country" should be incorporated at the end of our pledge of allegiance and should be said to any dissenter of the "rules". that way we can prevent these pinkos from flying other countries flags.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#21)
    by kdog on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 06:21:35 AM EST
    Keep that down Lee...I'd hate to see a fine teacher like you charged with treason. Report to Homeland Security immediately.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#22)
    by Sailor on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 08:29:59 AM EST
    It's interesting how you find this offensive yet when schools in Texas and elsewhere take DOWN the American flag and fly the Mexican flag your OK with that.
    strawman alert! Here's your cookie!

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#23)
    by jondee on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 08:35:33 AM EST
    Wasnt there another problem at a Colorado school involving flags a little while back? I see this as some of the fall-out from the whipped up hysteria about the (newly discovered) immigration problem. Thank pimps like Tecredo and his minions of xenophobic hysteria for alot of this.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#24)
    by desertswine on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 09:01:34 AM EST
    Wasnt there another problem at a Colorado school involving flags a little while back?
    Yes. No brazen waving of flags, please.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#25)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 10:01:56 AM EST
    Dutchfox. It will be interesting to see if this really is an error or is it "Be very afraid time." Evolutionary biology has vanished from the list of acceptable fields of study for recipients of a federal education grant for low-income college students.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#26)
    by Bill Arnett on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 10:46:45 AM EST
    And they wonder why our students are among the most ignorant in the world regarding geography. Maybe they should ban textbooks, pencils, paper, any source of information, and just pipe commercials into the classroom all day. Oh, wait, they are already doing the last one. Teaching, now that teachers are forced to "teach to the test" instead of really educating our young, is becoming a lost art. Shameful, indeed.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#27)
    by Bill Arnett on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 10:58:06 AM EST
    "Nationalism and militarism were the bedrocks of Hitler's Germany. "Why do you hate this country" should be incorporated at the end of our pledge of allegiance and should be said to any dissenter of the "rules". that way we can prevent these pinkos from flying other countries flags." jlvngstn Take a deep breath and sit down 'cause I have bad news for you: The Dark Ages ended a long time ago, and we now live in more enlightened times, despite the efforts of the rabid right to portray the neocons, white supremist, and radical teachers whom teach that there is no such thing as evolution, the earth is six thousand years old, and that man and dinosaur co-existed at the same time. To assert that "pinkos" fly these different flags because they hate America shows such a basic misunderstanding of Constitutional rights as to be scary. Do you swear fealty to bush, right or wrong, because he is your leader?

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#28)
    by Jlvngstn on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 01:24:16 PM EST
    Bill, it was meant in jest. Perhaps it is because we don't know one another but the sarcasm is screaming. And my house isn't lit by candles.

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#29)
    by Sailor on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 08:17:51 PM EST
    Jlvngstn, no offense, but I could use an emoticon or [/] occasionally myself ... ;-)

    Re: Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Disp (none / 0) (#30)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Sep 30, 2006 at 08:47:51 PM EST
    i want to see counties and thier flags

    Colorado Teacher Told to Leave School for Displaying Flags from Multiple Nations | 30 comments (30 topical)