We all know that Scott Walker is in trouble. His poll numbers are tanking. His absolute love of cronyism at the expense of the Wisconsin taxpayer was perfectly defined recently. Add to that, almost daily we get stories of how Scott Walker is spending unlimited Wisconsin taxpayers money on his presidential run.
This slow descent into Scott Walker's unemployment demanded action. So in steps one of the right wings "news"(term used loosely) divisions - Wisconsin Reporter. Of course not being very creative on the right, they went back to their old stand by --- They attacked a teacher! See while trolling left leaning blogs(hey guys :)) they came upon troll gold! They found Art teacher Kati Walsh's blog. Someone actually dared to criticize Scott Walker.
The problem is Ms. Walsh perfectly explained the situation and context so end of story.
So the rest of the class started drawing their own cartoons and they turned very political. They have very strong feelings about Scott Walker. The cartoons started getting a little inappropriate so at this point, we stopped drawing and discussed what a political cartoon was. We also talked about how you can disagree with someone and not wish them harm. It was also important for them to understand the role art plays in sharing one’s opinion and ideas! Wow, I did not plan for THIS intense lesson with kinders through 2nd graders!Unless you are desperate.
The Walker crew ARE desperate, so they had to create a story. This from Ryan Ekvall the original "reporter" (term used loosely).
Kati Walsh, an elementary art teacher at the Madison Metropolitan School District in July posted some of her students’ drawings of Gov. Scott Walker in jail. Walsh suggests her young Rembrandts’ ideas for their sketches popped up out of thin air.Woodward and Bernstein he isnt.
The sad thing in today's Wisconsin, attacking our public school teachers by the well funded Bradley machine is to be expected. What followed next is not.
Apparently deciding that a 1st grader's artwork is newsworthy, WKOW's Tony Galli jumped on the story! Tony Galli, picked up on a non story to the great glee of the far right Wisconsin Reporter, and then if that was not bad enough, the ONE person that Galli opted to talk to about this was even farther to the right, former Scott Walker staffer, now communications director for Maciver Institute - Nick Novak. Apparently no one from PETA was available to give a balanced view to Macivers.
A quick look at Novak's resume and we see that apparently , the former intern for "friends of scott walker" and regional field director for the Republican party is what passes as an education expert in Galli's world! Apparently looking at MMSD policy was too much of a task for Mr. Galli:
Controversial Issues In the study of controversial issues, provision is made in the Madison Metropolitan School District for the pupil to study under competent instruction in an atmosphere as free as possible from bias and prejudice. In the teaching of controversial issues in the Madison Metropolitan School District, the teacher: Develops a classroom atmosphere in which pupils feel free to express opinions and to challenge ideas; Teaches respect for the opinions of others and develops skills of critical thinking; Chooses suitable instructional materials presenting data on varying points of view on issues being discussed; Demonstrates through interpretations and actions rational methods of arriving at decisions; Maintains at all times a decent respect for the dignity and worth of each individual; Undertakes the presentation of a controversial issue to pupils only after careful study and planning; Confers with the principal or staff specialist if there is doubt regarding the appropriateness of discussing a controversial issue; Determines whether or not an issue raised by pupils is to be considered at the moment it arises; Guides discussion toward constructive courses of action available within our framework of values; Keeps in mind that the teacher's position is as a moderator and participant in the classroom forum; and Withholds the expression of personal opinion unless asked a direct question.Then of course continue to read the policy and you come upon this.
The BUILDING PRINCIPAL shall: Approve the use of resource persons in the school; Handle complaints concerning controversial issues; and Consult with other PRINCIPALS in an effort to be consistent.Apparently they left line item d. out of their policy
d. Run to far right ideologue website to get their incredibly biased view with absolutely no information of the story whatsoever.Mr. Galli, I am sure you are busy checking Breitbardt's site for your next story, and too busy to do any actual reporting here, so let me help you. Here is the contact information for the members of the Madison Metropolitan School District, who would have been much more relevant to talk to, than Brian Fraley's cabana boy.
One last piece of advice. Saying she signed the recall petition is relevant how? You might as well add what color shirt she was wearing that day because it holds the same relevance!
Isthmus once called Tony Galli - "Far and away, Tony Galli is the best investigative journalist in town,". O how the might have fallen.
Finally Mr. Galli, if you want to cover some more work done by elementary kids let me know. I will offer up my kids homework for you to report on. She just received a "super job" sticker on her math sheet and if you look real close, the Apple sticker her teacher placed on her sheet kind of looks like Andre Jacque. You have my permission to run it to Nick Novak and get his expert opinion!
Cross posted at Forward Lookout!
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