What is it with our schools these days? Story after story of teachers to administrators to school boards doing the most inane things. No wonder so many kids come out screwed up.
School Superintendent Behind Videotape Scandal
A school superintendent in the [Chicago] southwest suburbs was coming under fire Thursday over a videotape scandal.
CBS 2 Investigator Dave Savini reports the tape was posted on the school district’s Web site. The superintendent is accused of mocking new teachers on that video.
School District 228 Superintendent Richard Mitchell obviously got a kick out of the videos he made, laughing on some of them.
In one of the tapes, Mitchell appears asking a new teacher “How many prescription drugs are you taking right now?”
And the teacher appears to answer, “A multitude of them.”
But it wasn’t real, just fancy editing.
Mitchell interviewed new teachers, taped it, then without their knowledge took the teachers’ real answers and edited in fake questions. CBS 2 covered their faces, Mitchell did not.
BTW, for a look at “education” that is far beyond anything these clowns have done, the movie Jesus Camp is now out. Here’s our post on it a few months ago and here’s a new review of what the reviewer is calling a horror film rather than a documentary.
>CBS2
It was their network that did the same thing with 60 Minutes. I think the target was Westmoreland, who sued for libel.
I actually found it funny. I question that this is really much of a deal. Lighten up, education is a high stress environment (as evidenced by all these recent shootings) and could use some humor…
Weird AL Rip off. 😛
The roots of public education in the US springs from the Industrial Revolution. Factory owners wanted certain basic skills taught, along with a sense of loyalty and good citizenship. They wanted brain washed workers for the assembly lines. Today public schools still teach citizenship, or what the current powers that be want children to believe in. Free thought my big fat butt.
AB CD…you have a link for that? I can’t find one, and I’m sure something that big it would be all over the net.
Thanks.
This was in 1982. You’ll have to check for sources back then. Wikipedia says TV Guide published Anatomy of a Smear.
Maybe it’s the 1985 Westmoreland suit against CBS charging libel? It had to do with a CBS report that “Chesty” and his staff cooked up fake figures on enemy casualties. There’s a Vanderbilt University media library entry on it at http://openweb.tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/1985-1/1985-01-02-CBS-14.html
Superintendent Richard Mitchell is an idiot. To make this for private use and humor is one thing, to post not one but two videos of this on the school district website is plain irresponsible and foolish… bye bye Superintendent Richard Mitchell.
This was pretty fantastic. I wish I was as brave.
The interview was in 1982, and TVGuide’s article was on May 24.
When I first went overseas thirty years ago, local news was one thing I really missed. Now it is one of the things I DON’T miss at all.
Yes, this is a minor scandal. For these local news guys act like they found sex tapes of Condi and GW.
AB CD never links his allegations. Most find them too outlandish to even read.
BTW, Westmoreland dropped the suit before it went to trial after investigation showed 60 Minutes was correct.
I think someone is off their mania meds. And come Wednesday, they will be looking for a new job.
Retraction and apology from CBS. I can’t find any free links to the TV Guide article or the Benjamin Report made by CBS, but I gave you the date and title, and if you want to pay $5, go ahead and read it.
For the love of God, LIGHTEN UP!
This video is more disturbing. These guys edited themselves into a spelling bee competition.
>CBS2
It was their network that did the same thing with 60 Minutes. I think the target was Westmoreland, who sued for libel.
Westmoreland dropped the suit. That means he gave up his libel claim. CBS did apologize, but made no admission of wrong doing, they stood by their facts. The 60 Minutes segment did not do a “cut and paste” job on Westmoreland as is what happened here.
Sounds to me that 60 Minutes was correct about Westmoreland. Actually, the TV Guide was a hatchet job on CBS by the right wing owner of TV Guide.
How about, Although it has become extremely controversial since it was shown in January 1982, it met the general conditions of what a documentary should be: it had rather detailed and thorough research, highly qualified experts on camera with many statements pro and con, and, on balance, quite a good approach to a very difficult topic
…
The network did, however, obtain the compelling statements of a group of mostly unfriendly retired military officers who were involved with the production of intelligence estimates at the time
http://tinyurl.com/zt74l
Significantly, TV Guide never disputed the premise of the program. …
…
According to a report in The American Lawyer, several conservative organizations, such as the Richard Mellon Scaife Foundation, the Olin Foundation, and the Smith Richardson Foundation, financed Westmoreland’s suit in September 1982.
…
[CIA Analyst George] Allen reasserted his support for The Uncounted Enemy as a valid illustration of the larger issue and subsequently used the program as a case study in politicized intelligence.
http://tinyurl.com/447ne
AB CD, there are links out there if you look. But they will seldom confirm outlandish claims.
Yes, and if you keep looking, you will find details about making it look like Westmoreland was answering a different question.