Denver Students Walk Out Of School In Protest

Denver area students walk out of school in protest


Students protest outside of Ralston Valley High School, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014, in Arvada, Colo.

ARVADA, Colo. (AP) — Hundreds of students walked out of classrooms around suburban Denver on Tuesday in protest over a conservative-led school board proposal to focus history education on topics that promote citizenship, patriotism and respect for authority, in a show of civil disobedience that the new standards would aim to downplay.

The youth protest involving six high schools in the state's second-largest school district follows a sick-out from teachers that shut down two high schools in the politically and economically diverse area that has become a key political battleground.

Student participants said their demonstration was organized by word of mouth and social media. Many waved American flags and carried signs, including messages that read "There is nothing more patriotic than protest."

"I don't think my education should be censored. We should be able to know what happened in our past," said Tori Leu, a 17-year-old student who protested at Ralston Valley High School in Arvada.

The school board proposal that triggered the walkouts in Jefferson County calls for instructional materials that present positive aspects of the nation and its heritage. It would establish a committee to regularly review texts and course plans, starting with Advanced Placement history, to make sure materials "promote citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free-market system, respect for authority and respect for individual rights" and don't "encourage or condone civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law."

The proposal from Julie Williams, part of the board's conservative majority, has not been voted on and was put on hold last week. She didn't return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment Tuesday, but previously told Chalkbeat Colorado, a school news website, that she recognizes there are negative events that are part of U.S. history that need to be taught.


Students protest outside of Ralston Valley High School, Sept. 23, 2014, in Arvada, Colo.

"There are things we may not be proud of as Americans," she said. "But we shouldn't be encouraging our kids to think that America is a bad place."

A student demonstrator, Tyrone G. Parks, a senior at Arvada High School, said Tuesday that the nation's foundation was built on civil protests, "and everything that we've done is what allowed us to be at this point today. And if you take that from us, you take away everything that America was built off of."

The proposal comes from an elected board with three conservative members who took office in November. The other two board members were elected in 2011 and oppose the new plan, which was drafted in response to a national framework for teaching history that supporters say encourages discussion and critical thinking. Detractors, however, say it puts an outsize emphasis on the nation's problems.

Tension over high school education has cropped up recently in Texas, where conservative school board officials are facing criticism over new textbooks. Meanwhile, in South Carolina, conservatives have called on an education oversight committee to ask the College Board, which oversees Advanced Placement courses, to rewrite their framework to make sure there is no ideological bias.

The College Board says the outline provides a balanced view of American history, and officials plan clarify instructions to teachers to make that clear by the end of the month.

Participating students were not punished, school district spokeswoman Lynn Setzer said. They will receive unexcused absences unless their parents call to relay permission for missed classes, Setzer said.

Superintendent Dan McMinimee has met with some of the students and renewed his offer to continue discussions on the issue. "I respect the right of our students to express their opinions in a peaceful manner," he said. "I do, however, prefer that our students stay in class."

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The school board proposal that triggered the walkouts in Jefferson County calls for instructional materials that present positive aspects of the nation and its heritage. It would establish a committee to regularly review texts and course plans, starting with Advanced Placement history, to make sure materials "promote citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free-market system, respect for authority and respect for individual rights" and don't "encourage or condone civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law."

This is news worthy? You know how many times we protested in school by diserting, occupying, etc...lol. Happens all the time.

Dean of our highschool was a fascist lol, we always had something to protest about!

My eyes glaze out at SJWs on Tumblr shitting up liberalism and equally too do my eyes do cartwheels at this revisionist, nativist, jingost garbage.

Yeah, who cares what will actually be on the AP exam, lets have students learn only what "feels good".

Good for the students.

Good on these kids.

I have a hard time dealing with the idea of censoring history, especially for students at a young age. In part because there's a lot of things our country has done in the past that would make one disgusted with the actions committed. So having that information taught at a young age could skew young one's minds about their country. On the flip side~ they are the actions of the past and they are things that we should learn about so we don't repeat them in the future.

The thing is, you believe this revisionist ***then go to college and WHAM-O you get laughed at by your professor who drops some truth bombs on you that America wasn't this perfect nation and that slavery, jim crow, native american massacres did happen.

Then you either retreat into your shell or relized you got played like a damn fiddle.

I have a hard time dealing with the idea of censoring history, especially for students at a young age. In part because there's a lot of things our country has done in the past that would make one disgusted with the actions committed. So having that information taught at a young age could skew young one's minds about their country. On the flip side~ they are the actions of the past and they are things that we should learn about so we don't repeat them in the future.

Or worse, you don't continue on with education, and continue to believe that what was taught to you in school accurately depicted reality, and use that as a basis for your decision making for the rest of your life.

I think when you lie to kids and then when they find out (especially in this instance) you create more distrust and division between adults and minors.

But this instance isn't what I would term a yound age. AP American history is junior or senior year (at my school it was) which is 16-18 years old.

I just remember some students went semi hysterical when they found out that japanese people in the US were thrown into internment/concentration camps during ww2 and other bits of historical fact.

16-18? I watched a video about Japanese internment camps at like 12-13 tops. We watched roots at liek 14-15. Needed permission slips too. That ***was some tough watching at that age too. We saw the miracle of childbirth video around 15-16 iirc. People need to stop coddling kids so young and expose them to some reality as they approach puberty.

Your country isn't perfect, we aren't perfect, here's some challenging content that will keep you interested in school rather than this boring *** dry survey approach to US history. Maybe kids wouldn't be so bored in class if we told them more about the dark underbelly of our history.

Yes, we massacred the *** out of the natives, robbed them of your land and this school was built on top of a native american burial ground. Word has it that warriors prowl the halls at night, passing through lockers looking for home. Wanna see what a scalping looks like?

Ok, that may be a bit much~

The Taliban's proposal that triggered the walkouts in Afghanistan calls for instructional materials that present positive aspects of the Taliban and its heritage. It would establish a committee to regularly review texts and course plans, starting with Advanced Placement history, to make sure materials "promote Wahabi Islam, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the Taliban Islamic system, respect for authority and respect for individual rights" and don't "encourage or condone civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law."

Or would someone expect a Taliban/Al Qaeda plan to indoctrinate and brainwash the masses to read like "DIRKA DIRKA DIRKA!!"

We read Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee and various other stuff too.

Did Jet's video mention this?

Otherwise I can't see where anyone brought up the Taliban...

Did Jet's video mention this?

Otherwise I can't see where anyone brought up the Taliban...