FT> You were commenting on the visit of 12 year old Iqbal Masih to 
FT> an American classroom I believe:
FT>  
FT>  MS>     Guilt-tripping a captive audience of students is a 
FT>  MS> totally inappropriate use of public schools and public 
FT>  MS> school students.
FT> 
FT> What guilt tripping?  Severe abuse of child labor is a _very_ serious 
FT> problem.  Little people who don't see the larger picture and are only 
FT> concerned with amassing wealth - no mater the means - of course are 
FT> not concerned; as you have evidenced they even get upset at raising 
FT> concious awareness (educating) about any such situation.
    Taxpayers pay for public schools to teach _literacy_ skills and job 
skills, not to "raise consciousness" on behalf of political causes of any 
kind.
FT>  MS>     If public schools are to keep the allegiance of the 
FT>  MS> public, they can't afford to be places promoting trendy 
FT>  MS> causes to a captive audience of guilt-tripped students. 
FT> 
FT> Teachers are not these small people, Matt.  It's their responsibility 
FT> to introduce their students to a broad variety of experiences and 
FT> to encourage the children to develop critical thinking skills on 
FT> these 
FT> issues.  ...not to indoctrinate but rather to teach them how to 
FT> evaluate 
FT> for themselves.
    Parents of public-school kids locally see many activities as 
"indoctrination"...particularly when the ideologically-charged stuff is 
invariably left-wing.  Anger over that cost the Guilford County Schools the 
last bond referendum by a 2-1 margin.
--- Simplex BBS (v1.07.00Beta [DOS])
---------------