This is the fourth installment of the continuing story of a complaint that a high school teacher who teaches conspiracy theory and Leftist bilge when he is supposed to be teaching U.S. History II.
In Part 1, Failing A Teacher, I described the elements of the complaint based on a student's report of what transpired during the school year in a classroom where U.S. History II was supposed to be being taught. Part 2, Failing A Teacher described a phone conversation I had with the retiring principal of the high school where this problem exists. In Part 3, I presented a redacted copy of a letter to the school superintendent when it became evident the principal had no intention of conducting a proper investigation and was just trying to run out the clock on the school year.
What follows in this latest installment is a redacted version of a follow-up email message to the superintendent. It was primarily sent to respond to the superintendent's statement that he was not getting 100% agreement to the allegations in his student interviews.
During our phone conversation, you indicated not every student you had interviewed to date agreed with the whole list of allegations.
I wanted to make the point that corroboration will be somewhat dependent upon:
(1) who was in attendance when the alleged behavior occurred,
(2) of those in attendance, who was paying attention during the alleged behavior,
(3) of those in attendance and paying attention, the degree of resistance to getting "involved" some students will have, and
(4) whether or not a student's views resonate with the teacher's (maturity issue).
As someone who was an analyst for most of my career and who has studied rational process, I believe it is important to understand that you do not need 100% corroboration (or anything close) to establish the veracity of the allegations. In fact, ANY corroboration means more than the existence of some who may not ... or can not ... corroborate. So, say, if only 20% of interviewees are able to corroborate the allegations (or a substantial portion of them), then that could be a sufficient basis upon which to conclude confirmation (unless one believes there is a conspiracy against Mr. Rabbitt).
Finally, I personally believe the allegations regarding showing material from Loose Change and Fahrenheit 9/11 are the most egregious as both represent thoroughly discredited material that has absolutely no place in a high school classroom on U.S. History II. I believe Mr. R's confirmation that he used such material is sufficient to justify appropriate actions to safeguard students from exposure to such material should Mr. R continue as a member of the teaching staff.
Quite frankly, with these new findings, I believe R's history of previous inappropriate classroom behavior more than justifies action to remove him entirely.
While I haven't raised the issue before, are you aware of Mr. R's teaching history prior to coming to [redacted] High School ... and why he was removed from his previous position? Frankly, if what I have learned is true, I'm astounded he was hired in the first place. There was a day when teaching excellence was the standard at [redacted] High School.
I appreciate your continuing efforts to address this very important issue.
Author of "Looking Out the Window", an evidence-based examination of the "climate change" issue, Bob Webster, is a 12th-generation descendent of both the Darte family (Connecticut, 1630s) and the Webster family (Massachusetts, 1630s). He is a descendant of Daniel Webster's father, Revolutionary War patriot Ebenezer Webster, who served with General Washington. Bob has always had a strong interest in early American history, our Constitution, U.S. politics, and law. Politically he is a constitutional republican with objectivist and libertarian roots. He has faith in the ultimate triumph of truth and reason over deception and emotion. He is a strong believer in our Constitution as written and views the abandonment of constitutional restraint by the regressive Progressive movement as a great danger to our Republic. His favorite novel is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and believes it should be required reading for all high school students so they can appreciate the cost of tolerating the growth of unconstitutional crushingly powerful central government. He strongly believes, as our Constitution enshrines, that the interests of the individual should be held superior to the interests of the state.
A lifelong interest in meteorology and climatology spurred his strong interest in science. Bob earned his degree in Mathematics at Virginia Tech, graduating in 1964.