Personal Comment to RJ’s Peace Studies Comment
Greetings,
As I read RJ’s personal comment on this article, a noticed I had a few comments of my own.
Although I find the opposition to have an incomplete case, I would also be forced to agree that the class would have a heavy teacher bias. The first, and biggest, hole in the students’ argument is that they have not taken the class, and have only observed once. The majority of the students’ information has come from other students, which immediately puts their information under a scrutiny of bias as well. The second biggest hole in their argument was that they called for the immediate end of the class. For those who completely approve of the class, especially the administration, calling for the classes end would be an immediate way for them to just ‘tune out’ or go on the defensive.
It would also be incredibly naïve to claim that the class has no bias at all. If one looks at the history of the teacher, you would notice that he is very liberal. Note that I am not saying this is bad, but it also categorizes many of his arguments and actions. For example, I am sure that the act of having a live turkey in the classroom during school probably broke more than one rule, and disrupted many of the nearby adjacent classrooms. Along the same vein, taking the students to protest the war, along a busy highway, seems, to me, to be not only incredibly left-wing, but also dangerous for the students.
Overall, however, I would agree with the spirit in which RJ makes his claim that our country was ‘founded on the principles that war is justified only when it is waged in the prospect of peace.’ I would have to disagree, however, with his next comment that this argument ‘by assuming that peace is a democratic principle and war is naturally republican.’ First I don’t find any evidence that conclusively proves that these students are republican. Perhaps they dislike the teacher and his methods of teaching. Perhaps the teacher is actually a terrible teacher who dismisses any students who disagree with him. Secondly, I believe that you are confusing Democratic principles with democratic principles and republican principles. This country, by definition, is a republic, not a democracy (recite the last few lines of the pledge of allegiance). The idea that you were getting at is a Republican ideal. Even with that understanding, I would still disagree with the statement, because even though President Bush has convinced the vast majority of the American people to begin the war in Iraq, many people, including a large percentage of Republicans, disapprove of the war now.
Overall, I don’t think that this class is going anywhere, and nor will it expand any time soon. The main reason why this class exists, in my opinion, is that that the teacher is not being paid for his services rendered. Due to this protest, however, the structure of the class might change to provide for a more equal debate during class time.
Websites:
RJ. “Peace Studies Comment.” R.J.’s Blog. http://vellarya.edublogs.org/2006/02/27/peace-studies-comment/>
Aratani, Lori. “Students Call for Banning of Peace Studies Class.” Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/25/AR2006022501235.html?nav%3Drss_education&sub=new>
