Geography Teacher Caught in Anti-American Rant

This story may be a warning to other high school teachers who wish to use the classroom and its captive audience to rant against the country or politicians - someone may be listening:

An Overland High School teacher who criticized President Bush, capitalism and U.S. foreign policy during his geography class was placed on administrative leave Wednesday afternoon after a student who recorded the session went public with the tape.

In the 20-minute recording, made on an MP3 player, teacher Jay Bennish described capitalism as a system "at odds with human rights." He also said there were "eerie similarities" between what Bush said during his Jan. 28 State of the Union address and "things that Adolf Hitler used to say."

The United States was "probably the single most violent nation on planet Earth," Bennish also said on the tape.

Bennish, who has been part of Overland's social studies faculty since 2000, did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday. Cherry Creek School District officials are investigating the incident, but no disciplinary action has been taken, district spokeswoman Tustin Amole said.

This may spur a couple of reactions - other students being subjected to such rants (and you know there are probably lots of them) may choose to respond with recordings of their own, or teachers will demand an end to all recordings.

I doubt this teacher will be disciplined in any substantive manner. It is a social studies class, after all, and I'm sure there are plenty of people in administrative positions who won't find any fault at all.

UPDATE: From Little Green Footballs, here's the recording of the teacher's rant.

UPDATE 2: Students at the high school protest:

Hundreds of students walked out of Overland High School this morning in protest after a controversy involving a geography teacher and his statements about President Bush.

Many of the students supported the teacher, Jay Bennish, who was placed on paid leave pending an investigation into his comments by the Cherry Creek School District.

"Freedom of speech — Let him teach," students chanted after they streamed out of the school, located at 12400 E. Jewell Ave., and crossed a pedestrian bridge to a park.

Bennish's talk about Bush's State of the Union speech was recorded by a student, Sean Allen, who took it to KOA talk show host Mike Rosen. In the recording, Bennish made a number of comments about Bush, including one in which he said he could be compared to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

But a large number of students who walked out of the Aurora school this morning supported Allen with chants of their own.

"Teach, don't preach," they chanted.

The demonstration was peaceful, and the vast majority of students returned to class without incident. A small group of Bennish supporters stayed in the park, chanting and waving, before eventually heading back to school.

School district officials have said that Bennish's comments were inappropriate and did not include opposing points of view.