Devil's advocate, I remember being taught it was illegal to let the flag get *wet.*

[demiurgent]

A social studies teacher named Dan Holden burned two American flags in front of his seventh grade social studies class. He didn't do it out of protest, or anger. He did it raise issues in class about freedom of speech. He assigned papers to the class, who were supposed to take a stand, in favor of protecting his speech or in favor of protecting the flag from desecration.

He did this thing to make the subject immediate and poignant -- not just another drab class discussion about an issue that feels at best remote and hypothetical to twelve year old kids. Which is remarkable, when one considers Holden was a veteran teacher, going into his twenty-seventh year at that school. A lot of teachers going into their twenty-seventh school year would just do what worked last year.

He has now been suspended, pending investigations of the "incident." The school has cited 'safety concerns' about open flame, which is thinly disguised dressing over the real issue at hand: the fact that he burned a flag.

Here's what I feel on the subject: Dan Holden wanted to make several points to his class. He wanted to teach them about freedom of speech most of all.

Well, I think it's safe to say those seventh graders have had an education in freedom of speech. I think every day their substitute teacher walks through the door of the class they're reminded of what Dan Holden taught them about freedom of speech.

Comments

[demiurgent.livejournal.com]

Not necessarily. He was very careful not to say the act itself was right or wrong -- he wanted the kids to think, and he wanted them to learn.

That said, Kelsey Adwell was a sixth grader, which is to say a year too young to have been in his class.