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View Full Version : WRITING A WRONG-Sixth Graders write Hate letters to U.S. Troops



onlyamarine
02-22-05, 03:20 PM
I think this is pretty bogus of people to do this. No 6th Grader in the right mind could think of stuff like this. I feel the teacher instructed them and coached them to write this. What do You all think? Makes me sick that teachers use their students to display their own political agenda. It makes me sick to say that people that run their mouth who have no military background are ignorant.

OnlyAMarine-AMarine

By DAVID ANDREATTA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


February 22, 2005 -- The city Department of Education, red-faced over Brooklyn sixth-graders who slammed a GI with demoralizing anti-Iraq-war letters as part of a school assignment, will send the 20-year-old private a letter of apology today.
Deputy Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina, who has a nephew serving in Iraq, plans to personally contact Pfc. Rob Jacobs and his family, said department spokeswoman Michele McManus Higgins.

"She knows how difficult it is to have a loved one in a war zone," Higgins said.

Jacobs is stationed 10 miles from the North Korean border and who has been told he may be headed to Iraq in the near future.

The GI got the ranting missives last month from pint-sized pen pals at JHS 51 in Park Slope.

Filled with political diatribes, the letters — excerpts of which were printed in yesterday's Post — predicted GIs would die by the tens of thousands, accused soldiers of killing Iraqi civilians and bashed President Bush.

Teacher Alex Kunhardt had his students write Jacobs as part of a social-studies assignment.



He declined to comment yesterday on whether he read the rants before passing them along, but said he planned to contact Jacobs soon to explain the situation.

In an accompanying letter to Jacobs, Kunhardt had written that the students "come from a variety of backgrounds and political beliefs, but unanimously support the bravery and sacrifice of American soldiers around the world."

"Support" was not the word that came to Jacobs' mind when he read the letters.

One girl wrote that she believes Jacobs is "being forced to kill innocent people" and challenged him to name an Iraqi terrorist, concluding, "I know I can't."

Another girl wrote, "I strongly feel this war is pointless," while a classmate predicted that because Bush was re-elected, "only 50 or 100 [soldiers] will survive."

A boy accused soldiers of "destroying holy places like mosques."

Even one kid smitten with soldiers couldn't keep politics out of the picture, writing, "I find that many extreme liberals are disrespectful to you."

Uplifting letters from children are dear to soldiers, Jacobs said. He looks at a batch he got from a Girl Scout troop from his hometown of Middletown, N.J., whenever he feels lonely.

At the time the 21 JHS 51 letters were penned, Jacobs, who has been stationed in Korea for nearly a year, was told that he may be headed to Iraq. But no official order for deployment was given.

"If I were in Iraq and read that the youth of our nation doesn't want me to be there and doesn't believe in what I'm doing, it would mess up my head," Jacobs said.

Jacobs said he would welcome a letter from the Department of Education and the teacher.

"I want to think these letters were coached by the teacher or the parents of these children," Jacobs said in an interview from Camp Casey, Korea.

"It boggles my mind that children could think this stuff."

USMCrow
02-22-05, 03:43 PM
Part of me is so p*ssed off with this type of sh*t that I could go to NJ and start kneecapping teachers and parents!
But, after a moment of reflection, we all know that our military fights for the right for these people to bellyache and cast aspersions at those of us who have fought for our country. There's not much we can do about these crybabies except let all those who are serving or are thinking of serving know that our jobs may not be the most popular but they are the most important

Osotogary
02-22-05, 03:47 PM
Alot of this .....may start at home, sometimes just by the parents being indifferent.

jinelson
02-22-05, 03:52 PM
I feel better knowing that at least the shcool district brass will be personally apologizing to the young Pfc. And the teacher well I seriously doubt will have a good enough explaination to ease this poor kids hurt.

Toby M
02-22-05, 04:25 PM
Back in 1969, I received a letter and class picture from a sixth grade class in NYC. All the kids signed their names and wished me, not only Merry Christmas but good luck and all if not most conveyed their prayers for me and others I was with. I still have that letter and picture...The letter made me feel like not all America was against me. I felt like there was still hope.
This teacher needs to be either re-trained or fired. An apology is the very least the school can do...

Patty_McOorah
02-22-05, 05:11 PM
When I was over in the Iraqi Conflict in Spring 2003, I got a showbox of letters from a 7th grade class. I felt so great after reading them, I personally took the time to write each and every one of them back. I am glad to see that the school is being quick to rectify this problem, but an investigation should also insue. It is pretty low to use children like that to face a political agenda, even to a Marine PFC. Especially people from that neck of the woods, isn't that pretty much where the 9/11 attacks took place? If I were a young kid their age when that happened, I am pretty sure I would be pretty p*ssed off at terrorists and support everything that our troops are doing.

THATFEMALE
02-22-05, 07:31 PM
This is the kind of stuff that I'm talking about. This really ****es me off. I think that the teacher should be reprimanded. Alot of people feel like the war has gone on long enough so they're trying to come up with new ways to pass on their beliefs. To do it through the youth is downright low. Especially when some of "our youth" are over there fighting. Sometimes the people in my awesome country make me so freakin sick. Stay up Marines and remember that there still are people back home who support you. Semper FI. :marine:

GunnyL
02-22-05, 08:36 PM
The problem is that our schools are becoming liberal cesspools. We need to start taking them back and getting rid of these maggots passing themselves off as teachers.
I've got two kids getting ready to start school and if this crap ever happens in one of my kids classes, I'll string the teacher up on the blackboard, in this case, by his balls!

GunnyL

Arlene Horton
02-22-05, 08:37 PM
That's the most disgussting thing I ever read. After all our young, brave fighting men & women are in that flea-bitten sandbox trying to make a decent place for the Iraqi people to live that some brainless teacher no doubt influenced those kids to do something like that just makes me sick. Every one of our kids that are killed inthat Godforsken hole don't need something like that. I, for one, am extremely proud of our troops and hope and pray that that Pfc is given the apology he richly deserves. Semper Fi...
Arlene

Nagalfar
02-22-05, 10:21 PM
Being a dad the first thing that comes to mind is where the HELL are the parents of these kids? no complaints? no one cares? to quote my wife "I would be wearing that *****es guts for garters" (yea she's Australian lol).. no one goes face to face with JHS 51 teacher, Alex Kunhardt? ... IF these were anti-gay letters that teacher would be lookin for a new job of that there is no doubt.. and just in case any of us feel like letter our motivations be known.. here is some contact info I dug up..

JHS51
350 5TH AVENUE
BROOKLYN, NY 11215
Tel: (718) 369-7603
Fax: (718) 499-4948

Local Instructional Superintendent: Alison Sheehan
(718) 935-3686
Parent Coordinator:
Audrey Komaroff
(347) 563-5371

Old Marine
02-23-05, 07:53 AM
Just goes to show what kind of supposed educators we have in our school systems today. I used to be against home schooling, but if I had school age children today, it would be home school and reading, writing and arithmetic.

HardJedi
02-23-05, 08:32 AM
well, this is yet one more reason I am on a quest to become a teacher. I promise, none of that kinda crap will EVER go on in MY classroom.

heck, I'd probably get fired if it even heppened at a school I worked at. I'd be hard pressed not to walk down the hall and smack that jerk-off in the head a few times.

yellowwing
02-23-05, 08:50 AM
Deputy Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina, who has a nephew serving in Iraq, plans to personally contact Pfc. Rob Jacobs and his family, said department spokeswoman Michele McManus Higgins...Teacher Alex Kunhardt...declined to comment yesterday

You can bet he was ordered from up above to keep his mouth shut!

I hope the school board sends him more than an apology, some token like ballistic googles or something.

USMC-FO
02-23-05, 11:13 AM
This is appalling and in unbelievably bad taste! I simply can't believe these kids were not heavily coached by this teacher or someone in authority at the school. My son is in the 6th grade and he would never participate in anything like this--and if he was encouraged to do so you can bet I would hear about it.

I would hope the school and the NYC school committee will get to the bottom of this. I am going to write and encourage them to do just that.

In my book if Kunhardt is behind this he should be fired.

d c taveapont
02-23-05, 09:56 PM
"KIDS". ya can't kill them and ya can't live without them....Really what needs to be done is GET some of YOUR conservatives to become teachers. Simple enough. :)