Student protestors in Jefferson County (JeffCo), Colorado have walked out of classes this past week, claiming that a reform-minded school board member’s proposal to review the new A.P. U.S. History curriculum (APUSH) intended to censor their views. Last year, however, parents accused a teacher at a JeffCo middle school of presenting only one side of the story on fracking.
As local ABC 7News Denver reported in May of last year, prior to the election of the new reform-minded JeffCo Board of Education, two young activist brothers from Boulder were invited by a teacher from Evergreen Middle School to present their anti-fracking views in their rap tune called, “What the Frack?” It was later discovered, however, that the teacher never had the principal’s permission to invite the brothers, which is against school district policy.
JeffCo School District released a statement that said, “We regret that students only heard one side of the fracking story.”
Some lyrics from “What the Frack?” are as follows:
They’re fracking and they’re cracking the Earth. Is the fracking destruction really worth endangering the future of our awesome planet, with all the children and the animals in it?
Natural gas isn’t the way to go, because if they keep on fracking — the Earth is gonna blow.
Rapper Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, 13, said he and his brothers call themselves the Earth Guardians.
“Our song is called, ‘What the Frack?’ It was a really powerful presentation,” Martinez told 7News. “And the kids really loved it.”
Numerous parents, however, according to CompleteColorado.com, complained to the school’s principal, Kristopher Schuh, that the presentation censored other views of fracking. Schuh’s response was:
Thank you for quickly bringing your valid concerns to my attention. I will continue to presume positive intentions as I meet with our teacher tomorrow to discuss what transpired and ensure that the opposite side of this issue is being clearly and fairly represented. I will also begin a thorough review of the process of vetting a speaker before they are allowed to present to our students.
The school district subsequently decided to distribute pro-oil and gas literature to parents so that families are fully informed on the issue.
Amy Oliver at Independence Institute wrote in December of 2012 that Martinez’s Earth Guardians took charge of the Boulder County Commissioner’s meeting, chanting their anti-fracking rap, “which the adults repeated in a cult-like manner.”
“Then the ‘Earth Guardians,’ seated in chairs reserved for the county commissioners, symbolically voted to ban hydraulic fracturing,” Oliver wrote. “This behavior wasn’t limited to a few rude attendees. Dozens of adults participated and encouraged the children’s inappropriate behavior.”
Student protestors in Jefferson County say they believe a proposal to review an advanced American History curriculum that was developed under the direction of the “architect” of the Common Core standards, David Coleman, is a sign of an intention to censor information that is presented to them. Yet a teacher from their school district censored information on fracking presented to middle school students.
Similarly, as Breitbart News previously reported, Jennifer Raiffie, Watchdog Wire contributor and Mapleton School Board director, observed that another JeffCo middle school teacher, Joseph Cushing, decided to post a hand-made video titled, “F**k You” (above) to his Facebook page, which was visited by his students, that expressed his belief that conservatives and groups that espouse conservative principles, should be censored.