Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading.
Thank you for visiting the Daily Journal. We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
Your current subscription does not provide access to this content.
Support the Peninsula’s only locally-owned newspaper. Subscribe!
Subscribing annually brings you big savings. We also offer monthly and weekly subscriptions.
Premium Subscription
As low as $8.25 per week
Premium Includes:
-- Access to the Daily Journal’s e-Edition: a digital replica of our daily newspaper including crossword puzzles, games, comics, classifieds and ads. You can download a digital replica of the Daily Journal for offline reading. You can also clip & download articles or images from the e-edition to share with others The most recent 90 issues are available at any given time.
-- Unlimited access to our award-winning online content
-- Commenting access on all stories as a valued member of the DJ community
-- NEW! Access to our online-only digital crossword puzzle. A new puzzle every day, seven days a week!
| Rate | Price | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Year | $99.00 | for 365 days |
| 1 Month | $20.00 | for 30 days |
| 1 Week | $8.25 | for 7 days |
Support the Peninsula’s only locally-owned newspaper. Subscribe!
Subscribing annually brings you big savings. We also offer monthly and weekly subscriptions.
DJ Basic Subscription
As low as $5 per month
Basic includes:
-- Unlimited access to our award-winning online content
-- Commenting access on all stories as a valued member of the DJ community
What you're missing -- Additional features available only with the Premium level:
-- Access to the Daily Journal’s e-Edition: a digital replica of our daily newspaper including crossword puzzles, games, comics, classifieds and ads. You can download a digital replica of the Daily Journal for offline reading. You can also clip & download articles or images from the e-edition to share with others The most recent 90 issues are available at any given time.
-- NEW! Access to our online-only digital crossword puzzle. A new puzzle every day, seven days a week!
All for as low as $8.25 per month.
| Rate | Price | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Year | $60.00 | for 365 days |
| 1 Month | $12.00 | for 30 days |
| 1 Week | $5.00 | for 7 days |
Editor,
Last week Charlie Kirk, a conservative influencer who holds conversations on college campuses was brutally assassinated at Utah Valley University in front of thousands of onlookers and his family. President Trump issued a proclamation directing that flags at all public buildings be flown at half-staff in honor of Kirk’s memory, a type of order issued routinely by presidents in the wake of national tragedies.
On Friday, some Burlingame High School teachers held a protest in front of the school in which they wore black, waved signs and handed out political literature to students filled with misinformation about Charlie Kirk.
Teachers should be in the business of teaching and encouraging critical thinking, not trying to indoctrinate students with their political views. The teacher/student power imbalance should mean teachers rarely if ever express personal political opinions. Imagine being a conservative leaning student in the district — would you feel comfortable speaking up for your beliefs knowing your teachers are protesting the honoring of a man killed for having conversations?
Most of our students saw Kirk’s murder on social media. Watching this kind of violence on their phones is damaging to the psyche of young minds. Almost worse, many left leaning people have justified and even celebrated his murder on their platforms. Do students in the district who share Kirk’s views have to worry that their teachers want them dead? In the past, schools have offered support and grief counseling in the wake of such events, however, there has been zero word from SMUHSD in this regard.
“When people stop talking, that’s when you get violence. That’s when civil war happens, because you start to think the other side is so evil and they lose their humanity.” — Charlie Kirk.
Michelle Koskella
Burlingame
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
(5) comments
Thank goodness we have Michelle, @womenarereals (on X) and Erin Friday Esq in our area to fight for the rights of girls and women. Title IX now and forever. Thanks to their hard work our County is attracting attention from the DOJ and the US Secretary of Education.
Thanks for your letter, Ms. Koskella relating what is occurring in our neck of the woods. Perhaps we should expose these teachers to the sunlight - identify and begin scraping social media accounts of the teachers involved and of students who have pictures of the teachers involved and contact their bosses and their bosses. Up to the top. Perhaps we can get the same response as they’re doing in Texas (https://x.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/1967686867689902503).
If Newsom doesn’t do the right thing (and I’m quite sure he won’t) let’s have parents and supporting organizations use the tactic of today – lawfare against schools. I know public education has one of the biggest wallets. Remember, when people show us who they are – believe them. These teacher activists should enjoy the same result as those in Texas will - unemployment. Maybe we can contact the feds to see if they can withhold money from these schools.
I want to express my full support for the concerns you’ve raised. The assassination of Charlie Kirk was a horrifying act of political violence. Teachers should foster students’ ability to think critically and engage with the world, not to use their authority to advance personal political agendas. As you point out, the imbalance of power between teacher and student makes it especially important that educators create an environment where all students feel safe to express their perspectives, without fear of being judged or silenced.
Ms Koskella - Wonderful, well written, important article. Thank you! Also, along similar lines, there are still schools in California that allow teachers to fly pride and black lives matter flags in the school rooms. Here is another example of teachers being allowed to express political positions which should not be allowed in the classrooms.
Thank you Lou. It is interesting, the principal claims the teachers are not allowed to express political opinions in the classroom. But I would also argue as you are saying that the flags and posters I see in my son's classrooms: BLM, Pride, "Trans Rights are Human Rights", various climate change related signs... are all political. To her credit the principal did make the most activist teacher remove his "Free Palestine" posters.
I had a great conversation with my teen son about this last night. He thinks that a poster saying "Black Lives Matter" is not political. I said that while almost no one would argue with the premise- that the lives of black people matter- the BLM organization is a political one with dubious goals such as defunding the police.
The tragic murder of Charlie Kirk has led to nuanced and thoughtful conversations in my home- I am glad my son doesn't think in memes and soundbites. Let's all keep the conversation going!
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.