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From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com
Organization: American Cybercasting
Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com
Subject: 'Worth 1,000 Classroom Hours'=
Date: Tue, 27 Oct 92 04:30:23 EST
Message-ID: <34.1992Oct27.043023@AmeriCast.com>


 SUPPOSE your child came home from high school with a "Dear
Parent" letter signed by the chairman of the school's social stu-
dies department urging you to permit him or her to join "a
wonderful opportunity for our youngsters to see political actions
from the primary source." Suppose that "primary source" was the
presidential debate in Richmond. "Educationally, this trip is
worth a thousand classroom hours," says the letter. Wouldn't you
let your child go?

 Not sold yet? Suppose the letter went on to assure you that the
trip would be chaperoned by another teacher and a parent, that
bus transportation would be provided and that "the children will
be provided pizza dinner and will tour the city of Richmond prior
to the debate." That might do it for most parents, as it did for
the families of about 40 children at McKinley Senior High School
who received such a letter. But to hear D.C. Council member Harry
Thomas, School Board member Angie Corley and an angry McKinley
High School parent tell it, "The wonderful opportunity to share
in the making of an American saga," as promised in the letter,
turned out to be nothing more than cheap political exploitation
that left the students with hurt feelings, made their parents li-
vid and which, we suspect, would offend most people.

 When the McKinley students were in Richmond, they began to real-
ize that they had been lured there for something other than par-
ticipation in the debate audience. In fact, that was never part
of the plan. One clue: They were handed a flyer that read in part
"OFFICIAL TICKET, Bush-Quayle Debate Watching Party and Victory
Rally. President George Bush will attend the Debate . . . Wide
Screen TVs" TVs? Yes, because the students never reached the hall
where the debate occurred. They were placed in a room across the
street, reportedly with cheering Bush-Quayle supporters, to view
the debate on television. The flyer, which reads: "Paid for by
Bush Quayle '92" also urged them to "Wish the President Well Be-
fore the Big Debate and Welcome Him to Richmond at the Welcoming
Rally: at 3:00 p.m." And to leave no doubt as to which side they
were expected to be on, the students were handed Bush-Quayle
posters to wave.

Recognizing that the trip to Richmond had been grossly
misrepresented, the students, by all accounts, showed good judg-
ment by refusing to be used as props. Instead, they returned to
Washington with heads held high, either out of pocket from spend-
ing their own money for food or underfed, since the promised piz-
zas were gone by the time they arrived. But most of all they were
terribly hurt by being used by strangers who treated them as if
they were nothing more than a backdrop. The school system ack-
nowledges that it should have checked the offer more carefully
before passing it on to the parents. The Bush-Quayle campaign
denies all, saying it has no connection with the bus company of-
ficial who arranged the trip. But some organization was responsi-
ble for this shameful exploitation of District schoolchildren. It
should be called to account.

02:26 10-27C9999-----

Copyright 1992, The Washington Post.  This story is from the
Washington Post's Capitol Edition On-Line and is not to be ar-
chived or redistributed.

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