Social Studies teacher tells female graduates to stay home and make babies

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Timshel

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friend...l-graduation-we-dont-need-more-women-as-ceos/

On June 2nd, Peter Heck, a social studies teacher at Eastern High School in Greentown, Indiana, gave a controversial commencement speech at the school’s graduation ceremony. Among other things, he made several comments about female students’ future responsibilities regarding work and family:


Peter Heck



Ladies, I challenge you to a life of rebellion. To recognize that your body is a temple that is deserving of honor, not indiscretion. I challenge you to be women of virtue, finding beauty not in how many unprincipled men you can attract, but rather finding beauty in modesty and self-respect. I challenge you to devote yourself to family, to your children.


​
If you choose to have a career, God’s blessings upon you, but I challenge you to recognize what the world scoffs at… that your greatest role of your life will be that of wife and mother. That the greatest impact you will ever contribute to our world is a loving and devoted investment into the lives of your precious children. To solve the problems plaguing our society, we don’t need more women as CEOs, we need more women as invested mothers.http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friend...l-graduation-we-dont-need-more-women-as-ceos/​
 
I have more respect for a devoted mother than a CEO, but I believe motherhood is not for everyone and I believe its a perfectly acceptable choice to be a working mother. Someone has to take care of children but there are many ways to accomplish a healthy happy family...

The woman staying home is one choice, the man staying home is another, the grandparents caring for the kids during the day is another.... In my family we have a long term loving and caring nanny who fills the gaps.
 
Aoxomoxoa said:
Are you suggesting that there should be a political commissar in every school just like they used to have in Soviet Russia?
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Generally speeches at graduations are reviewed by school officials. At least when I graduated they were.

they don't want to get sued; and they don't want speakers to say inappropriate things. Maybe they just reviewed the student speeches, not the teacher speeches.
 
This guy is an idiot, somebody tell this knuckle dragger that more woman graduate college than men now days.
 
tekkychick said:
Generally speeches at graduations are reviewed by school officials. At least when I graduated they were.

they don't want to get sued; and they don't want speakers to say inappropriate things. Maybe they just reviewed the student speeches, not the teacher speeches.
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It's funny because the content, although somewhat clumsy put, was not much different from what Arianna Stassinopoulos used to say when she was in England back in the seventies. She was a hate figure for the left as she had the temerity to say that there is nothing wrong with not wanting a career and preferring to raise children instead. Of course after that she went to the US and reinvented herself as Arianna Huffington.

 
Ariana also used to be Republican; she's changed a lot over the years.

There IS nothing wrong with a man or woman choosing to stay home with their kids if that's what they prefer and if their partner agrees to it and they can afford it. That's what feminism is all about - choices; people doing what works for them (given physical and economic constraints, of course)

Among the things that were wrong with this speech -
> addressing it just to females
> the whole "body is a temple" thing implying women who have sex are "dirty". No, they aren't.
> Beauty in "modesty and self-respect"? Puh-lease. Why not beauty in intellect? beauty in creative skills? beauty in being a capable person?
> The world scoffs at careers? BS. Usually said by men to cut down on competition in the marketplace
> He implies that stay at home moms are better at taking care of children than moms who go to work. The many children of working parents would probably debate this.
> We don't need more women as CEOs? BS. Maybe if we had more women as CEOs, women would be paid better; men who want to take family leave to be home with their children wouldn't feel "lessened"; maybe we'd have more day care opportunities - better quality, more affordable, open more hours; maybe- it's possible - we'd have companies that cared about kids along with profits. Can't guarantee that, of course; I'm sure female CEOs can be just as jerky as male CEOs.

He's a sexist jerk...given this is a school function and he is a teacher, there might be those in the audience who thought he was spouting the school's official stance on women. I hope he wasn't.

The linked article in the original post gives a good explanation of why his speech was incredibly wrong for a public school graduation.

And again - there is nothing wrong with ANYONE wanting to stay home with their kids - if they can afford it. But stuff happens; and that man who stayed home with his kids while his wife was a corporate lawyer - if she dies, he's left having to fend for himself and the kids. I strongly recommend to everyone that they have the skills they need to support themselves and their family, even if at the moment the partner is able to support the family. Sickness, death, divorce happen.

I wonder how this speaker feels about single moms home with their kids living on welfare and food stamps? Since they are fulfilling their "greatest role" according to him, is he ok with taxpayers supporting them?
 
tekkychick said:
Ariana also used to be Republican; she's changed a lot over the years.

There IS nothing wrong with a man or woman choosing to stay home with their kids if that's what they prefer and if their partner agrees to it and they can afford it. That's what feminism is all about - choices; people doing what works for them (given physical and economic constraints, of course)

Among the things that were wrong with this speech -
> addressing it just to females
> the whole "body is a temple" thing implying women who have sex are "dirty". No, they aren't.
> Beauty in "modesty and self-respect"? Puh-lease. Why not beauty in intellect? beauty in creative skills? beauty in being a capable person?
> The world scoffs at careers? BS. Usually said by men to cut down on competition in the marketplace
> He implies that stay at home moms are better at taking care of children than moms who go to work. The many children of working parents would probably debate this.
> We don't need more women as CEOs? BS. Maybe if we had more women as CEOs, women would be paid better; men who want to take family leave to be home with their children wouldn't feel "lessened"; maybe we'd have more day care opportunities - better quality, more affordable, open more hours; maybe- it's possible - we'd have companies that cared about kids along with profits. Can't guarantee that, of course; I'm sure female CEOs can be just as jerky as male CEOs.

He's a sexist jerk...given this is a school function and he is a teacher, there might be those in the audience who thought he was spouting the school's official stance on women. I hope he wasn't.

The linked article in the original post gives a good explanation of why his speech was incredibly wrong for a public school graduation.

And again - there is nothing wrong with ANYONE wanting to stay home with their kids - if they can afford it. But stuff happens; and that man who stayed home with his kids while his wife was a corporate lawyer - if she dies, he's left having to fend for himself and the kids. I strongly recommend to everyone that they have the skills they need to support themselves and their family, even if at the moment the partner is able to support the family. Sickness, death, divorce happen.

I wonder how this speaker feels about single moms home with their kids living on welfare and food stamps? Since they are fulfilling their "greatest role" according to him, is he ok with taxpayers supporting them?
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Hear, hear! Fantastic post.
 
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