Ask Orange County Supt. to Consider Viewing ‘The Cove’ and ‘Blackfish’
26Oct
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A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. – Henry Adams
We wish to extend our congratulations to Orange County Public Schools for winning the Broad Prize for Urban Education. The Broad Prize is the largest education award in the country awarded to urban school districts that have increased student achievement and performance — particularly among low-income students and students of color.
Achieving this milestone is no easy task and Orange County teachers should be rewarded for the dedication they have shown to our future generation. It’s unfortunate that SeaWorld has chosen to honor them this Wednesday October 29th by inviting 10,000 of them for an afternoon at their park.
Teachers have such big powers over a child’s development. A good teacher can influence a whole classroom of kids and push them in the right direction. – “The Influence of Schools on a Child.” — Law & Mind
SeaWorld and Orange County schools already enjoy an existing partnership with SeaWorld. All certified Florida K-12 teachers receive a complimentary annual pass to the park. We understand that the planned event on Wednesday is their reward for their accomplishment, but we would like to ask them, in the name of education, to give equal consideration to the growing public sentiment recognizing the detrimental effects of captivity on sentient cetaceans such as whales and dolphins.
A teacher’s influence reaches far beyond the classroom. – Charlotte A. Wolfe.
We respectfully urge these phenomenal teachers to open their minds to other points of view and to conduct research outside of SeaWorld’s realm. It is no accident that its parks are suffering with low attendance and falling stock prices. The movie ‘Blackfish,’ a startling exposure of SeaWorld parks and the errant literature it presents as education, has fueled international condemnation. Documentaries such as ‘The Cove‘ and ‘A Fall From Freedom,’ have also revealed the extent of marine park deception in capturing cetaceans.
Qui docet discit … He who teaches learns.
As educators, we believe teachers should take all points of view into consideration. Fellow teacher Jane Robinson agrees. Please read her plea to her peers and then join us in asking Orange County Public Schools’ Superintendent Barbara M. Jenkins, to advocate for informed decisions by sharing the above mentioned documentaries with all teachers in Orange County’s public school system.
