Teacher Says Sun Media Not Reputable

This one jumped out at me as particularly irritating.

From the Toronto Sun...

The Sun won't shine at a private Catholic school in King City, Ontario, where a Grade 10 student was docked 22% off her history assignment for using clippings from this newspaper [Toronto Sun]-- deemed "non-reputable" by her teacher. Jessica Bolzicco, 16, an honour roll student... said her teacher cut the grade on her current affairs assignment from an 87% to a 65% because she used the Toronto Sun as her source. Students were asked to bring in three clippings from "newspapers of repute."

How would an honour roll student not realize that the Sun has no intellectual merit on any topic? And using the same source on one project is hardly sound. While the teacher engaged in sort of a knee jerk reaction, its pretty easy to understand why. But, it would make a good teaching opportunity to have the students discuss the Sun stories and understand exactly why it has no repute.

Principal Paul Paradiso admitted the Sun has a good reputation for news coverage but fails from a "moral point of view" due to its SUNshine Girl and Boy. (The SUNshine Boy has not appeared in the paper since last September.)

No they don't have a good reputation for news coverage. But they do make a considerable income off sex trade advertising, while at the same time constantly soap boxing about morality issues. In the bigger picture, is'nt that weirder than a picture of a girl in a bikini?

So what really does the Catholic teacher object to? Maybe by non-reputable they just mean that there are pictures of girls in bikinis, but otherwise they accept the Sun's ultra right-wing content.

Sun Editor-in-Chief Jim Jennings said he was appalled by Jessica's story. "It's ridiculous that a history teacher would censor a student who brings in clippings," he said. "I thought education was about the exchange of ideas, but what do I know -- I only have a PhD."

Education is about the exchange of ideas. The Sun is not. Thats the point. And who cares if the editor has a PhD? I don't even want to know what that guy wrote his thesis on. The kids in that class probably need to be prepared for University where they sure as hell won't be citing the Toronto Sun in their research.

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