Hatboro-Horsham HS Responds To Fox News Attack On Russell Brand Video

Hatboro-Horsham High School has responded in defense of one of its teachers who was criticized on Fox News for showing comedian Russell Brand’s video to students.

The controversy started in April when Dan Price, the CEO of a Seattle-based credit card processing company called Gravity, drastically cut his own salary so that he could raise the minimum wage for all employees to $70k per year.

“What you see is inequality in this country,” Price said on Fox News. “And it’s getting bigger and bigger and bigger. And when government needs to step in to raise the minimum wage, that’s a failure on our part to self-regulate.”

The move drew ire from the Fox News program “Cashin In,” which labeled him a ”socialist” and self-promoter.

“I think he’s a second-hander...who needs other people to like him,” guest Jonathan Hoenig said on the show. “It’s almost like he’s saying to his employees, ‘you’re not worth this amount of money, but I feel so bad for my success that I’m going to quote share the wealth.’”

“If he wants to do this between hugging trees, then, ya know, good for him,” another guest, Lisa Boothe, said.

Next came Brand’s Youtube response to the initial Fox News piece, entitled “Should You Be Paid As Much As Your Boss?”

“It’s difficult to ignore the fact that Dan Price looks a lot like Jesus,” Brand says in the video, citing Price’s ”Christ-like move of overcoming the prevailing ideology of the time, and doing something kind and sweet.”

When Fox News contributor Michelle Fields’ said that providing the raise sent the wrong message to the employees of Gravity, and that they should go out and “improve their skill set,” Brand mimicked her words as barbaric.

“We’re a mongol hoard rampaging through society and if you can’t survive, then tough luck,” he said. “Welcome to America!”

That’s when Hatboro-Horsham High School took note of the debate, and showed Brand’s video in a sociology class to underscore the often virulent public discourse on poverty and the minimum wage.

“The (class) was focused on the definition and social conception of poverty in America as a part of the unit on Social Class Stratification,” principal Dennis Williams later responded in a statement defending the use of the video. “The videos used in class were included to engage students in the use of the Sociological Imagination, which is primary standard and critical in the study of sociology and its very definition explains the nature of sociology and its relevance in everyday life.”

Fox News and the commenters on ”Cashin’ In” did not accept the merits of the video.

“You wonder why our culture is falling apart? This is why our culture is falling apart,” Hoenig said in a follow-up segment.

Host Eric Bolling alleges that a student from Hatboro-Horsham contacted the show to complain about the use of material in the class.

“People are constantly complaining about the school systems in America,” Fields said. “Maybe it’s because we have liberal teachers.”

But Hatboro-Horsham stood by the class and the teaching materials, saying they expressed a nuanced perspective on current events.

Fox News posted the complete response from the high school online:

After speaking with the teacher of record, reviewing the lesson plan and the content of the video, as a high school and as a district we are very comfortable with the multimedia supplemental resource used. We allow our teachers the flexibility and freedom to use public domain materials (within reason) that align to the core content of a course, provided they meet specific criteria.

The Sociology lesson that you are referring to was focused on the definition and social conception of poverty in America as a part of the unit on Social Class Stratification. The two videos used in class were included to engage students in the use of the Sociological Imagination, which is primary standard and critical in the study of sociology and its very definition explains the nature of sociology and its relevance in everyday life.

The clips that have apparently raised concern were selected to illustrate cultural notions and stigmatized portrayals of poverty. Below, I have provided insight into both clips you referenced.

The Daily Show segment includes video from Fox News and MSNBC programs that describe the poor as unworthy takers of support from the government. The program employs satire (appropriate for juniors and seniors in high school) to criticize social issues and the implication of the poor in our current society .... Within the 4:48 minute clip four curse words bleeped out. The video was followed by a class discussion and the review of an article on exploitative costs that impact the poor (such as check-cashing stores that charge percentage based fees).

The Russel Brand segment that you referenced focused on negative media reactions to an employer who lowered his own salary and increased that of his employees. The clip was used to further demonstrate social perceptions about the distributions of resources in our society. There is no profanity in the 9:17 video clip. The clip was followed by a discussion on current American values regarding wealth and status, namely that we believe corporate leaders should take high profits as compensation but that middle class workers and the working poor earn their relatively low incomes based on merit.

Our Sociology class is a fluid, discussion based course where we encourage dialogue on relevant issues and their impact in the lives of our current students and beyond. This is no different than in covering a Sociology unit on Race & Ethnicity in America, we discuss current perspectives and media coverage on the implications of Baltimore related to the riots and death of Freddie Gray.

In summary, based on the abovementioned, as a district we are quite comfortable with the way that the information was presented and the resources used. I believe in our teachers delivering RIGOROUS and RELEVANT content. We will continue to engage students in appropriate content through supplemental resources (electronic or print) that align content to current issues.

What do you think? Was the high school right to show the clip? Did Russell Brand go too far, or are Fox News commentators overreacting? Let us know in the comments below.