The controversy is over a two-page document that was handed out to classrooms at Kapolei Middle School.
It broke down where the U.S. presidential candidates — Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump — stand on the issues.
The state Department of Education confirms the document was put together by a group of teachers at the school who simplified the information in a candidate comparison article in the New York Times.
The material given out to students lists six issues.
CRIME
Harris: “Gives money to police”
Trump: “Sends soldiers to cities”
DEMOCRACY
Harris: “Wants to keep our country a democracy”
Trump: “Tried to overturn the 2020 election
IMMIGRATION
Harris: “Hires more people to watch the border”
Harris: “Limits how many people can move to the U.S.
Trump: “Finds and catches people in the U.S. illegally”
Trump: “Takes children away from their parents”
I read the headline and thought the controversy was probably stupid. Then I read the comparisons.
They should have pulled out planks from the party platforms. At least write what the party says it is going to do in its own words. It’s OK to simplify, but this list is heavily editorialized. I don’t know how much of that was from the NYT article (editorial?) and how much was the teacher’s take.
I think it would be fine to have these characterizations of each party’s policies in Speech & Debate coming from the opponents.