[T]he Maine National Guard Family Assistance Center has received about 30 complaints from children of deployed soldiers concerning harassment by school officials. Most of these kids are between 7 and 9 years old….
Alan Grover, WABI-TV: “What the kids are facing is hearing that [from Principals, Teachers and/or Guidance Counsellors] their mother or father is a bad person for taking part in the confrontation with Iraq; comments that are coming from teachers. That’s according to officers with the Guard’s Family Assistance Program who’ve been traveling throughout the state this week. The officers report that such incidents are relatively few in number but that they’ve occurred in practically every region of the state.”
Major Andrew Gibson: “Some kids have even reported that… ah… teachers have said things to them, specifically, about the ah unethical nature of their parent going off to fight.” [WABI- TV (Bangor, Maine) 6 PM News, 2/21/03, reported by Winds of Change.NET, 2/24/03]
