Wilson took to the airwaves this afternoon. He did offer an apology to those he may have offended, but said his statements were taken out of context.
He made the comment on his show as he was discussing how schools teach to standardized tests. Wilson says, "Unfortunately I used the example of teaching monkeys to peel bananas, little monkeys to peel bananas. I could have used dolphins. I could have used hamster trails or gerbil runs or things in that order but I didn't and some people took offense thinking I was comparing TPS students with monkeys. If you were one of those, I am sorry you were offended but the Blade got it wrong! I never said it. I never inferred it. How and why the Blade got it wrong is a discussion for another time."
Sunday, TPS parents, students and leaders offended by Wilson's comments displayed their outrage at a news conference.
Wilson says the statement was taken out of context and that WSPD's focus is on discussing solutions to real problems facing TPS including "the stifling bureaucracy, the teacher's union, the fiscal responsibility, the counter-productive curriculum...the students themselves and the thorniest of all--the parents who fail to support their children in a way that gets them to school healthy, cleaned up and anxious to learn."
The managing editor of the Toledo Blade Dave Murray says the paper stands behind the story and felt it was put in proper context and he feels Wilson's apology was half-hearted.
