AURORA, Colo. -- The Cherry Creek School District plans to have its investigation into comments made by high school teacher Jay Bennish finished shortly.

Bennish was in New York on Tuesday morning, appearing on national television.

"My job as a teacher is to challenge students to think critically about issues that are affecting our world and our society," he said on NBC's "Today" show.

Bennish said he thinks that his lecture was being presented unfairly. Bennish said that most people aren't listening to the entire 20-minute recording.

"This is 20 minutes out of a 50-minute class. The rest of the class provides the balance," he told NBC's Matt Lauer.

He already told local reporters that he believes that the media has sensationalized the story and he is upset with the media coverage. Bennish also said that he is fearful for his life and that he has received many threats through e-mail.

Bennish gained national media attention for comments he made in an accelerated geography class -- comments that were recorded by one his students and aired on local talk radio.

"My job as a social studies teacher is to argue alternative perspectives and viewpoints so that students are aware of those point of views. They do not necessarily reflect my own views. They are simply thrown out there to encourage critical thought," he told "Today."

He said he was simply playing devil's advocate, making comparisons that have been made around the country and around the world so that his students would be aware of those perspectives and judge them for themselves.

Bennish said no parents -- including the family of the student who recorded the lecture -- have complained to him. He said all the students' parents had seen his syllabus and that school officials had approved it.

The district is looking into whether Bennish broke the school district's policy of providing a balanced point of view when he stated his political opinions in class, criticized the country's foreign policy and compared President George W. Bush to Adolf Hitler.

On the 20-minute recording, made by sophomore Sean Allen, Bennish is heard saying, "Who is probably the most single violent nation on earth? The United States of America."

"'It is our duty as Americans to use the military to go out into the world and make the world like us.' Sounds a lot like the things that Adolf Hitler used to say -- 'We're the only ones who are right, everyone else is backward and our job is to conquer the world,'" Bennish told his students.

On the tape, he is heard telling his students that they don't have to agree with him. The comments were made the day after the president's Jan. 31 State of the Union speech.

7NEWS obtained Bennish's application for teaching in the district. In it, Bennish said that his first goal as a teacher is to make students think critically.

"My primary objectives as a teacher are to encourage the students to think for themselves, to critically analyze the world in which they live in order to create a more democratic society," Bennish wrote.

When asked how he would decide what should be taught, he wrote, "First, the required state and school curriculum must be met. Diversity of curriculum is vital, especially for a history class. Students must be exposed to a holistic and objective view of history."

Bennish is currently on paid administrative leave while awaiting the Cherry Creek School District's decision. He told reporters Tuesday that he hopes to return to Overland soon.

Bennis had recently shaved his head for his national TV appearance and no longer looks like his yearbook picture.

Attorney David Lane said the district planned to tell Bennish the results of its investigation at noon Wednesday. Lane said he expected Bennish to be back in his classroom on Thursday.

However, on Tuesday morning the district postponed its decision.

"Due to calls we have received following Mr. Bennish's appearances on television and radio (Tuesday), we have postponed our meeting tomorrow with Mr. Bennish. No new time has been scheduled and there will no news conference (Wednesday.) I cannot comment on the nature of the calls," Cherry Creek Schools spokeswoman Tustin Amole said.

She said the phone calls were "from people who have something they think may be pertinent to our investigation."

Meanwhile, the student who recorded the lecture said he's received threats of physical violence since coming forward. Allen said he has been called a "snitch" and a "coward" for releasing the audio recording to the media. Allen said he will transfer to a different school.

Allen told 7NEWS that he is ready for the controversy to end. The sophomore said that he was never looking for his 15 minutes of fame -- he just felt that Bennish should be punished for presenting unbalanced material in class.

"I don't believe he should be fired. I believe, yes, there should be some sort of consequence for what he's doing. He should be reprimanded but I believe that he's knowledgeable in geography, I mean, he knows what he's talking about -- as long as he just teach the curriculum," Allen said.

On Monday, Gov. Bill Owens praised Allen for coming forward.

"And hats off to Sean Allen, the little 16-year-old who decides that in this great First Amendment process, then let's let Mr. Bennish defend himself to the people that pay his salary," Owens said.

Owens also wondered how Bennish went from discussing geography to discussing politics.

"We are challenged in terms of our students learning. We are challenged in terms of our students learning geography. I would assume that if Mr. Bennish probably spent more time in differentiating Asia from Africa and from discussing the geographic complexities of the world, his students would probably be better off when it comes to geography and they wouldn't run the risk of being indoctrinated with his ranting on George Bush," Owens said.

Teachers, parents and administrators responsible for school policies are eagerly awaiting the school district's decision. But many say that could only be the beginning because the discussions that have come forward could have major implications on future education.