Florida Teacher suspended over anti-homosexual remarks:

JonnyPistachio

cincybearcat wrote:

JonnyPistachio wrote:

There are a lot of factors surrounding this deplorable act this teacher committed...
But the one thing I keep returning to is that the things he said eventually were heard by his students and co-workers. I think once it hits their ears, he is finished, no matter how it got there.

I just cant imagine him teaching my kids. People defending this guys actions, would you be comfortable with him being your kids teacher?

I don't know. But I think yes. I don't really on a SS teacher to teach my kid about diversity. really depends on his behavior in the classroom. I would certainly want my kid to know that the teacher is wrong in his opinion and was wrong to use the hurtful words, but that everyone makes mistakes and it's better to tackle issues head on them drive the discussion underground with more hatred sent back his way.

But I understand people feeling the way you do.

Thats a good way to deal with it too.. I do believe in second chances, but if he really said this:

"I try to be like Jesus every day. I teach God's truth, I make very few compromises. If you believe you may have a problem with that, get your schedule changed, 'cause I ain't changing! I try to teach and lead my students as if Lake Co. Schools had hired Jesus Christ himself."

I'd want him nowhere near my kids.
I still havent learned if this was public school or a private (religious) school... anyone know?

cincybearcat

JonnyPistachio wrote:

cincybearcat wrote:

JonnyPistachio wrote:

There are a lot of factors surrounding this deplorable act this teacher committed...
But the one thing I keep returning to is that the things he said eventually were heard by his students and co-workers. I think once it hits their ears, he is finished, no matter how it got there.

I just cant imagine him teaching my kids. People defending this guys actions, would you be comfortable with him being your kids teacher?

I don't know. But I think yes. I don't really on a SS teacher to teach my kid about diversity. really depends on his behavior in the classroom. I would certainly want my kid to know that the teacher is wrong in his opinion and was wrong to use the hurtful words, but that everyone makes mistakes and it's better to tackle issues head on them drive the discussion underground with more hatred sent back his way.

But I understand people feeling the way you do.

Thats a good way to deal with it too.. I do believe in second chances, but if he really said this:

"I try to be like Jesus every day. I teach God's truth, I make very few compromises. If you believe you may have a problem with that, get your schedule changed, 'cause I ain't changing! I try to teach and lead my students as if Lake Co. Schools had hired Jesus Christ himself."

I'd want him nowhere near my kids.
I still havent learned if this was public school or a private (religious) school... anyone know?

Don't know. The part about trying to be like jesus doesn't upset me at all. The "I teach God's truth" certainly does. I was under the impression that he teaches Social Studies or something...where does "God's truth" fit in there????

BUt like I said, I think we may have had a completely different reaction from him if people weren't shouting for him to lose his job instantly. Why do we do that with everyone? As soon as somebody makes a mistake...THEY NEED TO BE FIRED!!!! Really? We'd all be out of work. Sometimes it's justified, but often it;s knee jerk reaction.

As for his comments here, if I were the school, I would schedule a meeting with him about his attitude and his words and tell him he is creating a hostile environment at the school by telling kids to change their schedules, etc. He would need to verbally, publicly apologize or I would fire his ass and get ready for the lawsuit.

bgivens33

I'm fairly certain it was a public school... if this was a private school, it would be a non-issue. A private school can fire you for any reason whatsoever, within the bounds of the law. In some states, they could have fired a teacher just for being gay.

g under p

Jeanwah wrote:

pandora wrote:

that is your opinion and also how it stands now on the rule

my opinion it should not cover opinions shared in a public manner
I believe they should have freedom of speech and not fear losing their jobs for their opinions

conduct as far as threatening others or promoting that and breaking laws in place... yes
that is what should be of a concern.... not one's core beliefs

Sadly, the professional world does not work like you would like it to.
It is not an opinion that professionals should be concerned about how they display themselves publicly.
It's a fact, and this story is an example of that fact.
An employer needs no reason to fire an employee, so why would an employee give them a reason? You are a representative of your employer, always. Screw that up and you're out of a job. It goes without saying, Pandora.

Unfortunately, that is a fact of the real world professionally. Employers DON'T need a reason or have to give you a reson to fire you...I found that out for myself. I worked as a pre-school teacher and I was fired from the job after ten years there. The underlying reason for me being fired I became too popular with the parents to my classroom children and I turned down advances from the school administrator. I didn't mix business with pleasure and she didn't like that so I was fired just like that. We did sign a contract that said we could be fired for any reason and NO reason at all.

Peace

EmBleve

JonnyPistachio wrote:

Thats a good way to deal with it too.. I do believe in second chances, but if he really said this:

"I try to be like Jesus every day. I teach God's truth, I make very few compromises. If you believe you may have a problem with that, get your schedule changed, 'cause I ain't changing! I try to teach and lead my students as if Lake Co. Schools had hired Jesus Christ himself."

I'd want him nowhere near my kids.
I still havent learned if this was public school or a private (religious) school... anyone know?

I asked this yesterday, too..apparently now I see that it was public. :? Also, I thought he also taught American history, which was a point of contention for me considering the historical implications of what happened in New York. When I saw this quote on here yesterday about his saying it was as if they had hired Jesus Christ himself, it was quite shocking and ludicrous. In his initial rant, he expressed his hatred in a religious context--now he says "I teach God's truth". ??? Waat. As I've been saying all along, it is impossible for me to think that his mindset doesn't extend somehow, directly or indirectly, into the classroom--this newest quote proves that. As far as educating him on bigotry, I would think that it is quite beyond that point at this stage of his life. I would HOPE not, but I would think so. Everybody knows someone, if not many, in his age group who feel the exact same way as he does (and as cincy, I think, said, so does most of the US re: law). And someone mentioned gay friends and what they think about it... I have several gay friends, one of whom is a psychologist and another who is a career counselor...they both agree that this man is in the wrong profession (mainly because he thought it acceptable to say what he did on facebook) and that it is sad that he has this opinion (much less voiced it in the way he did), and that they had to deal with people who felt this way all of their lives in school and it made their life hell.

EmBleve

Jeanwah wrote:

pandora wrote:

EmBleve wrote:

Professions like lawyers, doctors, teachers, and professors have to be concerned with their conduct outside of the workplace. Facebook is not private. And his message was beyond inappropriate. It was a direct representation of what he stands for as a human being.

that is your opinion and also how it stands now on the rule

my opinion it should not cover opinions shared in a public manner
I believe they should have freedom of speech and not fear losing their jobs for their opinions

conduct as far as threatening others or promoting that and breaking laws in place... yes
that is what should be of a concern.... not one's core beliefs

Sadly, the professional world does not work like you would like it to.
It is not an opinion that professionals should be concerned about how they display themselves publicly.
It's a fact, and this story is an example of that fact.
An employer needs no reason to fire an employee, so why would an employee give them a reason? You are a representative of your employer, always. Screw that up and you're out of a job.

Yes, I agree.

brianlux

EmBleve wrote:

JonnyPistachio wrote:

Thats a good way to deal with it too.. I do believe in second chances, but if he really said this:

"I try to be like Jesus every day. I teach God's truth, I make very few compromises. If you believe you may have a problem with that, get your schedule changed, 'cause I ain't changing! I try to teach and lead my students as if Lake Co. Schools had hired Jesus Christ himself."

I'd want him nowhere near my kids.
I still havent learned if this was public school or a private (religious) school... anyone know?

I asked this yesterday, too..apparently now I see that it was public. :? Also, I thought he also taught American history, which was a point of contention for me considering the historical implications of what happened in New York. When I saw this quote on here yesterday about his saying it was as if they had hired Jesus Christ himself, it was quite shocking and ludicrous. In his initial rant, he expressed his hatred in a religious context--now he says "I teach God's truth". ??? Waat. As I've been saying all along, it is impossible for me to think that his mindset doesn't extend somehow, directly or indirectly, into the classroom--this newest quote proves that. As far as educating him on bigotry, I would think that it is quite beyond that point at this stage of his life. I would HOPE not, but I would think so. Everybody knows someone, if not many, in his age group who feel the exact same way as he does (and as cincy, I think, said, so does most of the US re: law). And someone mentioned gay friends and what they think about it... I have several gay friends, one of whom is a psychologist and another who is a career counselor...they both agree that this man is in the wrong profession (mainly because he thought it acceptable to say what he did on facebook) and that it is sad that he has this opinion (much less voiced it in the way he did), and that they had to deal with people who felt this way all of their lives in school and it made their life hell.

Well said, EmBleve.


The guy implies he would work as if he were Jesus. If Jesus knocked over the money tables of people who where greedy, how much more would he be pissed at people who are bigoted and hateful?!

pandora

plenty pissed at the hypocrisy ...

but that is human right? Everyone is a hypocrite ...
they call others out but can't see what they do themselves.

I picture Jesus understanding everyone, even haters

and being incredibly disappointed in everyone too but loving them just the same

with the hate, with the hypocrisy, with the better than others attitudes

because he knows it is with love and understanding that people change, heal and
become more like Him....

that is if they want to.

pjhawks

pandora wrote:

plenty pissed at the hypocrisy ...

but that is human right? Everyone is a hypocrite ...
they call others out but can't see what they do themselves.

I picture Jesus understanding everyone, even haters

and being incredibly disappointed in everyone too but loving them just the same

with the hate, with the hypocrisy, with the better than others attitudes

because he knows it is with love and understanding that people change, heal and
become more like Him....

that is if they want to.

yup the little man in the sky wants us all to be like him :roll: the hurricane is probably barreling down on the east coast because we have all sinned

edit: and i agree and believe that understanding and love will cause people to change, i just don't think that comes from a man in the sky.

polaris_x

g under p wrote:

Unfortunately, that is a fact of the real world professionally. Employers DON'T need a reason or have to give you a reson to fire you...I found that out for myself. I worked as a pre-school teacher and I was fired from the job after ten years there. The underlying reason for me being fired I became too popular with the parents to my classroom children and I turned down advances from the school administrator. I didn't mix business with pleasure and she didn't like that so I was fired just like that. We did sign a contract that said we could be fired for any reason and NO reason at all.

Peace

this sounds like horrible bosses ...

cincybearcat

pjhawks wrote:

pandora wrote:

plenty pissed at the hypocrisy ...

but that is human right? Everyone is a hypocrite ...
they call others out but can't see what they do themselves.

I picture Jesus understanding everyone, even haters

and being incredibly disappointed in everyone too but loving them just the same

with the hate, with the hypocrisy, with the better than others attitudes

because he knows it is with love and understanding that people change, heal and
become more like Him....

that is if they want to.

yup the little man in the sky wants us all to be like him :roll: the hurricane is probably barreling down on the east coast because we have all sinned

edit: and i agree and believe that understanding and love will cause people to change, i just don't think that comes from a man in the sky.

And you felt the need to belittle others that do...nicely done.

pandora

pjhawks wrote:

pandora wrote:

plenty pissed at the hypocrisy ...

but that is human right? Everyone is a hypocrite ...
they call others out but can't see what they do themselves.

I picture Jesus understanding everyone, even haters

and being incredibly disappointed in everyone too but loving them just the same

with the hate, with the hypocrisy, with the better than others attitudes

because he knows it is with love and understanding that people change, heal and
become more like Him....

that is if they want to.

yup the little man in the sky wants us all to be like him :roll: the hurricane is probably barreling down on the east coast because we have all sinned

edit: and i agree and believe that understanding and love will cause people to change, i just don't think that comes from a man in the sky.

I believe in Jesus the man you assume something else maybe I don't know

no matter

glad you agree with love and understanding

so I know you will be kind to those that believe in the man in the sky

redrock

Wow... another thread that has turned into a god/jesus one.....

cincybearcat

redrock wrote:

Wow... another thread that has turned into a god/jesus one.....

Ummm...this was based on that from the beginning no? At least an element of it.

redrock

Not really cincy. Yes his homophobic remarks were but the basis of the thread is his suspension, etc. This has turned into a 'jesus loves us all and if we were more like him, the world will be all rosy'. Naturally, before anyone says anything, these were not actual words used but one gets my drift.

This thread deals with a guy who said nasty things, was reported, was investigated and eventually reinstated. Does the school/district (or any other employer) have a right do to this? Should this guy (or anyone) not be able to say/do what he/she feels in his/her own time without it having any repercussions on his work. That is the topic (at least as I thought it was).

cincybearcat

redrock wrote:

Not really cincy. Yes his homophobic remarks were but the basis of the thread is his suspension, etc. This has turned into a 'jesus loves us all and if we were more like him, the world will be all rosy'. Naturally, before anyone says anything, these were not actual words used but one gets my drift.

This thread deals with a guy who said nasty things, was reported, was investigated and eventually reinstated. Does the school/district (or any other employer) have a right do to this? Should this guy (or anyone) not be able to say/do what he/she feels in his/her own time without it having any repercussions on his work. That is the topic (at least as I thought it was).

No I agree, but I also thought there was some element of God involved from the beginning since it's the basis of the teacher's facebook posting.

redrock

It is ,but in the context of his rant. He could have left the god bit out and it would have been just as offensive. Though one can also argue this thread can deal with his whole attitude to what seems quite fundamentalist views of religion (from his few remarks) and how it seems he does bring that in the classroom in, what I think, is a public school. No problem bringing religion in the discussion as such. But the 'jesus loves us all let's all be more like him' bit is really not relevant in this thread.

pandora

How we got to Jesus was the remarks made by the teacher and opinions made by posters
relating to that

redrock

As I said, in the context of his rant and whether his extremist views are appropriate for a public school, religion is a valid discussion point. In a 'preaching' context, it's not. There is a huge difference. We all know what this difference is and where the line is drawn.

cincybearcat

redrock wrote:

As I said, in the context of his rant and whether his extremist views are appropriate for a public school, religion is a valid discussion point. In a 'preaching' context, it's not. There is a huge difference. We all know what this difference is and where the line is drawn.

You know, the ironic thing, it's further down the path you were complaining about now that you jumped in.