Ohio school board fires teacher in crosses case

[adnelson60087]

Source: Yahoo

An Ohio science teacher accused of burning the image of a cross on students' arms said Tuesday that he's disappointed school officials voted to fire him.

He was accused of preaching Christian beliefs in class when discussing topics such as evolution and homosexuality. He also was accused of using a scientific device to mark students with a cross and of keeping a Bible on his desk.

The state officer's report said there was "a plausible explanation" for Freshwater's use of the scientific device, though it didn't detail the explanation, and that the administration had dealt with that issue. But the officer found "good and just cause" last week for firing Freshwater, concluding he did not adjust his teaching to comply with the law and school policy and that he was defiant in other ways, such as checking out religious texts from the school library and leaving them on his desk.

Freshwater tried "to make eighth-grade science what he thought it should be — an examination of accepted scientific curriculum with the discerning eye of Christian doctrine," and he "used his classroom as a means of sowing the seeds of doubt and confusion in the minds of impressionable students as they searched for meaning in the subject of science," hearing officer R. Lee Shepherd wrote.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110111/ap_on_re_us/us_teacher_bible

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And good riddance. Sowing the seeds of skepticism is a good thing as it is the basis of accepting firmly established science. This guy was about indoctrination, not education.

[faz]

1. Christian Science?

WT****?

[somone]

2. What a dumbass

[JustFiveMoreMinutes]

3. "accused of burning the image of ___________ on students' arms"

Is good enough for termination in my book.

All the Xian rhetoric aside, WTF?

[Iggo]

9. That's the one thing he got away with!

:rofl:

[JustFiveMoreMinutes]

19. Whattaworld!

[petronius]

4. Shocking students to the point of leaving a mark on the skin?

I'd sure like to hear the plausible explanation, or know what learning objective that was in aid of.

Good riddance to this tool - but I'm sure there's a fundy school somewhere that will be eager to inflict his particular brand of misinformation on its students...

[Harry Monroe]

5. Jesus Horatio Christ, I remember being knocked about by nuns during my days in Catholic school

But nothing like this!!

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. He is a dumbshit.

I've followed this case since it began. He totally deserved to be fired.

He's probably already been offered a job at a Christian school.

[FSogol]

7. At 3/4 of his public school salary.

:shrug:

[Iggo]

10. Better than 0/4 of his previous salary.

Plus he gets to teach what he wants now. He should be happy to take the pay cut if only for the peace of mind.

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. He'll have to decide if it's a worthy tradeoff

But frankly, this guy should be grateful he's not working the night shift at 7/11.

[DCKit]

8. Can't comprehend how this is wrong. Damn Librul. nt

:sarcasm:

[DeSwiss]

11. And it only cost them......

...http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/01/11/copy/district-pays-to-uphold-firing.html?adsec=politics&sid=101">$900,000 to fire him. Unless he appeals this ruling. Then it'll cost them some more.




- But hey, they'd just waste that money teaching kids otherwise.....

K&R

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. They should have pressed criminal charges against him for child abuse

Then they could have fired him outright.

[DeSwiss]

15. What?

And have The Christians!™ complaining to the school board and all over the teevees about how their "rights to religious freedom is being trampled upon -- once again!?!?! And to have The Christians!™ preaching against the school board members in all those pulpits every Sunday after Sunday saying bad things about them until election day? And worst of all -- having The Christians!™ voting against these "educators" just because they're trying to teach their offspring a few concepts that go against the bible?!?!

What you think we've got going here, separation of church and state???


- Perish the thought.......

:sarcasm:

[TK421]

14. Why do they all look like psychos?

[DeSwiss]

16. The worse ones are always the ones who don't look like psychos.

- Oh, wait. Bad example.....

[TK421]

18. Does Dubya have a unibrow there? I can't really tell..but I know Ted was the sane one

and he at least had a brain!

[Rage for Order]

22. Who, exactly, all look like psychos?

?

[TK421]

24. I'm referring to the religious wackjob in the OP....?

[CLANG]

20. They should have offered him $500,000 to resign

Could have saved a bunch of money.

[DeSwiss]

21. After Wall Street's shenanigans.....

...that'd probably a better alternative than his teacher's retirement account portfolio. Especially with the condition most of them are in right about now.


- Of course if it were my kid he'd burned I'd be suing his ass for all he's worth......

[jwirr]

17. I am a Christan - he deserved to be fired. That is meant to be discussed

within our own churches and families and not taught in schools - especially schools where it is illegal.

[jmowreader]

23. They should have canned him under provisions of the Ohio Tattoo Law

Ohio Code Sec. 3730.06: Consent for performing procedures on persons under age 18

(A) No person shall perform a tattooing procedure, body piercing procedure or ear piercing procedure with an ear piercing gun on an individual who is under eighteen years of age unless consent has been given by the individual's parent, guardian, or custodian in accordance with division (B) of this section.

(B) A parent, guardian, or custodian of an individual under age eighteen who desires to give consent to a business to perform on the individual under age eighteen a tattooing procedure, body piercing procedure, or ear piercing procedure performed with an ear piercing gun shall do both of the following:

(1) Appear in person at the business at the time the procedure is performed;

(2) Sign a document provided by the business that explains the manner in which the procedure will be performed and methods for proper care of the affected body area following performance of the procedure.

Since branding counts as a "tattooing procedure" in many places (in Idaho they delineate between tattoo and branding, but the laws are the same for both) it's pretty cut and dried.