Sunday, June 29, 2008

religious rights

Teacher_to_be_fired_for_pressing_beliefs


MOUNT VERNON, Ohio, June 21 (UPI) -- An Ohio school board is firing a science teacher accused of pressing his Christian beliefs on students.

John Freshwater discussed his creationism beliefs, disregarded evolution and failed to follow the standard curriculum while teaching eighth-grade science at Mount Vernon Middle School, board officials said.

An investigation revealed he continued teaching his beliefs even after he was ordered to stop, the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch reported Saturday.

The investigation found Freshwater said homosexuals are sinners and branded crosses into some students' arms, the board said. [emphasis added]

Freshwater's attorney, R. Kelly Hamilton, said his client's rights to practice religion were infringed and he plans to call for a hearing with the school board to fight the dismissal.

Hamilton said the allegations are "fabrications created by a couple of students … Not a single child has ever been harmed."


I’m pretty sure ‘Christian Beliefs’ don’t include injuring children. I don’t know what religion this guy is subscribing to but it’s not any form of Christianity I’ve ever seen. Since when does freedom of religion involve branding children? I am stunned that this issue already seems to be about this guy losing his job. Job my ass. He should be in jail.

If you’re told to do something by your boss and you ignore it you should be fired. I’ve fired people for it and I’ve been fired for it. That’s how employment works. I’m amazed the school board allowed him to continue teaching after the first incident.


Parents_say_teacher_branded_cross_on_son


The parents say that Freshwater used a piece of electrical equipment to etch a cross on their son in December. When they complained, the district responded by telling the teacher not to do anything similar in the future.

Administrators began cracking down on the teacher only after the parents hired a lawyer, the suit says.


So, I guess you can complain but you won’t be taken seriously unless you have enough money to hire a lawyer?

How long are we going to sit by and let lawyers attack our children when something like this happens? Lawdog talks about another lawyer attacking kids here.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is unbelievably disturbing to me.

We choose to live in a country that is founded on Christian beliefs. It is also our Constituational Right to freedom of religion. At no point does that give anyone the right to persecute others for their belief or lack there of. For someone to claim they are a christian and take it upon themselves to pass judgment on others is in and of itself a sin. If you follow the teachings of the Bible it says that each of us will stand before God to answer for our sins. No where does it say we will answer to John Freshwater or anyone else for that matter. If you happen to be pagan the belief is that whatever you wish or do to others will come back to you three fold.

I have no problem with the history of creationism, paganism, evolution, etc. to be presented in an educational environment as long as the facts are not distorted. It is the responsiblity of the parents of the child to teach their children their belief system. At some point this is just a foundation for the child to eventually become an adult and make their own choices regarding their beliefs.

I was raised to be a christian but due to individuals like John Freshwater and many others I began questioning some of the teachings and practices. There are too many people that have appointed themselves as judge and jury "in God's name" that are turning people against formalized religions to seek their own path.