Just ask John Freshwater, who was fired today after 11 years of complaints that he was pushing creationism on his 8th grade science students.
In the end, it wasn't his classroom preaching that got him canned.
It was the fact that he used a device like a Tesla coil to burn crosses into the skin of several students during the course of those years.
So what's the moral of the story? Go ahead and hand out creationist literature in lieu of science lessons. Brag about your upcoming abortion-clinic protest. Teach your science students about the meaning of the Resurrection during class time. Lie to your administrator and deny that you're teaching creationism. Let those kids know that homosexuality is always, always a sin. Train those students to be argumentative with and hostile to any future teachers who try to teach them REAL science.
[added in edit: yes, Freshwater did all of these things as a public school teacher. See the independent investigator's report here (pdf).]
Just don't inflict visible bodily harm on students whose parents might object to you burning their offspring.
You have to wonder how many kids would have been saved from abuse if the district hadn't waited 11 years to take appropriate action.
posted by Cheryl Shepherd-Adams
