Should a Teacher Be Fired for Discussing the Bible in Public School?

Jump to Last Post 1-8 of 8 discussions (21 posts)
  1. crankalicious profile image80
    crankaliciousposted 11 years ago

    http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/18/nyreg … login&

    This is an old article, but worthy of discussion. If you're a teacher in public school and you assert that Noah's ark carried dinosaurs, should you be fired or defended for being able to express your right to free speech?

    Is this an issue about free speech or about bad teaching?

    1. aliasis profile image73
      aliasisposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      This teacher, according to the article, said:

      -Dinosaurs were carried in Noah's ark
      -Evolution is not scientific
      -Only Christians have a place in heaven

      Um... YES this guy should have been fired! No question about it. This is a public school, and telling kids that non-Christians are going to hell? That alone is one big bye-bye. And no, I don't think you really have a place in academia if you are trying to push non-academic stuff. If you want to deny science and teach Biblical mythology in a public school... enjoy your firing and apply to a private school instead.

      OP, I have to say, your title is very misleading. This teacher did not "discuss the Bible in public school" (which might be appropriate, depending on the situation). This teacher basically preached and told non-Christian kids they were going to hell, and did not teach the curriculum. He did not do his job, and he did not show tolerance to his students. "Free speech" isn't applicable to your employers and at work. Especially when you're being paid to do a certain job, but you act like a jerk instead.

    2. JG11Bravo profile image71
      JG11Bravoposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with... well... pretty much everyone else.  There isn't much else to add.

      Frankly, I don't care if people want to teach the concepts of biblical creationism and all that so long as it is presented as one theory and taught alongside evolutionism.  Giving kids the information is fine, forcing your opinion on them is not.

    3. prettydarkhorse profile image64
      prettydarkhorseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      According to the article yes, he should be fired.

    4. vehnh profile image61
      vehnhposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Anyone that believes crap like dinosaurs were carried in Noah's Ark, evolution is not scientific, and only Christians have a place in heaven, etc. has no place in the education system. It only proves  how poorly educated the teacher is and for a quality educational system to work, you need quality educators. That clown needs to be working drive thru at McDonalds.

      1. wilderness profile image77
        wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

        No thanks.  I want a Big Mac, not a dinoburger. big_smile

    5. MelissaBarrett profile image59
      MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Reason 217 why I homeschool.

    6. BuddiNsense profile image60
      BuddiNsenseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      No he should not be "fired" but send him to a school to get educated.

      1. Silverspeeder profile image59
        Silverspeederposted 11 years agoin reply to this

        Personal beliefs have no place in the education system, discussion of religion, evolution, politics and science in general should be.

        Teachers, lecturers and trainers who bring their own personal beliefs into the classroom for the purpose of indoctrination should always be dismissed.

        1. BuddiNsense profile image60
          BuddiNsenseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          That means he is not educated and it is those people who appoint him are those who should be fired.

    7. Credence2 profile image81
      Credence2posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      It is about bad teaching, I am concerned about 'establishment', a teacher promoting a religious belief in a public school classroom. You can discuss and compare beliefs in an academic setting, of course. But topics and approaches best left to Sunday School in your place of worship should not be used here. In your contract with the city or town where you work you agree to be a teacher, not a preacher and avoid using your position to influence impressionable youngsters in an inappropriate way.

  2. psycheskinner profile image68
    psycheskinnerposted 11 years ago

    Anyone who tells a mixed group of kids "only Christians had a place in heaven" is a jerk.  I mean, how would a Christian parent like a teacher from another deist religion saying that to their kids?

    1. profile image0
      Onusonusposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Never been to a Muslim country.

  3. wilderness profile image77
    wildernessposted 11 years ago

    Free speech or bad teaching?

    Neither one.  No one has free speech when they are working for someone else, doing the job they are hired to do in teaching youngsters.  And spouting personal beliefs, particularly ridiculous ones like this, isn't teaching.  So neither one applies, just lying to the kids.

  4. rebekahELLE profile image86
    rebekahELLEposted 11 years ago

    After reading the article, it's clear that it's about his role as a teacher.  He abused his responsibility and position of being a history teacher.  He was preaching religion in a public school.  He indirectly told the non-Christian students that they were going to hell.  Separation of church and state?
    I would be very upset if my child came home and told me this is what he learned in history class today.  I would have pulled my child from his class. 

    It doesn't sound like the teacher was fired although he deserved to be if he was preaching in the school for 15 years, as he later admits he was. He also lied. I tried to find out more about the story and found Matthew LaClair's speech.  It's quite detailed and worth a read.

  5. Joel Okimoto profile image59
    Joel Okimotoposted 11 years ago

    Like many of the people in this forum I agree that this man should have been fired. He was trying to shove his own personal opinion on the people around him. What he said had no place in a public school.

  6. paradigmsearch profile image59
    paradigmsearchposted 11 years ago

    Paradigmsearch gets job as teacher. First day at school...

    "Alright, all you kiddies. Here's the real deal... We are all a bunch of lab rats. And then you are all going to die. 10 of you by cancer. 10 of you by alzheimer's. 10 of you by strokes and heart attacks. The rest of you will reach your demises in various other interesting ways. Live with it."

    Principal shows up in classroom second day...

    Paradigmsearch admires his spiffy new mop as he cleans the hallways.

    .
    .
    .
    .

    Just kidding...

    1. Kathryn L Hill profile image82
      Kathryn L Hillposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      oh no, they wouldn't even hire you as janitor!  and that is pretty good work if you can get it!

  7. SagaSphere profile image64
    SagaSphereposted 11 years ago

    +1
    Paradigmsearch

  8. kess profile image60
    kessposted 11 years ago

    Oh, it seems like many are happily ignoring the fact that the teachers role is specifically to influence his students,  through which they learn.
    So if therefore the teacher is christian, then of course this is the conviction of which he would convey to his students. This bound to occur, overtly or covertly.

    The same is true if the teacher  is an  Atheist, Muslim or Buddhist.
    Do I need to also say, the chemist, the biologist or the pilot....or what soever  men will call themselves, including but not limited to a rapist, thief or murderer.

    Are you also quickly forgetting that many atheist are atheist because of and despite of christian influences.

    The christian exhibited a higher standard of righteousness than those who condemn him, because after all he was merely being what he knows himself to be....that is a christian.

    1. rebekahELLE profile image86
      rebekahELLEposted 11 years agoin reply to this

        No, that is not the teachers role.  He is hired to educate his students on the subject/s of which he is assigned to teach.

      Whatever he is, his role is to perform his job as a teacher, not a preacher.

 
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)