I'm a firm believer in the idea that everyone has the right to believe in whatever religion (or no religion) that they wish to. However, when you try to force those beliefs on others, you've gone too far. And when you introduce your religion into the academic school system and abuse the students, you're in the wrong no matter what that religion happens to be.
That's what has happened in the small community of Mount Vernon, about 40 miles northeast of Columbus, Ohio. Independent investigators hired by the school board, tell of a science teacher out of control. I use the term "science teacher" very loosely, because he was actually teaching religion instead of science.
They said John Freshwater kept a Bible and other christian items in his middle school classroom. Freshwater taught creationism to his students and would not teach evolution. He also taught that carbon dating was a flawed and unrekiable system.
The district's director of teaching said she has fielded complaints about Freshwater throughout her 11 years with the district. A former superintendent said he tried to move Freshwater to another position, but was unsuccessful because science was all he was certified to teach. Personally, I think he should have been fired for teaching religion instead of science.
But he got even worse this past year. One family has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against Freshwater and the school district. They say the teacher burned a cross on their child's arm that didn't go away for nearly four weeks.
Freshwater doesn't deny it. He used a high-frequency generator to burn crosses on the arms of several students. In spite of this, Freshwater has his defenders. One said, "With the exception of the cross-burning episode...I believe John Freshwater is teaching the values of the parents in the Mount Vernon School District."
Whether that is true or not is irrelevent. He was supposed to be teaching science -- not values or religion. As for burning crosses on the arms of middle-schoolers, that is nothing less than child abuse. He should not only be fired, but also arrested and charged with child abuse.
This fool is not just unfit to teach science. He is unfit to teach at all.
I think I said something like this on my blog, but usually when you're defending someone and you have to begin by saying, "With the exception of the cross-burning episode," you probably shouldn't even bother with the rest of whatever it is you were going to say.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, this guy should be sitting in a jail cell. If I had a kid, and one of his teachers had burned anything, much less a cross, onto his/her arm, I'd probably want to rip the guy's head off.