Gay Teacher Gets Fired From My School

[SPQR]

Now before I start this story, I want to make it clear to everyone that I go to a Catholic high school which of course a private organization. This means they can fire anyone for pretty much anything, which means there probably is'nt any legal action to to taken here. This does not mean there cannot be protests decrying the Catholic church's stance on homosexuals.

Apparently last Friday(5-12-06), the teacher in question, Dr. K., was asked to leave the school. I have no idea how this was done, whether by e-mail or face-to-face, I all know is he was fired. The school administration has not issued anything official regarding Dr. K.'s termination, but he was not at school today(5-15-06). The word is that the school discovered on Dr. K.'s MySpace that he was gay. This was pretty well known around the school beforehand, but he never officially "came out." One policy of my school's is that no teacher can be openly homosexual.

This series of events has pissed off many, many students since Dr. K was particularly well liked. As I am typing this, a senior protest, of which I plan to be a part, is being organized to try and get Dr. K re-enstated. We graduate in less than a week so there is very little the school can do to us. We plan to protest on the sidewalk outside the school, since it is technically city property. Shirts are being made which bear Dr. K's image and the phrase, "Where's Dr. K?" in rainbow lettering. Protest slogans are being discussed; some of the better ones are, "It's Time For A Change: Vatican 3" and "Jesus Would Not Discriminate."

If anyone else has ideas for more protest slogans or would like to discuss this matter at all, feel free to post here.

 

[pgwenthold]

You want a real protest? Boycott the commencement. Watch the school administrators crumble when none of their graduating seniors show up.

Or show up, but refuse to participate.

Or boycott the baccalaureat.

Don't worry, you will still graduate. They can't force you to go through commencement.

You can make a difference. Protests they can ignore. Commencement boycotts make national news. It will pi$$ a lot of people off, but a statement will be made.

 

[andyandy]

before you do do anything I'd talk to your Mr K.....you're assuming he's been fired because he's gay - and that could be the case - but it could be over some other matter entirely - so before you start any publicity campaign you have to make sure your facts are 100% correct. Not only that, you have to make sure that Mr. K is happy for you to do this....maybe he would feel that this kind of controvesy would harm his future career, maybe he would rather not be in the limelight, maybe he would prefer his sexuality to remain a personal issue.....

not that i'm saying that you shouldn't be outraged and want to do something - but just that you shouldn't lose sight of the fact that you're fighting someone else's cause - so you have to sure they're cool with that

what to do? it's all about publicity - it's a pretty hot-button issue so it's the sort of case that can be made into cause célèbre if picked up by the media....
my advice would be local demo to get the local press involved, do some research on some of the leading vocal campaigners for gay-rights in the US (cant help u there cos im from the uk) - get trying to contact as many of them as possible - if you've already got a local news story sorted there's a chance they'll see the story as something they can campaign off....and hopefully they'll have access to national media....good luck

 

[SPQR]

before you do do anything I'd talk to your Mr K.....you're assuming he's been fired because he's gay - and that could be the case - but it could be over some other matter entirely - so before you start any publicity campaign you have to make sure your facts are 100% correct. Not only that, you have to make sure that Mr. K is happy for you to do this....maybe he would feel that this kind of controvesy would harm his future career, maybe he would rather not be in the limelight, maybe he would prefer his sexuality to remain a personal issue.....

Exactly my feeling. I merely got the information from a friend of mine. Not that this friend isn't trustworthy, I v'e since gotten the info confirmed form other friends, but everyone knows how rumors can get blown out of proportion, especially on a high school campus.

When I get to school tommorrow, the first thing I'm going to do is to ask someone to get into contact with Dr. K. and get the actual story.

Thanks for the advice, andyandy.

 

[thaiboxerken]

Wear rainbow colors on an armband during the commencement.

 

[Just Me]

Wear rainbow colors on an armband during the commencement.

Get everyone to wear a square, paper-rainbow on the stupid hat they make us wear.
I do NOT condone painting bodies rainbowy and streaking. That would not help the situation.

 

[Darat]

Wear rainbow colors on an armband during the commencement.

(If the facts are as presented of course.)

I would suggest that they stitch prominent pink triangles into their clothing or create t-shirts with logos such as

"Heinrich Himmler, Chief of the SS says: "... the homosexual must be eliminated"

Or

"Well done [insert school name], Himmler would be proud of you"

 

[Beerina]

(If the facts are as presented of course.)

I would suggest that they stitch prominent pink triangles into their clothing or create t-shirts with logos such as

"Heinrich Himmler, Chief of the SS says: "... the homosexual must be eliminated"

Or

"Well done [insert school name], Himmler would be proud of you"

Himmler? Small potatoes. The Judeo-Christian Mountain/Storm God Yahweh wants them eliminated.

 

[geni]

(If the facts are as presented of course.)

I would suggest that they stitch prominent pink triangles into their clothing or create t-shirts with logos such as

"Heinrich Himmler, Chief of the SS says: "... the homosexual must be eliminated"

Or

"Well done [insert school name], Himmler would be proud of you"

That assumes there are still people on the planet who don't know about Godwin's law

 

[Darat]

That assumes there are still people on the planet who don't know about Godwin's law

You mean like the vast majority of people on the planet?

(ETA)

Also what has it got to do with what I posted and you appeared to have been responding to?

 

[NobbyNobbs]

Don't wear black robes. Spring for white robes and dye them pink instead.

And *definitely* get the media involved. Call all your local stations. Call all your local papers. Get Associated Press in on it. Get online periodicals in on it.

 

[geni]

You mean like the vast majority of people on the planet?

In time they will learn

Also what has it got to do with what I posted and you appeared to have been responding to?

Appeal to hiter is generaly not an interlectualy honest approach.

 

[Darat]

In time they will learn

Well when this happens you may have a point (however see below).

Appeal to hiter is generaly not an interlectualy honest approach.

But 1) that is not "Godwin's law^WP" which according to Wikipedia refers to on-line discussions and I am talking about a protest in the real world and 2) in these circumstances it is a very honest approach (also note I used Himmler not Hitler)

In this instance we are discussing a protest and part of an effective protest is to get your point across. Which in this case is that homosexuality is not a reason someone should be discriminated against. Therefore it is "intellectually honest" to demonstrate (as part of the protest) with facts what discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has meant in the past. Just because something (also) makes an appeal to the emotions does not necessarily mean it is inappropriate to use it or it is in any way intellectually dishonest to use it.

 

[geni]

Well when this happens you may have a point (however see below).



But 1) that is not "Godwin's law^WP" which according to Wikipedia refers to on-line discussions and I am talking about a protest in the real world

Well the problem appears to have started due to online activity. Certain aspects of online stuff have always leaked over into meatspace.

In this instance we are discussing a protest and part of an effective protest is to get your point across. Which in this case is that homosexuality is not a reason someone should be discriminated against. Therefore it is "intellectually honest" to demonstrate (as part of the protest) with facts what discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has meant in the past. Just because something (also) makes an appeal to the emotions does not necessarily mean it is inappropriate to use it or it is in any way intellectually dishonest to use it.

The problem is:

1)Himmler had slightly different reasons

2)Himmler had a different aproach to the "problem".

 

[Darat]

...snip..
The problem is:

1)Himmler had slightly different reasons

From what we know so far this is a Catholic school and since Catholicism regards homosexuality as unnatural and a sin I don't think it is too much to assume this underlies any policy they have regarding employing homosexuals. That view of homosexuality is very analogous to Himmler's view on homosexuality.

2)Himmler had a different aproach to the "problem".

Not at the beginning; one of the first things that happened was that people who were identified as homosexual were refused employment. Again very analogous to what has happened here.

(Caveat - this is of course all assuming the info so far is correct.)

 

[pgwenthold]

If you want to be serious about this, then I would recommend NOT making it about homosexuality. Make it personal. Let it be clear that you are opposed to the firing of Mr. K for reasons unrelated to his teaching.

This is not about being pro-gay. It is about supporting a good teacher who was fired for bad reasons. If the concept of him being gay comes up, make it clear that the students don't care about that, only that he was a good teacher.

As the others note, assuming that is why he was fired.

 

[elliotfc]

If you want to be serious about this, then I would recommend NOT making it about homosexuality. Make it personal. Let it be clear that you are opposed to the firing of Mr. K for reasons unrelated to his teaching.

This is not about being pro-gay. It is about supporting a good teacher who was fired for bad reasons. If the concept of him being gay comes up, make it clear that the students don't care about that, only that he was a good teacher.

As the others note, assuming that is why he was fired.

If he posted on myspace and advertised his homosexuality...what the hell was he thinking? Especially in a Catholic school, especially given the well known sex scandals with Catholic authority figures.

I'm certain there exist guidelines that all teachers, lay or order, must follow, must understand, and must agree to. If he broke any guideline, then he deserved to be fired, no matter what the opinions of other are.

-Elliot

 

[aggle-rithm]

If he posted on myspace and advertised his homosexuality...what the hell was he thinking? Especially in a Catholic school, especially given the well known sex scandals with Catholic authority figures.

I'm certain there exist guidelines that all teachers, lay or order, must follow, must understand, and must agree to. If he broke any guideline, then he deserved to be fired, no matter what the opinions of other are.

-Elliot

He happened to work at the one school where teachers and administrators knew how to use a computer.

Tough break.

 

[Scot C. Trypal]

pgwenthold

If you want to be serious about this, then I would recommend NOT making it about homosexuality. Make it personal. Let it be clear that you are opposed to the firing of Mr. K for reasons unrelated to his teaching.

This is not about being pro-gay. It is about supporting a good teacher who was fired for bad reasons. If the concept of him being gay comes up, make it clear that the students don't care about that, only that he was a good teacher.

As the others note, assuming that is why he was fired.

That strikes me as a good approach.

Coming off “pro-gay” can be very alienating, and being “pro-gay” is kind of odd anyway (are many people, even gays, truly “pro-gay”?). Not even I can think up a strong reason men should be attracted to men and not women. I guess I am and my circle of friends and family are actually gay-ambivalent . Pro-gay, to me, would simply be like being pro-left-handedness and arguing for it; why would you?

Nonetheless gayness (and left-handedness) do exist in many people, and being pro-Dr. K, pro-fairness for the individual, anti-job-discrimination on the basis of anatomy, that’s a much better argument.

elliotfc

If he posted on myspace and advertised his homosexuality...what the hell was he thinking?

Details are slim, but just describing your weekend without letting your sexual orientation slip, gay or straight, can be tricky. That said, I still agree, myspace, and blogging of all sorts, seem like foolish things to do if you want to keep any of it private and separate from the job. It will find its way.

 

[Jimbo07]

pro-left-handedness

Hate the sin, but love the sinner