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Teacher resigns after burning flag in classroom

S

spidey07

No Lifer
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200660821025

"A Stuart Middle School teacher has been removed from the classroom after he burned two American flags in class Friday as part of a civics lesson, according to Jefferson County Public Schools officials.
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updated article...
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbc...le?AID=/20060822/NEWS01/608220378/1008
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What in the world was this guy thinking? Did he think this was acceptible or somehow OK?

Burning the flag, on state/federal grounds is just wrong. Go right ahead and do it in protest, that's your right. But not in a middle school classroom.
 
Wow, talk about over-reaction. Their reason was safety, like he was a pyro? Sounds like he was doing his job, provoking thought and teaching and the school was paranoid of the right wing crowd. Sad times.

The day someone tells me I can't burn a flag is the day I will burn one.

At least paste the text, it's not long.

A Stuart Middle School teacher has been removed from the classroom after he burned two American flags in class Friday as part of a civics lesson, according to Jefferson County Public Schools officials.

Seventh-grade social studies teacher Dan Holden burned a small flag in two classes to provoke students? thoughts during a lesson on freedom of speech, then told them to write an opinion paper, district spokeswoman Lauren Roberts said.

Holden has been reassigned to non-instructional duties pending a district investigation. The district also alerted city fire officials.

?Certainly we?re concerned about the safety aspect,? Roberts said, along with ?the judgment of using that type of demonstration in a class.?

At least one parent has complained to the district about the incident, Roberts said.
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WWBS?

?I like that about the Republicans; the evidence does not faze them, they are not bothered at all by the facts.?

Bill Clinton
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yeah, but c'mon. In a middle school classroom? Thought provoking or not, it's dangerous and shows clear lack of common sense and judgement. I can think of many thought provoking things that are legal and would get your teaching license revoked.

Of course the school is well within their right to punish however they see fit. If he is ever able to teach in the state again. How's that for thought provoking? "gee, maybe I should have thought about this beforehand and the consequences of my actions"
 
Originally posted by: spidey07
yeah, but c'mon. In a middle school classroom? Thought provoking or not, it's dangerous and shows clear lack of common sense and judgement. I can think of many thought provoking things that are legal and would get your teaching license revoked.

Of course the school is well within their right to punish however they see fit. If he is ever able to teach in the state again. How's that for thought provoking? "gee, maybe I should have thought about this beforehand and the consequences of my actions"
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I'm not so concerned about 'burning the flag' in the classroom as I am about the 'burning'. The children's safety could have been at risk and that should be the school's concern more than 'burning the flag'.

I'm all about the freedom of speech (however, as public school teacher he's a proctor of the state, so it's limited), but lighting something on fire in the classroom to invoke opinions is a bit extreme.
 
This teacher certainly had the right to burn American flags in front of his middle school students, but he is an asshat for doing so.

I firmly believe in our freedom of speech, so I don't think this teacher should face disciplinary action for his choice...however, I also believe that there are responsibilities that come with such freedoms, which include discretion and common sense.

There are other ways to promote discussion in a civics class withour resorting to actions that some would find disrespectful or inappropriate.

Would the teacher come into class wearing a KKK outfit and burning crosses on the playground to spark debate about racism? I think not.
 
This guy just proves the point I make whenever the subject of flag burning comes up. The story always turns out to be that someone burned a flag, not whatever point they were trying to make, or the protest, or, in this case, the lesson to be taught. It's always focused on the burning of the flag.

Hopefully he'll be reinstated and next time he wants to do it he'l do it in a permissable and safer manner.
 
"A small flag" - I'm picturing the little ones they hand out with wooden post. This is not a fire hazard unless he doused it in gas.

You guys seem to ignore the point he was trying to teach. He was not "hating 'merica". He was teaching a civic class by picking a topic that is both recent and timeless. The Founding Fathers and generations of Americans have fought to give us this freedom and conveying the principles of our country is what an education is about. We have seen the recent scorn some American have for the Constitution, they could use a good 7th grade lesson.

Edit: I guess the teacher would have been better off waiving the flag and reading the Bible in class.
 
Sometimes I just have to wonder what these idiots are thinking when they bring a flag into a classroom and proceed to burn it. I mean seriously, this guy must've been on drugs...
 
This reminds me of an incident where a elementary school teacher taught that brown haired children were inferior---and then the next day that children of the other hair colors were inferior and that brown haired children were superior. What is amazing is how eagarly the children ate it up---30 years later the class reunited---and all turned out to be surprisingly level headed people who all remembered this simple lesson when they were children.---but at the time the parents were ready to lynch the teacher.

I hope this lesson turns out the same way---a flag is a symbol we honor by our behavoir---in proving we are worthy to honor its principles.
 
Originally posted by: Jaskalas
Lesson learned eh? Burn a flag you lose your job.

That?s one heck of a statement the school made.
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Burn anything inside a school like that and you should lose your job. If I were the principle I'd have probably fired him because if the school caught fire people would probably die, not to mention the message of "its ok to burn stuff" lesson it gives 13 year olds. Very stupid thing to do, regardless of the political issue
 
We burned stuff for science classes back when I went to middle school, there is nothing inherently wrong with burning stuff, it just has to be done under proper precautions.
 
Originally posted by: spidey07
yeah, but c'mon. In a middle school classroom? Thought provoking or not, it's dangerous and shows clear lack of common sense and judgement. I can think of many thought provoking things that are legal and would get your teaching license revoked.

Of course the school is well within their right to punish however they see fit. If he is ever able to teach in the state again. How's that for thought provoking? "gee, maybe I should have thought about this beforehand and the consequences of my actions"
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yeah firehazard FTL
 
what an idiot, he shouldnt be surprised if he lkost his job... yeah he had every right to burn the flag, but obviously in his higher education he never took ethics....
 
Originally posted by: Todd33
"A small flag" - I'm picturing the little ones they hand out with wooden post. This is not a fire hazard unless he doused it in gas.

You guys seem to ignore the point he was trying to teach. He was not "hating 'merica". He was teaching a civic class by picking a topic that is both recent and timeless. The Founding Fathers and generations of Americans have fought to give us this freedom and conveying the principles of our country is what an education is about. We have seen the recent scorn some American have for the Constitution, they could use a good 7th grade lesson.

Edit: I guess the teacher would have been better off waiving the flag and reading the Bible in class.
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Hey, I'm all for it. Let him burn all sorts of things. I just would hate for anyone to scream when they show up to drop their kids off at school and there is a cross burning in the front. Also, please yell "freedom of speech" when he sets fire to a stack of Qurans in assembly. Or, God forbid, he draw a picture of Allah on the board. Maybe he hoists the old stars and bars up the flag pole every morning. They are all just paper, wood and cloth right?

Just make sure when you stand behind the 1st amendment that you stand behind it completely.
 
Originally posted by: DickFnTracy
This guy just proves the point I make whenever the subject of flag burning comes up. The story always turns out to be that someone burned a flag, not whatever point they were trying to make, or the protest, or, in this case, the lesson to be taught. It's always focused on the burning of the flag.

Hopefully he'll be reinstated and next time he wants to do it he'l do it in a permissable and safer manner.
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yup
 
this guy is no different that the moron who shot himself while teaching gun saftey to kids.

If it was so ok then why did he not seek permission to do so? could it POSSIBLY be that the word SAFTEY would come into play?
 
Originally posted by: LEDominator
Why did he even need to burn it in the first place? Especially when a picture would have done just fine...
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He was evoking a response and having the students write from that response. Nothing works better than actually seeing it done.
 
...

So if I want to invoke a response in say a health class, I should just drop my pants and start banging someone. I don't mind so much the fact that he burned it, but the fact he was an idiot enough to do it inside... Especially when other means would have sufficed. I mean for the Civil War or whatever if I wanted to stimulate a response of people under fire firecrackers would work too... but it is overkill...
 
Originally posted by: LEDominator
...

So if I want to invoke a response in say a health class, I should just drop my pants and start banging someone. I don't mind so much the fact that he burned it, but the fact he was an idiot enough to do it inside... Especially when other means would have sufficed. I mean for the Civil War or whatever if I wanted to stimulate a response of people under fire firecrackers would work too... but it is overkill...
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"Small flag". How big was it? Was it really a fire hazard or was "fire hazard" used as an excuse to fire someone for burning a flag?
 
Originally posted by: sandorski
Originally posted by: LEDominator
...

So if I want to invoke a response in say a health class, I should just drop my pants and start banging someone. I don't mind so much the fact that he burned it, but the fact he was an idiot enough to do it inside... Especially when other means would have sufficed. I mean for the Civil War or whatever if I wanted to stimulate a response of people under fire firecrackers would work too... but it is overkill...
Click to expand...

"Small flag". How big was it? Was it really a fire hazard or was "fire hazard" used as an excuse to fire someone for burning a flag?
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he hasn't been fired has he?

 
Originally posted by: moshquerade
Originally posted by: sandorski
Originally posted by: LEDominator
...

So if I want to invoke a response in say a health class, I should just drop my pants and start banging someone. I don't mind so much the fact that he burned it, but the fact he was an idiot enough to do it inside... Especially when other means would have sufficed. I mean for the Civil War or whatever if I wanted to stimulate a response of people under fire firecrackers would work too... but it is overkill...
Click to expand...

"Small flag". How big was it? Was it really a fire hazard or was "fire hazard" used as an excuse to fire someone for burning a flag?
Click to expand...
he hasn't been fired has he?
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My bad, I assume he was pressured into resigning though.
 
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