Posted on 01/30/2003 7:50:53 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
KISSIMMEE -- The Osceola County school district claims to pride itself on diversity.
But when administrators became aware that a rookie teacher was a Wiccan -- a follower of a neopagan religion that honors nature -- the teacher, Aaron Perry, soon found himself without a job.
Perry, 30, said that shortly after he was hired Jan. 13, students at Neptune Middle School peppered him with questions about the black clothes he wears and about a small Wiccan tattoo of eight arrows on his temple. It looks like a snowflake.
The situation reached critical mass when a student complained to a guidance counselor that Perry had told his eighth-grade ecology class that he was "Goth" and "anti-Christ." The girl also contended that Perry used profane lyrics by rapper Eminem in class.
"Everybody thought I was a Satanist," he said.
School superintendent Blaine Muse said the district does not have to give a reason for firing a teacher if it is done during a 97-day probationary period prescribed by law, and he said he didn't know why Perry was let go.
Perry admits telling the students that he used to like certain clothes and music associated with Goth culture. But he denies the rest of the allegations, which he said were made by a youngster from an evangelical Christian background who "interpreted everything I said as the word of the devil."
(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...
I would have just thought he was an idiot.
He chose poorly.
If you want on or off this list, please let me know!
The only difference is that Christianity isn't a wackjob evil religion that's going to have a bad influence on the kids. Unlike Wicca, it could improve their behavior and outlook on life.
You can try to set yourself in an artificial, neutral position when it comes to religion, as if all belief systems are equal and deserve exactly the same treatment. But sooner or later, common sense will prevail.
Who was the conservative commentator that proved several years ago that while the teaching profession once recruited from the best talent pools, it now recruits from among the worst -- the bottom 25% of all college graduates.
Why the h-ll didn't the school board members who interviewed this moron notice the tattoo?
If anyone claims that the tattoo was just an expression of his individuality, I'll ... scream!
We're talking wicker, right? Did I miss something?
More from the story: *** Perry said Neptune Principal Judy Zieg asked him about his tattoo two days after he was hired and, when she found out, told him not to explain it to the students. A week later, he said, Zieg told him she didn't want him to discuss his beliefs in class. Zieg could not be reached.***
Really, so what is it exactly this "wackjob evil religion" that going to make kids bad?
The tattoo is just an expression of his individuality
Yeah, really! I heard of some kooks from a long time ago who thought that way. Just look at what one of those nuts had the nerve to write:
"...our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions, any more than our opinions in physics or geometry..."
-Thomas Jefferson
Then those nutjobs had the gall to burden our nation with abominations like this:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."
But you and I know better than those old fools! We know, from the lessons of thousands of years of human history, that allowing government to determine which religion is best surely results in the most peaceful and free society.
The only difference is that Christianity isn't a wackjob evil religion that's going to have a bad influence on the kids. Unlike Wicca, it could improve their behavior and outlook on life.
Agree with the response. This is why, IMO, it was a GOOD thing that the USSC declared unconstitutional the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (a few years ago). Under the RFRA the school likely would NOT have the freedom to act as it did. Instead, the school can use common sense --which it did.
As to the second point, I DON'T think it's common sense to discriminate against Christian influence in schools, so it IS fair to complain when schools take an extreme and hostile attitude against any open expression by students of Christian belief. And I think a majority of people agree with me. And I don't think the First Amendment was intended to take the right to act on that belief away from the political realm of communities and majorities -- something the USSC still needs to fix in its jurisprudence.
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