Biggoted Teacher sues Gay Mom for Defamation

[Maiden England]

http://www.acadiananow.com/news/html/AF4BEA7D-3C73-47F7-B3CD-750BE39B0442.shtml


LAFAYETTE — A Lafayette Parish teacher is seeking $50,000 in a defamation lawsuit filed Monday against the mother of a boy she was accused of disciplining because he used the word “gay.”

-snip-

“Her attorney called us and said, ‘Apologize or else,’ ” Huff said. “I didn’t feel like I should do it.”

The suit was filed against Huff, ACLU representative Chris Hampton, ACLU attorney Ken Choe and Joe Cook, a New Orleans ACLU official.

-snip-

In the lawsuit, filed by Lafayette attorney Max Jordan, the Betheas claim the defendants lied about the teacher’s actions in disciplining Huff’s son after he used the word “gay” and told another child what it meant.


Here is the background to the story...

http://www.berkeleypta.org/topics/safety/20031204-ap.html

The ordeal started with a disturbing phone call on Nov. 11 from the assistant principal...Marcus is in trouble, the school official had said, for using "foul words" and "talking inappropriately." It was so bad, Huff remembers him saying, he "didn't feel comfortable" repeating them over the phone.

Worried, Huff agreed a conference was necessary. "I want to get to the bottom of this," she remembered telling the official, "see where he picked this up."

When Marcus came home, Huff looked through his backpack, as she does every day. And then she read the report about what had happened at 9:50 a.m. in Room 2.

-snip-

She was astonished at what second-grade teacher Terry L. Bethea had written: "Marcus decided to explain to another child in his group that his mom is gay. He told the other child that gay is when a girl likes a girl. This kind of discussion is not acceptable in my room. I feel that parents should explain things of this nature to their own children in their own way." Marcus was scolded in front of his classmates, sent to the principal's office and barred from recess, the ACLU said. And he was ordered to attend "behavior clinic."


I am APPAULED, at this. This school is just up the road from me, and as I recall, there was never any paperwork saying that this boy was disciplined for anything other than explaining that his Mommy was gay and what that mean in innocent 2nd grade terms. If he'd been disruptive in class, don't ya think the teacher should have mentioned it SOMEWHERE in his incident report filed at the school or sent home to his Mom? No, instead she's just going to sue the Mother, for daring to be outraged that some biggot of a teacher thought it was fine to teach a 2nd grader, in a PUBLIC school that it was wrong and disgusting to MENTION the fact that his Mommy is Gay, and that it just means, when girls like a girl. OMG. Not to mention that she's probably now taught a whole class of 2nd graders, that its OK to ostracise this boy and pick on him, because he has two Mommies.
I swear I'm sitting here with steam coming out of my ears on this one.

[Sub Atomic]

1. This so-called "teacher"

has absolutely no business in the classroom.

[Mojambo]

2. This is why the concept of don't ask don't tell

was (and is) so ridiculous.

[Maiden England]

3. How the conversation came about

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/South/12/01/gay.mother.ap/

LAFAYETTE, Louisiana (AP) -- A 7-year-old boy was scolded and forced to write "I will never use the word 'gay' in school again" after he told a classmate about his lesbian mother, the American Civil Liberties Union alleged Monday.

Second-grader Marcus McLaurin was waiting for recess November 11 at Ernest Gaullet Elementary School when a classmate asked about Marcus' mother and father, the ACLU said in a complaint.

Marcus responded he had two mothers because his mother is gay. When the other child asked for explanation, Marcus told him: "Gay is when a girl likes another girl," according to the complaint.

A teacher who heard the remark scolded Marcus, telling him "gay" was a "bad word" and sending him to the principal's office. The following week, Marcus had to come to school early and repeatedly write: "I will never use the word 'gay' in school again."

:mad:

[Withywindle]

6. I'm speechless....

That's wingnut family values for you: trying to teach a little kid that his family is a dirty word.

And that's the wingnut persecution complex in action too. These scumbags control everything now, and they still think they're being oppressed.

I just....I....er....HEAD EXPLOSION!!

[fudge stripe cookays]

4. Oh.My.God.

I would countersue that bitch with every cent and every bit of power I had.

If I could hire F. Lee Bailey or one of those high dollar folks I would. What a malicious ass. That poor little boy is going to be scarred for life for explaining a simple word to a classmate.

Hit this chick with both barrels. She needs to suffer badly. Financially, socially, whatever it takes.

FSC

[MatrixEscape]

5. Welcome to the future ...

Healing? Cha!

This trivial thought-crime agenda is going to predominate as long as the wing-nut religious have a green light and think it's okay to act that way. At some point, the sheer volume of news stories like this will amaze you.

Substitute "gay" with any minority and you can see just how offensive and forboding this action, by an "educator" no less, was.

[ooglymoogly]

10. behavior clinic? for talking truth

isn't that from orwell?

[Tempest]

7. Teacher lies in the lawsuit

>>Bethea and school officials said previously that the child was not punished for using the word “gay.” He was punished for disrupting the class, they said.<<


They're going to have a hard time explaining the following if this wasn't about his use of the word "gay":

1) Why the principal told the mother he was in trouble for using "foul words" and "talking inappropriately." The principal also told her he "didn't feel comfortable" repeating them over the phone.

2) Why the teacher wrote: "Marcus decided to explain to another child in his group that his mom is gay. He told the other child that gay is when a girl likes a girl. This kind of discussion is not acceptable in my room. I feel that parents should explain things of this nature to their own children in their own way."

3) And why the student had to write over and over something to the effect that gay was a bad word.

[pacalo]

8. I hope the mother sues the teacher, the principal, the school, & the

school board for the reckless handling of this situation. The punishment was cruel, considering the circumstances. It's as though every school official involved is making the judgement that "gay" people have no right to exist, that discussion of this boy's mother is taboo because she is gay.

The school officials were dead wrong on this & showed my-way-or-the-highway lack of judgement. They need to be taught a big lesson so that it'll get through their thick heads that they were wrong.

[pacalo]

9. I just sent a letter to the newspaper...

I am apalled at this story, and I feel for the child involved. The school officials were dead wrong on this matter & showed an outrageous lack of sensitivity & judgement toward the child. It's as though their message to the child is that his mother had no right to exist during school hours & discussion of his mother was regarded taboo because of her lifestyle.

Does the son have control over his mother's lifestyle? Should the son be punished for discussing his mother at school?

I'm outraged that this teacher has filed suit against the son's mother. It is she, the principal, the school, & the school board who should be taught the lesson in court.

[justa]

12. At the very least,

make sure people like this are kept out of the classrooms. This is no different than allowing someone like David Duke to teach your children.

[Maiden England]

13. Welcome to the DU Justa!

:hi:

[foreigncorrespondent]

17. I appreciate the letter...

...you wrote, but really, when did your life become a style? Homosexuality isn't a lifestyle, and the sooner people stop calling it that, the better off it will be for the LGBT community.

[pacalo]

24. Point taken. It's not a choice of lifestyle, you're so right.

I wish I hadn't used that term.

[foreigncorrespondent]

25. Hey?

We all make mistakes now and then. I just felt the need to pinpoint this one out.

Anyway, don't stress about it. You are certainly no bigot. :)

[pacalo]

29. :)

[Maiden England]

11. shameless kick as its my local school

The Lafayette Parish School Board in Louisiana declined to apologize to Sharon Huff and her 7-year-old son, who was punished for telling a classmate that his mother was gay....the board met in closed session for four hours Thursday evening, finally voting 5-3 to reject demands from the American Civil Liberties Union.

The board's decision was based on the school's insistence that Marcus McLaurin was sent to a one-hour "behavior clinic" on Nov. 17, on account of a completely unrelated problem of inattention in the classroom. "To the extent that the student or mother misunderstood, or was left with the impression that disciplinary action was taken for us of the word 'gay' or reference to sexual orientation is regrettable," said board member Mike Hefner.

But the facts suggest otherwise. On Nov. 11, Sharon Huff received a call from the assistant principal at her son's elementary school, telling her Marcus had said something so bad, it could not be repeated on the phone. That day, Marcus came home with a "student behavior contract," on which his teacher had written: "He told a classmate that you were gay and what gay meant." That same day, teacher Terry Bethea filled out an official state form, explaining that Marcus had talked about his gay mother, and assigning him to the one-hour detention on Nov. 17....By contrast, the school has no paperwork to document the new charge of "inattention in class."

http://www.planetout.com/news/article-print.html?2003/12/12/3

Copies of the forms sent with home with the boy are available from the ACLU website at
http://www.aclu.org/LesbianGayRights/LesbianGayRights.cfm?ID=14480&c=104
and
http://www.aclu.org/LesbianGayRights/LesbianGayRights.cfm?ID=14478&c=104

The local paper held an unscientific online poll about this matter at the time of the original incident and "82 percent of those first 1,500 respondents agreed that the school owes the boy and his mother an apology. Only 11 percent said that the school acted properly"
http://www.theadvertiser.com/billdecker/html/5D86D1F7-88FA-43E6-9095-E8B3B4047C46.shtml

Yet still the School board declined to apologise to the kid and his mother, but prefered to fabricate an excuse AND now the teacher is filing suit against the Mother (and the ACLU) for defamation. Great Scott! What the heck is this world coming to.

[MountainLaurel]

14. And so it begins

They know they have the power and backing of the highest levels of government behind their hatred, and feel no compunction to hide it now.

[patdem]

33. Ya know, this just makes me CRY!!! Can you imagine being a little boy

living with people who love you and are honest and giving and treating you with respect and dignity, only to go to school and SUDDENLY all things you have been brought up to KNOW is being undermined for NO GOOD reason.

I believe this must be similar to a black child who lives un aware that people are racist till others start being cruel...Or a fat child loved and nourished by his/her family suddenly thrust into the world of cruel children, and even cruel teachers...

This is HORRIBLE!!!!! :grr:

[Dark]

15. Although I think that parents should talk with their kids about all matter

of sex, the teacher should have simply told the kid to not talk about it again. Disciplining the kid was wrong, but the kid could get picked on for having two mommies. But the teacher was definately wrong to punish the kid.

[Ms. Toad]

19. Should the teacher have told all children

with heterosexual parents not to talk about their parents, and not to mention that their parents love each other, or are married?

My daughter has two parents - and anyone who tells her she is not allowed to accurately describe her relationship to both parents or her parents relationship to each other will hear about it from us immediately, and if the response is poor his or her supervisor will also hear about it, on up to the school board.

My daughter sometimes talks about us, sometimes not. It is her choice. Not that it is relevant to whether she may talk about her family, but she rarely gets picked on (and she has now made it through the dreaded middle school years) As long as other children are free to talk about their parents she should be as well.

[Logansquare]

16. Here's a link to the actual "behavior contract" for the boy

It brings a tear to the eye to think of how scared he must have been:


(thanks to Atrios for image)

[Maiden England]

18. a biggot AND a sh*t teacher

If I were her I wouldn't know what to be ashamed of more, my assbackwards biggoted attitude or the fact I'd failed so utterly and miserably in my job the child I teach wasn't even able to spell 'words' correctly.

[bain_sidhe]

32. Should have "Cep my mouf shut"

This is the lesson they really want this kid, and his moms and anyone else who is the target of their bigotry to learn. It's the common theme running through this case, and the rejection of the Universal Church of Christ's "inclusion" ad, and the firing of the girls coach after he complained that his teams weren't given the same access to resources and facilities that the boys teams were, and the email from my young, Christian niece about how people who object to government promoting Christianity should just "sit down and shut up" and the legislator in, what, Alabama?, who introduced the bill to remove any mention of the existence of homosexuals from school texts... and the list, I'm sure could go on, though I can't think of any more right now.

We all used to laugh at Hannity for his "SHUT UP" reponse to guests who annoy him with inconvenient facts. Perhaps we - women, gays, minorities, the disabled, liberals - in short, anyone who dares even acknowledge the existence of non-white, non-male, non-Christian, non-heterosexual people (let alone their rights as human beings AND citizens of this country) - should stop laughing, and start practicing groveling and saying "yes massa, shuttin' up now, massa" with convincing sincerity.

[Yuugal]

20. School is not a free speech zone

I found out the hard way when my daughter was 8 and was learning to multiply. She mentioned calculus to the 7yr old next to her and the whole class ground to a halt while she explained the wonders of finding the area under a curve to kids who couldn't spell curve yet. The stupid teacher thought my daughter was being disruptive for talking during class while she was trying to teach her lesson plan and my daughter got in trouble. Since it was obviously a case of some uneducated teacher trying to tell my kid what to do I immediately sued.

It broke my heart to have to leave the endlessly rewarding and stimulating job I had in the food services industry just to perform the boring but necessary tasks of meeting with the ACLU's many free lawyers, flying around the country to be on talk shows, and facing the daunting task of litigation in these very lawyer-unfriendly times. Deep in my soul I realized that there was no way I could ever live with myself for not confronting what this really was: a deep and bigoted hatred for calculus and very likely a hatred for all forms of math. Even if I had to break my back hauling away all the money from this very rich school district I had just moved into, I knew it would be worth it. The school had ample money, so ample in fact that they could somehow afford those cool "retro" science books for their kids, ya know, the ones that still say, "Someday man will land on the moon." Just where the heck did these people get that kind of money when just one of these books goes for so much on E-Bay?

What really galled me was all the bigoted parents whose minds have been poisoned with the idea that they should have some choice over what is being said to their 7 yr olds. The case is still pending , but rest assured I will make them pay for this!

[fishwax]

23. Well that's a pretty obviously flawed analogy

But thanks for, umm ... :shrug:

[Ms. Toad]

26. I assume this is intended to point out

that you believe the issue was disruption of class rather than the content of the speech, rather than relating a real incident.

If that is the case, perhaps you should read the actual report sent home by the teacher in this thread. The note said absolutely nothing disrupting the class. In her own words, the teacher said, "he explained to another child that you are gay and explained what being gay means." The child's description seems to indicate that the incident occurred while the class was lining up for recess (a time when talking is often permitted). The rest of the information provided in newspaper reports about the specific punishment imposed supports the documentary evidence that the punishment was for discussing his parents, not for disrupting the class.

As a former teacher, I certainly agree that teachers have the right and responsibility to maintain a classroom atmosphere that is conducive to learning - which may include cutting off even good and appropriate conversations which occur at inappropriate times. I also agree that some parents respond poorly when their child is being disciplined for any reason, even when their child was misbehaving.

From anything I have seen, the contemporaneous evidence (rather than after the fact explanations) indicates the child was punished for saying the equivalent of my mom loves my dad. In this case, Marcus' mom loves his mom - which is at essence what he said. It also appears that Marcus' mom's immediate reaction was to assume the school was disciplining her son for an appropriate reason (saying bad words), and to support that discipline. It was only when the "bad word" turned out to be "gay" that mom began to appropriately challenge the school.

Punishing a child for speaking honestly about his parents (or even describing that as the disciplinary problem if the real problem was class disruption) is inappropriate and should be challenged. Unfortunately, if the school board refuses to correct the mistake made by the teacher and apparently compounded by the principal that may ultimately mean filing a lawsuit.

In this incident, however, although the ACLU is assisting the parent by communicating with the school board on her behalf it appears that the teacher filed the suit against the parent rather than the other way around.

If my initial assumption about your motives is incorrect, from your own description your child was holding a side conversation while the class was learning multiplication, which disrupted that learning process. This was the reason you assert you were given for the discipline. Although the teacher could have handled it better, that is not the same as punishing a child for the topic of the conversation. You also could have handled it better by going first to the teacher, second to the principle, and third to the school board (as Marcus' mom is apparently still in the process of doing) rather than "immediately" suing.

[Obamarama]

21. Why does it not surprise me that this happened in Louisiana?

n/t

[tx_dem41]

27. Ummm...it could and does happen everywhere

Even in Michigan. :eyes:

[lwesty]

22. My goodness,

I just did a search for the superintendent so I could send an e-mail and I came across an article that said there is a 39yr old desegregation lawsuit about to be settled in that area. If it took 39 years to embrace racial harmony, how long until they take to gays?

http://www.acadiananow.com/news/html/F87E9102-D516-409D-9245-46D8472C703A.shtml

[Tsiyu]

28. Look to see if the Judge is up for Re-election

Great issue to push to get re-elected.

[genieroze]

30. ????

The teacher is a :freak:

[Maiden England]

31. And on the subject of the local superintendant....

http://www.timesofacadiana.com/html/235D778B-8AD6-4BEB-B1CA-D716B6441597.shtml

"Easton honestly thought it was right to conceal the name of a school bus driver who did not check his bus at the end of the day and ended up leaving a child who had fallen asleep on the bus when his route was over.

Last spring, Easton honestly thought it was right to ignore a judge's order to let a high school senior walk with his graduating class.

And, now, Easton honestly thinks it's better to become more vigorous by the day in defending an indefensible act despite the damage it may cause a young child.

-snip-

Instead, the leader of our public school system continues to dole out life lessons about how those in power (teachers, administrators, superintendents) needn't ever acknowledge wrongdoing and that those out of power (parents and students) need just accept their place in the food chain."

[Disturbed]

34. Incredible!!!

If I had seen this as a story on TV I would have thought that this would never happen for real. This real life event is quite disturbing because it forshadows the repression that is surely coming in this Fascist Amerika. All of us who believe in Liberty should do what we can to fight
this outrageous Fascism. I am sending a contribution to the ACLU.

[Strawman]

35. And this years winner of the "Jim DeMint Educator of the Year Award" is...

Terry L. Bethea.