Teacher Accused Of "Pushing Pro-Gay Agenda"

[matcom]

:grr:

<snip>

Ron Fanelle, a Camarillo middle school teacher, had hoped to keep his personal life out of the classroom.

But that all changed when his seventh- and eighth-grade students recently asked him about a rumor that he was gay and had married his longtime partner in San Francisco. The social studies teacher told his students it was all true.

Since then, the parents of one of Fanelle's students pulled their child out of his class, the father of another accused him at a public board meeting of pushing a pro-gay agenda and Fanelle filed complaints against two teachers accusing them of helping to spread the word among students about his homosexuality.

Meanwhile, the Pleasant Valley School District has launched an investigation into the matter.

http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/showcase/la-me-gayteacher24mar24.story

[GOPisEvil]

1. How could he have been pushing an agenda?

No one knew until just recently. :wtf: If the guy was doing a good job prior to coming out, why would he suddenly stop doing a good job?

Damn ignorance is so fucking infuriating! :grr:

[MountainLaurel]

4. For these people

If the teacher isn't telling students that homosexuals are evildoers and perverts who lust after children and who are all going to burn in hell one day, that's pushing an agenda.

What interests me here is the teacher's counterclaim against the other two teachers for giving students enough info about him that led to their asking him about the marriage. Was he being set up?

[GOPisEvil]

7. Of course he was set up!

Those two "good Christians" (I bet) saw no problem with ruining a man's life because of who he is. Their day of reckoning will come.

I hope you can find us on April 25th! :hi:

[David__77]

11. From what I can tell...

I don't think he was set up. I think the teacher is rather conservative actually, from what I can gather on him. I think it's entirely possible the teachers thought he was out.

The teacher talking about in class in a potential problem since she did not speak with him about it in advance--that's common courtesy. But I don't see the problem with the other teacher who allowed students to talk about his being gay, provided it was not with malicious intent.

[icymist]

9. The only 'agenda' concerning gay peoples

is from the fundamentalist christian right against anyone who is intolerant of their intolerance!

[Bertha Venation]

2. Jesus. Fucking. Christ.

:grr: :nuke:

What a bunch of ignorant idiots.

[Andy_Stephenson]

5. Sad thing is...

no one cares about a bunch of fags. We are expendable.

:eyes:

[WillParkinson]

3. Oh those silly gay folk...

Always looking to turn straight boys and girls on to the same sex.

[David__77]

6. Why in lounge?

This is a straight-up political question...

[David__77]

8. Parents have NO standing to complain, morally or legally.

The students asked and were told. This is not a discussion of sex practices. If a teacher said he married a person of the opposite sex, no one would complain.

My spouse is a sixth grade teacher and he's been called "faggot" by his students. I think that he should tell them the truth when asked, especially since administration must support his position on the matter. But he won't do that at this point since he's relatively new.

[David__77]

10. One more thing...

This makes me mad.

Why the hell did the school allow a parent to pull their child out of his classroom. To my knowledge, this is not legal. You can't pull your student from a classroom due to the teacher's race, for instance. In this state, the same standard applies to sexual orientation. It has already been decided by the state labor commission that schools cannot comply with a request to remove a student because of the teacher's sexual orientation. Period.

I think I'll have to write to the superintendent and school board. I'd appreciate it if others wrote as well to inform them of their obligation to not allow sexual orientation discrimination. If Mr. Fanelle cannot discuss getting married, then no teacher should be allowed to do so. I SERIOUSLY doubt the district would have hired an attorney to knock on the door of a heterosexual teacher who did the same thing.

Board members:
[e-mail] (Suzanne Kitchens)
[e-mail] (Sandra Berg)
[e-mail] (Jennifer Miller)
[e-mail] (John Alamillo)
[e-mail] (Ron Speakman)

Superintendent:
[e-mail] (Thomas R. Dase)