If you, like me, was wondering why the teacher that the 14 year old stood up for, got suspended

[dsc]

read here.

http://www.queerty.com/michigan-high-teacher-suspended-for-telling-anti-gay-student-to-shut-it-20101026/


The best thing high school teacher Jay McDowell has going for him? Besides being the complete opposite of Arkansas school district board member Clint McCance, the Facebook hate spewer who attacked "fags" wearing purple on Spirit Day? That McDowell, a teacher at a Michigan high school, has an entire classroom to back up his version of events on Spirit Day, where he reportedly criticized a student who showed up to class attacking the 'mos.

McDowell, a Howell High School teacher who is also president of the Howell Education Association teachers' union (which is in the middle of an unrelated email privacy squabble), is accused by a student's parent of turning Spirit Day into a chance to voice his support of homosexuals.

A student walked into McDowell's classroom and said, "I do not support gay individuals," according to David Boeving, a Howell alum whose younger brother attends the school. McDowell, according to Boeving, asked the student to leave the class. The student asked to leave was wearing a belt with a Confederate flag belt buckle, Boeving said, which, he added, McDowell took issue with.

First, let's not pretend any student has ever uttered the phrase "I do not support gay individuals" verbatim. Me thinks there's a good chance of a gay slur being used in the place of "gay individuals." And there must have been some dialogue about Spirit Day, and what it represents, to prompt such a comment. Second, students enjoy their First Amendment rights while at school, unless their behavior inhibits the normal activity of a school — and talking about how you hate an entire class of people, in front of all your peers, is more than enough to cause a disruption. What should McDowell have done, let the student say his piece and then quietly sit in his desk for the period? No, what McDowell did was appropriate: Tell the student to get out of the class for talking crap about gays, some of whom undoubtedly were also in that classroom, to keep the peace



Read more: http://www.queerty.com/michigan-high-teacher-suspended-for-telling-anti-gay-student-to-shut-it-20101026/#ixzz15PlfQQAr

end of quote

It is late, and I have to go to bed, but I found this on my facebook and wanted to let anyone know who was interested what the suspension was for. Have to say, I have also told students to stop saying bigotted things.

[struggle4progress]

1. Mich. teacher ejects student for anti-gay remarks

JEFF KAROUB
Associated Press
November 15, 2010|7:29 p.m.

DETROIT (AP) —

Michigan high school teacher Jay McDowell says he didn't like where the discussion was going after a student told his classmates he didn't "accept gays."

So McDowell kicked the boy out of class for a day.

In return, the teacher was suspended for a day without pay for violating the student's free speech rights ...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-anti-gay-class-speech-backlash,0,4107045.story

Might or might not clarify what was actually said: incomplete quote, hence suspect, in conservative-controlled LAT

[sfwriter]

2. I've been wondering about this case...

If this is what it looks like, these school officials need some heat brought down on them. Bullies only go after the weak.

[Cid_B]

3. What a strangely written article...

X was reported but I'm sure Y was said...

Also, just as a side note what is the message here? Are we telling kids that if you don't agree with the teachers views you need to either lie or shut up?

[dsc]

4. I think the writer honestly thinks that the quote was likely cleaned up

as in I don't agree with fags, not gays. He may be right, he may be wrong, but in my experience, the word gay generally isn't the one used in that type of statement.