Pharyngula links today to a very able summary of all the John Freshwater business. John Freshwater, in case you don’t recall, is the lovable middle school science teacher who posts the Ten Commandments in his classroom, teaches creationism, and, at least once, burned a cross into a student’s forearm.
Read the summary, if only for one thing: you get to see a picture of the cross-shaped burn mark. I had envisioned a little thing, but this is the whole length of the students’ forearm! You’ll also learn of a shrill religious right organization that is largely responsible for the movement to support Mr. Freshwater.
In any case, Mr. Freshwater is scheduled to be fired on July 7, unless he asks for a hearing. Great news, although by all accounts it was eleven years too late.
Tags: Creationism, cross burning, Evolution, Intelligent Design, john freshwater, mount vernon middle school, Secularism, separation of church and state, thomas jefferson's wall
Allusions of Grandeur 
June 23, 2008 at 1:03 pm |
Thanks for the link and the kind words!
Mr. Freshwater is only known to have been a problem for 11 years. That’s because the person best in a position to know what kind of a problem he’s been has only been in her job 11 years. But Mr. Freshwater has been teaching for 21 years. It might be he’s been a problem considerably longer than 11 years.
June 23, 2008 at 9:08 pm |
You bet! I think the best outcome of all this (for me, at least) is having been directed to your blog. It’s excellent! I think the main reason I post this blog is in the hope that people who know a lot more than me will swoop in and correct me.