Baptism by classroom
This article has been read 278 times.
Florida teacher oversteps bounds by acting on beliefs
Jerry Buell, a Florida high school teacher, recently made some nasty anti-gay comments on his Facebook page. A public backlash soon followed, and cries for his immediate termination swept across the internet.
Despite being opposed to Buell’s way of thinking, I was, when planning this article, ready to defend him. Not because of what he said, but because he said it outside of the classroom setting and as a member of the general public.
Further insights into Buell’s teaching career have been uncovered, however, and they shed doubt on whether or not he kept his beliefs to himself while teaching.
First things first, the man is a bigot, and I take serious issue with his beliefs. I do not, however, feel that he should be censored for those beliefs simply because he is a school teacher.
One does not sign away their right to free speech upon entering into a teaching profession. So long as it’s kept out of the classroom and away from all those young minds the teacher has influence over, of course.
Some may argue that making any sort of religious or political statement publicly is, in effect, still an instance of a teacher going too far since it has a chance of reaching the ears and minds of the students. But if that is the case, then the only solution would be to restrict teachers from expressing themselves at all.
If you think we have a shortage of good teachers now, try telling them they’re no longer allowed to have an opinion. A teacher simply should not be risking their career every time they make an opinionated statement.
So long as they are not in the classroom or acting as an emissary of the school when they do so.
And that point is where my defense of Buell ends. Initially, it seemed that his beliefs were confined to his personal life, but there’s evidence that he may have been attempting to foist them off on his students.
His syllabus informed his students that “I teach God’s truth. I make very few compromises. If you believe you may have a problem with that, get your schedule changed, ’cause I ain’t changing!”
“God’s truth” does not belong in the classrooms of a public school. Regardless of denomination, or lack thereof, teachers are not supposed to be proselytizing to their students. Buell appears to disagree, as there is another document where he reportedly states that he views the classroom as his “mission field.”
While such a statement raises many red flags, so far there’s no indication that he used his influence as a tool to convert his students, though as the investigation progresses new facts may be discovered.
When cases like this arise, though, there is often a claim from the religious right that the LGBT community and their advocates are oppressing people’s right to believe what they wish to believe.
They confuse their right to believe with their right to do, as in the case of those New York City clerks who refused to sign same sex marriage certificates and were fired because of it. It wasn’t their beliefs they were being punished for, it was the actions they took based on those beliefs, actions that were against the policies of their employer.
They were hired on as employees of the State of New York, and they were expected to act in accordance with New York’s laws and regulations. They chose not to do so.
Buell was hired by the Florida school system, and was expected to act in a manner appropriate to that of a public school teacher, which meant keeping his beliefs to himself while interacting with his students. If it’s found that he didn’t do so, then any penalties he faces will be on his own head.
Our society does not punish belief, nor should it. It is the actions based on belief that people are called to task for. Believing that homosexuality is wrong is something that everyone has a right to do. Choosing to channel that belief into acts of discrimination and violence is a right that no one has.
I agree with the article that Jerry Buell should not be fired for his comments on Facebook because that would violate his rights. I am stunned by the fact that the Lake County School Board would continue to back Buell after the writings on the school web-site and class syllabi.
Buell has long been in violation of the Florida Department of Education’s Principles of Professional Conduct, which state that any teacher who discriminates against students on the basis of religion is to have his certificate revoked. Buell has long been discriminating against students on the basis of religion. He re-iterated that he does so this past week in the pages of the Orlando Sentinel, where he said “I’m passionate about my faith . .. . anybody uncomfortable with that . . . needs to get their schedule changed.” Theoretically, the public school system is neutral about religion. What we see here, however, is that in Lake County Florida, it absolutely is not neutral. Buell is issuing a clear public threat to students, they either put up with his religiosity in the social studies classroom, or get their schedule changed. Imagine if a Muslim teacher in that same school district had said those same words. Such a Muslim teacher assuredly would not have been off the hook so easily, for violating the Florida Dept. of Ed’s Principles of Professional Conduct. And additionally, a Muslim (or even a Jewish) student in that school district just has to swallow being discriminated against on a religious basis. Even a student member of Catholics for Equality could not reasonably expect fair treatment in that school district. The Board is protecting Buell despite his disallowed threats against students of religious minorities. Therefore, all students in the district know that their school work likely is not to be graded impartially if they ever express un-Buell-like views. That is what is most seriously at issue here; not the specifics of Buell’s contempt for gay human beings, but the larger fact that backed up as he is by the Lake County School Board, no student of a minority religion is safe in that district.
Actually no clerks were fired in New York. One resigned rather than sign and another has asked to have an underling sign them. Neither was located in New York City but upstate.
A public school teacher certainly does have the right to voice his opinions, but in many cases Jerry Buell has gone well beyond the pale.
Here is how he describes himself on his school’s website: “I teach and lead my students as if Lake Co. Schools had hired Jesus Christ himself.” On his class syllabi is his warning, “I teach God’s truth, I make very few compromises. If you believe you may have a problem with that, get your schedule changed, ’cause I ain’t changing!” On on a separate document, Buell wrote that he regards the classroom as a “mission field.”
Not quite disgusted yet? Consider this account by Bryan Blaise, one of Buell’s former students:
“Mr. Buell typically opened his classes with a review of current events, quizzing the class at the end of each week. During one of these updates at the beginning of class, a student provocatively asked Mr. Buell what he thoughts about gays in the military. I looked up when he said he supported gays in the military, stunned by the answer. He immediately followed that comment with the statement that we should then put them on the front lines, and pull back. Disgusted at the thought of violence and murder of humans being vocally supported, I shut my book and walked out of class, the only time I would ever do this during my educational career.”
You can decide for yourself whether you think Jerry Buell should be teaching in a public high school.