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Originally Posted by Ustwo
Flag burning for whatever reason has become the 'symbol' of free speech to some, but symbolically its no different from bible burning, racist speech or anything else which would get a teacher dismissed with far less press fan fair and could have been used to emphasize the same point.
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Except that burning a flag isn't racist. It's not bigoted towards religon, either. It's not really that specific at all. Usually it's accompanied by a message, and that message is what people generally get up in arms about. Sometimes it's antiwar, sometimes it's anti black, sometimes it's anti america. This time it was nothing. It was a lesson in a social issue. So they are trying to fire a social studies teacher for teaching about social issues? In my mind, that makes them alarmist idiots. It's like firing a math teacher for teaching the OTHER pythagorean theorem (...you don't want to know..).
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Originally Posted by Ustwo
Had the same teacher distributed white supremacist literature, and then told his class 'oh no I'm not a racist, I wanted to prove a point about free speech', how many of you would believe him or think he shouldn't be terminated?
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I read Huck Finn when I was in school, and that was only like 6 years ago. That demonstrates LESSONS in racism. It's not racist itself, of course, but there are characters in the book that are racist. I also read The Scarlette Letter, which explained how apparently mobs rule, and justice and reason takes a back burner.
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Originally Posted by Ustwo
The teachers free speech rights have not been violated. He can burn all the flags he wants at home, wear one as a diaper, and blow his nose with one. If the school board, picked by the people of the district, do not want him teaching such a lesson in their school they have every right to fire him. I'm sure he will be able to land a nice job in some more 'progressive' school district where the parents don't mind if their teachers burn flags, and feel it is not a disrespectful act.
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If there are no rules about burning flags - and I suspect there are none based on the weak attempt to get him in trouble for fire safety - then they have no right to fire him. If they want to pass a NEW rule against flag burning, then let them. Because Ex Post Facto prohibited by Article I section 9 and 10 in the constitution, I think he'll be fine.
If I were him, I'd give one last lesson to the kids (the 'think for yourself' speech), then move to an area where people aren't completly stupid sheep.