Don't Ask, Don't Tell- Beaverton(Oregon)Student Teacher Booted for Mentioning Gay Marriage

[Ken Burch]

http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/dont-ask-dont-tell/Content?oid=2917503&cb=4171707291657451da9625980a3d65af&sort=desc#readerComments

(snip)

ON SEPTEMBER 15, Beaverton School District officials delivered a curt message to student teacher Seth Stambaugh. Because of an "inappropriate chat" with a student, he was no longer allowed in his classroom at Sexton Mountain Elementary—or anywhere else in the district.

The topic of the "inappropriate" conversation? A few days earlier, a fourth grader had asked Stambaugh whether he was married, and Stambaugh, in response, told the boy the truth: I'm not married. Because I would choose to marry a man. And that's illegal.

Word of the exchange soon made its way to a parent who complained, and that's when a blindsided Stambaugh was quietly asked to leave.

(end snip)

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Public schools are sensitive about anything but "conventional" marriage.

More than 25 years ago when I was a substitute teacher, the principal gave me a stern lecture because I merely said told a fourth grade class that it wasn't important if I got married.

The OP is much worse than my retribution.

[xchrom]

A very bitter sign of the times. Nt

[KurtNYC]

2. Gay marriage is NOT illegal

It just isn't legal recognized throughout the US. There is a big difference.

[GodlessBiker]

3. This from the "Beaverton" School District. How rich.

[cascadiance]

4. I live there... Thanks for noting this. I'll bring it up with Wash. County Dems...

Perhaps some local pols can be prompted to do something about this in an election year.

[grasswire]

5. the Oregonian's lesbian columnist chided the teacher yesterday

She said he was foolish to have said what he did, that he could have been a role model and gave up a career with his comments.

I was very surprised by her attack on him.

[Ken Burch]

6. The Oregonian has always been a Republican paper(I grew up in Salem,

and we read it down there all the time), and, with a Republican leading in the governor's race, that columnist may have been afraid of the backlash.

I don't understand her logic though. How could the guy be a role model if he remains closeted? And the question remains, why did the kid ask him? This sounds like a planned take-down on the part of the kid's parents.

[cascadiance]

7. At the MOST it should have just been a private meeting with some administration officials

... on how they feel he might have handled such a question more tactfully. In the school there are probably personal issues for both straight and gay people to avoid talking about, especially to fourth graders. But to fire someone over a comment like that does seem like there was an agenda at work. Especially with a student teacher, when arguably they perhaps aren't experienced in dealing with situations like other teachers would be.

One of my favorite teachers in high school was gay and I didn't even know of it at the time, though it was a topic of discussion with school administrators at the time. My mom later told me since she worked as a secretary for them. Kind of surprised me, but in a way it didn't either. He was professional about his career with his students and it showed in him being a decent teacher, no matter what parts of the high school might have said about him.