The saga continues . . .
MOUNT VERNON, OHIO
For the past few days I have been following the John Freshwater story of possible religious discrimination and intolerance on the part of Mou
nt Vernon (Ohio) Schools Administration and their Board of Education toward the middle school teacher and Christian. Below is the latest from MountVernonNews.com regarding John Freshwater, a middle school teacher supposedly in hot water for refusing to remove his personal Bible from the top of his classroom desk defying the order of the school principal.Wednesday, April 23, 2008 – Investigation to begin into allegations against teacher – MountVernonNews.com reported that, “Mount Vernon City Schools Board of Education and administration decided to have an independent party investigate allegations made against eighth grade science teacher John Freshwater. . .
The newspaper’s website stated, “In a press release issued Tuesday afternoon, Superintendent Steve Short said, “The allegations against Mr. Freshwater are very serious. This is not about his personal Bible on his desktop. It is about the totality of his conduct.”
The article goes on to talk about a science class project which allegedly used an electrostatic process to “burn” crosses onto the arms of students. This incident happened in December of 2007, four month ago, no action had been taken regarding that incident up to this point. Another allegation was that Mr. Freshwater had the gall to explain the meaning of Good Friday and Easter. We would not want our student to have any real knowledge now would we? It is okay to talk about Kwanza and Ramadan but how dare you acknowledge the existence and reason for man’s only means of redemption!
MountVernonNew.com also reported, “While the independent investigation is being conducted, an administrator will be in the classroom with Freshwater, monitoring his activities to ensure board policy is followed and student’s rights are protected.” What about Mr. Freshwater’s rights? Must he abrogate those rights when he walks into the school? That is foolish and contrary to the original intent of our Founding Fathers. Does it not matter what they established? It worked for 200 some years.
I can’t help but think that America’s Founders if they returned to Mount Vernon in Ohio today would take up arms and declare a second revolutionary war on the government bureaucracy that has been overrun by elitists and socialists who have accomplished a bloodless coup and established a new tyranny far worse that that of the King of England in 1776! Where are the Patrick Henrys and Noah Websters and George Washingtons of our day? I find it somewhat ironic that this incident of suppressing religious freedom was occurring in a city whose namesake is George Washington’s famous home.
The MountVernonNews.com article concludes, “According to Freshwater’s personnel file, he had been cautioned on several occasions about adhering to the school district’s policy regarding religion in the classroom. Employee evaluation also state Freshwater has good rapport with students, good teaching skills and extensive knowledge of his subject matter.” The article fails to mention, however, that Mr. Freshwater was the Teacher of the Year in 2007 and one additional time in past years. Pretty seedy character if you ask me.
COLUMBUS, OHIO – THE WRONG SIDE
The following is an excerpt from today’s disgraceful Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch’s top editorial published today.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008 - The last straw – Mount Vernon’s teacher/s Bible was one in a long list of religious intrusions.
“ . . . (Freshwater) amplified his protest by calling in Dave Daubenmire, a former London High School football coach who, after resigning in 2000 amid controversy over his insistence on leading the team in pregame prayer, became well-known as a combative advocate for religion in public life. Daubenmire’s Pass the Salt Ministries and Minutemen United have turned up at scenes of religious controversy around the country, occluding Alabama (Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court) Judge Roy Moore’s unsuccessful fight to display a Ten Commandments monument at the state’s supreme court and the fight in Florida over ending the life of comatose Terri Schiavo.
“Daubenmire considers the concept of separation of Church and state - a core constitutional guarantee of religions freedom in the United States – invalid. Freshwater’s association with him is a strong indication that the teacher is as interested in picking a fight over religion as in teaching students about science . . .
“This is more than a Bible on the desk and calls into question Freshwater’s commitment to teaching science. Mount Vernon school officials are right to insist that he conduct himself as a science teacher, not as a religious provocateur.”
Would the dispatch use the same logic in the associations of one of their own liberal idols, Senator Barack Hussein Obama, and his association with racists and anti-semites Jeremiah Wright and Al Sharpton or domestic terrorist William Ayers or white color criminal Antoin "Tony" Rezko? I don’t think so.
The Dispatch is right, it is “This is more than a Bible on the desk,” it is about jumping on the side of the ACLU to suppress all godly influence in society. The media, including the liberal Columbus Dispatch is one the of those who want to remove all vestiges of God, morality, virtue and all decency from our society at the expense of society. Why? Perhaps the left wants to usher in a global socialism, fawned over by leftists worldwide. Even if is at the expense of American sovereignty and freedom.
COLUMBUS, OHIO – THE OTHER SIDE
Below is an email I received from Coach Dave Daubenmire, the “combative advocate for religion in public life.” Boy, that description by the editors of the Columbus Dispatch, really sounds sinister doesn’t it? Does someone who dares to work to preserve the values and principles of Christianity in this once Christian nation deserve to be ostracized, vilified and marginalized? That is what the liberal press seems to be doing to Coach Dave.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008 –- Coach Dave Daubenmire Calls for End to Inquisition of Teacher John Freshwater
“. . . Superintendent Stephen Short emphasized in a news release yesterday that the allegations involving Freshwater extend beyond that Bible.
"This is not about his personal Bible on his desktop," the release states. "It is alleged he used his classroom to advance religion … We have an obligation to protect our students' rights." Coach Dave Daubenmire disagrees with Short. Here is the Coach's statement:
“Mt. Vernon City Schools have chosen character assassination as their weapon of choice in the battle to force John Freshwater to remove a Bible from his desk. With complete disregard for his family or his reputation the attorneys for the school board leaked information to the press regarding a science experiment that Mr. Freshwater conducted in his classroom.
“To accuse Mr. Freshwater of "burning crosses" on the arms of students in attempt to make him appear to be a religious fanatic is a desperate and despicable act. They know John Freshwater and his character and they know that the incident in his science classroom had nothing to do with Christianity. Those responsible should be ashamed. Freshwater has never once violated the freedom of conscience of any of his students. As someone who has endured the wrath of this kind of inquisition, I'm proud to stand with John and his family as they endure this Christian flogging. We will not allow freedom to be expelled from Ohio's public school classrooms."”
WHAT NOW?
I don’t think that we are getting the total story from the main stream media. Hopefully the truth will emerge and we will find Mr. Freshwater guilty only of being an excellent teacher and a God-honoring man. If that warrants termination, God help us all.
Sorry, I know the guy, I was a student of his once upon a time. He always has gone over the line regarding religion in the classroom. It seems likely from your statements that you'd rather not read anyone's statements unless they agree with your own set of values except as a source of new outrage, but the fellow in question here clearly has and still is violating the law. I agree that the entire branding students aspect of the story sounds fishy, but there is more than enough to complain about beyond that. If this story were simply about having a Bible on his desk, it would be worthy of outrage, but it isn't. It's about a guy who has consistently and flagrantly violated the law of the land (like it or not) and the contract that he agreed to and who may have assaulted some kids.
ReplyDeleteIf the burning story is true, he ought to be in jail, plain and simple. Even if a series of kids received cross shaped burns accidentally, his ability to monitor his students effectively is questionable at best.
The Teacher of the Year award is not hard to explain either. The guy is likeable, plain and simple, and the kids vote for him. He's a big, athletic guy who has led an exciting life and tells good stories. He jokes around with the kids and generally they have a good time. If they happen to be religious, they tend not to mind the religious aspect of his class so much, and if they aren't, they figure out early on that it's better for an eighth grader to keep quiet about it.
As an aside, regarding the often stated but incorrect assertion that religion was a core value placed in the Constitution by the founding fathers, why do you suppose that they specifically stated that there should be no establishment of such by the government? The phrase 'separation between church and state' was coined by Jefferson himself, and was the idea was used by Madison frequently. They could have done it and CHOSE not to. They didn't leave it out because it was so fundamentally obvious that it didn't need mentioning, they intentionally didn't include it.