I have few friends here. I like it that way. I like having a handful of close friends instead of loads of "not so close" friends. Its the way I've always, been and I love it. One of my closest friends is the Art teacher at the school I work at. TJ and I have MANY differences... including religious beliefs and moral convictions. I do not try to "convert" him and he respects my views and opinions. His heart is not open to the gospel at this time and that is fine. Maybe someday it will be and I will have been a real "Christian" example for him to see. Maybe someday it won't and I will be sad for him, but that doesn't change that he is a good person. He loves his students and does an amazing job at teaching students about Art and keeping them excited to go to class. He is a second year teacher and is learning as he goes and, like I said, is doing a wonderful job. He hates confrontation; he is the type of person who would order a steak well done and if it came out rare he would eat it any way just so he wouldn't have to "confront" the server. What we do have in common is the desire to "Do good unto others", and a love for our students that only a teacher can have. We work hard and share alot of the same frustrations at work.
I tell you all that to tell you that TJ has had a horrible week at school and needs prayers from those of us who are believers. Here is the story: He was demonstrating an art project on the white board at school. The students had to cut out a picture from a magazine paste it to a piece of paper and finish the background. Our students are not the brightest kids in the world so of course he had to demonstrate. He picked up the top magazine and cut out a picture of George Bush and taped it to the board. He drew horns on Bush's head and a tail (kinda of like you would do to a year book picture). The kids loved it and started cheering and clapping so he added flames for the rest of the background. This is where it probably went a little to far. He then drew a demon in the background with a little conversation bubble that said, "You have done well, my son". The kids laughed and loved it. He left it on the board for the next two classes b/c he did not need the board for those classes.
The next day he called me and said, "I'm in trouble".
"For what?", I replied
"for drawing that pictures of Bush on the board yesterday. a parent came into school to talk to Mrs. McNeill and she just came to tell me. the parent wants me fired!"
"well it won't be a big deal, you won't get fired." i ended the conversation.
Sure enough I get another call about an hr later in my classroom...
"The Parent called WRAL [the local news station", it of course, was TJ on the line.
"WHAT! Stop lying, TJ.. that's not funny", I replied.
"TIFFANY! I'm not lying."
Sure enough this parent called the news stations and told them about the picture he had drawn on the board. Apparently her daughter (Sara) copied the picture off the board and took it home and told her mother about the story. The daughter also said that Mr. Hill said "not to tell anyone" (which did NOT Happen) Sara also said that the kids said, "What if Mrs. McNeill came in here and saw that" to which Mr. Hill replied, "Oh, she wouldn't care, she'd think it was funny"... this also did not happen. Nothing came of the news station that day. TJ was giving strict orders to tell NOONE about the News and he let the principals know that he had already told me and they said that I was the ONLY person that was allowed to know about it.
Friday morning the parent came into have a conversation with Mr. Hill, and Mrs. McNeill (she had very rudely introduced herself to TJ Thurs. morning without talking to him before she called the news or went to McNeill). In that conversation she stated how it was wrong of him to do that (which it was), that he was unfit to be a teacher, and she wanted him to be fired. She went on to talk about how she was a Christian and that is why it was so offensive. TJ was in tears wondering why this "Christian" would want to ruin his career and life, when had just sincerely apologized to her over and over again. Aren't Christians supposed to "forgive".
Sure enough on Friday late afternoon we were in a meeting and Mrs. Slattum came to the meeting and told Mr. Hill that if he didn't want to talk to the news then he needed to leave the school ASAP. She then found me and told me the same thing. We both left RIGHT THEN AND THERE! Late Friday night this aired on ABC11 another local new station. Please go read the "discussion" at the end of the article and comment if you'd like. The "picture" on the site is NOT a picture it IS in fact a video.
MR. HILL VIDEO
Was Mr. Hill wrong. YES! What he did was poor judgement. Should be fired? NO WAY! Maybe written up... but MAYBE! As teachers we do need to keep our political and religious opinions and beliefs to ourselves. However, he NEVER verbally stated his political opinion to the class. To him, this was a JOKE... nothing more. He is SO SORRY for what he did. Remember TJ is a thoughtful man who loves his job and is so caring toward others. He is having a very hard time right now, wondering what he should do and what will happen to his career. Please keep him in your thoughts in prayers. Pray that the Lord will show Himself to TJ in these hard times, and help him through all of this.
I realize that opinions will vary on this subject, but I encourage you to still write your opinion in the comment box. Is this parent right in wanting TJ fired? Am i too close to the situation to not see that he does need fired? or Is the parent overboard? Is our school supporting this man for good reason?
4 comments:
When I met TJ, I could definitely tell that he loved art but he loved his students wayy more!! I remember you telling me that he knew every students name and every class they were in and that has to tell you that he loves his job and the kids! I think that he made poor judgement in putting that up on the board, but like you said..it was just a joke and the student shouldn't have gone and made up stuff to add to the story. The mom shouldn't have called the news at all, but definitely not before she had a chance to talk to TJ and get the facts straight from him first! I think that he DOESN'T deserve to be fired. It was a joke! And it was a misunderstanding between the parent, kid, and TJ!
Political views aside, it was definately poor taste for a young man to put something like that on his board. People with such strong views, which he obviously has about President Bush, are usually pretty one-sided in their judgments. I would imagine that he would be pretty offended if someone did what he did to someone he supported or admired. Then there's the devil theme...nothing really funny about the "real devil". No pitchforks, horns, or pointy ears. he's way more subtle than that. As a parent, I would be quite upset if that were drawn and used for my children's education. Poor judgement...an understatement. Hopefully TJ will be able to learn a lesson and continue teaching art to the students he cares so much about. The consequences for this action may be too severe for that to happen though. I really have many more thoughts about this, but I probably shouldn't take up any more space. I will be praying for TJ.
I thought I would share with you what I posted on the bulletin:
I am overwhelmed by this situation and all of the ridiculous comments I am reading about this event.
Although what Mr. Hill did may not have been appropriate in everyone's eyes, little is these days. We have many religions, political beliefs and morals that U.S. citizens celebrate. Although public school is not the ultimate place to celebrate these issues, it is important that school (a place where children spend the majority of their day - notice this is more hours per day than with parents) be a place where these differences are at least recognized and acknoledged. If students are not faced with different opinions then how are they to choose their own? Mr. Hill may not have chosen the best example to show how to make a collage but who is careful in their decisions 100 percent of the time? What parent makes correct decisions all of the time? But we don't take your kids away for those bad decisions.
And I would just like to "boo" the parent of this event. You have brought your daughter into a mess that will follow her for the rest of her life. Is she ultimately going to benefit from this?
I fully support Mr. Hill and I think that he should be able to keep his job and continue teaching our bright minds of tomorrow. I appluad his efforts and charge him to keep his head up and move forward.
Tiff,
What is TJ's next course of action? Does he have a lawyer?
I recently finished taking media law and would really like to share this story with my professor and get his opinion about how this relates to the First Amendment and where TJ can go now since the media is involved, especially since comments were made that were false. Do you think TJ would mind?
I also have a teacher friend that has a blog that I think would be interested in this story. Can I share it with her?
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