Limestone teacher fired for showing profane video
Board votes 6-1 to cancel contract of Steve White
Wednesday, May 17, 2006

By CHALLEN STEPHENS
Times Staff Writer cstephens@htimes.com
ATHENS - After 4 1/2 hours behind closed doors Tuesday night, the Limestone County Board of Education voted to fire Steve White, accused of showing students a video referring to President Bush in profane terms.

In the closed hearing requested by White, the board voted 6 to 1 to cancel his contract as a West Limestone High School eighth-grade science teacher.

Speaking after the hearing ended at 10:30 p.m., White's attorney Bill Dawson said, "We're disappointed, but there is an appeal." He can appeal the board decision to an arbitrator.

White is accused of showing inappropriate material in class, including the video which used profane language in describing Bush, Fox commentator Sean Hannity and members of Bush's senior staff.

White, who is also a Democratic candidate for the Alabama House seat representing District 4, has been on unpaid leave since April.

Outside the hearing, parents listed several other inappropriate videos.

There were the images of beer guzzling; a video of a toothless, bikini-clad Alabama fan, complete with beer and cigarettes; a lewd animated clip of former President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky; fat men in thongs; an old lady with dirty advice.

But taste matters in a public classroom. And several parents here say White crossed the line.

"This has been going on a long time," Christy Jackson said. She wasn't the first parent to complain but one of the first to publicly complain. Her son is in White's science class.

Jackson said White received a reprimand for the Bush video, but remained in his science classroom and continued showing inappropriate material.

Crowded around the brick steps of the board office in downtown Athens, several mothers awaited the board verdict.

Kelley Smith worried that teacher tenure would trump the rights of her child to a public education.

"They're there to get an education and be safe," Smith said.

Melanie Coleman, who has a daughter at West Limestone, said if the board didn't take action, it would send the wrong message.

"What's the next teacher going to do if nothing happened to (White)?" she asked.

Nearby stood White's son and daughter, his wife, other family members and friends. They declined to speak publicly while passing the hours awaiting the verdict.

http://tinyurl.com/rcong



I saw this guy on a few cable news programs after the incident and he was all smiles and very willing to talk about it. He acted like the entire thing was a joke. I guess he felt like some kind of martyr or something. I wonder if he is still smiling? Too bad we can't fire a bunch of college professors who are pretty much doing the same thing. Dissent is fine, just keep it to the public square. If nut jobs want to keep God out of the classroom, then keep this crap out also. No indoctrination, EDUCATION.

Oh you mean like creationism in science class????

Yes. Teach both "theories", not just the one you like.

Teach creationism in theology class as it has no place within science. Problem solved.

Creationism is based on religious principle. Belief in God is a personal moral and philosophical belief.

Just as you do not condone political opinions voiced in class because it is a personal and moral choice, creationism should not be taught alongside evolution because to believe in god is a personal and moral choice. To be acquired on one's own.

I never said I do not condone political opinions being voiced in class. What I do not condone is a teacher who indoctrinates by showing hateful videos and foul language to an 8th grade class. Don't you?

The government of the United States is the result of a revolution in thought. It was founded on the principle that all persons have equal rights, and that government is responsible to, and derives its powers from, a free people. To Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers, these ideas were not just a passing intellectual fad, but a recognition of something inherent in the nature of man itself. The very foundation of government, therefore, rests on the inalienable rights of the people and of each individual composing their mass. The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, is the fundamental statement of what government is and from what source it derives its powers. It begins with a summary of those inalienable rights that are the self-evident basis for a free society and for all the powers to protect those rights that a just government exercises.---Thomas Jefferson on Politics & Government
http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/...s/jeff0100.htm

Teach the Religion of Evolution right alongside it.

This teacher should have been fired.

NOT because he was showing stuff that portrayed Bush or Clinton in a bad light, but because he was NOT doing his job as an educator.

If it was a religion we could!