Teacher Fired for Branding Students with Crosses

I just read this a few minutes ago in the newspaper:

An Ohio school board has voted to fire a science teacher accused of burning the image of a Christian Cross into his student’s arms.

The Mount Vernon board passed a resolution yesterday to end the contract of middle school teacher John Freshwater. He is accused of preaching his Christian beliefs in class and teaching creationism. A family says a cross burned into one child’s arm remained for weeks.

Does anyone else see what I see? The shool board had to take a vote to decide whether or not this person should be fired. This is apparently weeks after the brandings occured. Weeks!

Now I have a question - if a Pagan teacher were to burn the image of a Pentacle onto even one student, how long would it take for officials to react?

Is this sort of abuse somehow more acceptable if it's done by "devout" Christians?

What in Hades in wrong with the Mount Vernon School Board that they even had to think about this? What took them so long to deal with it? Did they allow John Freshwater to continue teaching, pending their vote? Have criminal charges been laid? These are all things I would like to know.

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Comment by Rainbow Meadowhawk on September 9, 2008 at 6:49am: Hmmm...historical flashbacks anyone? Perhaps some devout Christians are going all out loco because it has become more evident that Christianity has been losing their hold. He probably figured that if it worked in history it should work in today's classroom. Idiot! and double idiot on the board that had to vote...just in case what? they couldn't decide if it violated law? It wasn't spelled out anywhere for them?

Comment by Skallagrimsson on September 7, 2008 at 5:36pm: Insane, absolutely insane. The image (cross or whatever) is less relevant (for the moment) than the actual act of branding the students. I have a daughter in high school and if she came home with a cross burned in her, I would go nuts, and I'm being polite in my choice of words. Creationism in schools? Hmmm, thought that was not allowed, separation of church and state and all (unless it was a Catholic school, which it obviously wasn't because it answered to the school board). I would expect that criminal charges would be directed at the teacher. I mean, if you want to promote your religion (whatever it is) there are much better ways than branding people as if they were cattle. Absolutely unacceptable!

Comment by lemuriamoon on August 14, 2008 at 11:53pm: I am with DodiaFae on this one. Why in the name of the Gods would they have to even think about that? That teacher would be safer in jail than if I got ahold of him.