There are many things the teacher could have done. That she didn't I think is kind of suggestive as to what the problem here is. For example, I almost never call a student by their first name, it's always last name. I usually use "Mr." or "Ms.", but there's no reason one would have to. If the student's last name is "Smith", there's no reason the teacher could not have called on "Smith" to answer a question.
This is me, 100%. And perhaps it is just because I've always been completely comfortable with my identity and who I am, but I just don't get it. But what do I care what someone wants to be called? Hell, back when I had classes regularly, many of my students had a nickname they wanted me to use.
So, if she firmly believes that black students are less intelligent than white students, does she get to express that belief in public schools also because it is a “firmly held belief”?
I'm not aware of any major court case which says you can claim "freedom of religion" in situations to which there's no known religious connotations. In other words, I can't claim to be a Christian and say that I'm opposed to mowing my yard and, therefore, be immune to city ordinances, because of my religion.
A lot of interesting issues in this case. And, although I am an atheist, I have to admit that I am troubled by an otherwise adequate teacher being essentially fired for refusing to engage in behavior she found contrary to her beliefs and biological reality.
I see this as different from the "I won't make a cake for a gay couple" type case as it asks a teacher to affirmatively violate her beliefs rather than call the students by their given names and gender appropriate pronouns.
As much as it galls me to support any kind of religious foolishness, I am hard pressed to see how I could support the district on this one.
Interested to hear the thoughts of others on this case.
Ohio teacher files lawsuit claiming she was forced to resign after refusing to use students' preferred names and pronouns
The middle school teacher says using the children's preferred names and pronouns violated her religious beliefs.www.cbsnews.com
I must have missed when “two spirit entity from Venus” was a pronoun.
Who cares?
Using “him” when a person prefers “her” or “they” IS asserting that the teacher’s perception and beliefs are more intelligent or important than the wishes, feelings and beliefs of the student.
the bible is not the arbiter of someone's religious beliefs. someone's religious beliefs are.
the student isn't being forced to do anything. if they want to call her something she doesn't like that is perfectly fine.
because the religion is against using secular definitions of sex or gender.. I would have thought that obvious.
I would as well, I just do not support government limitation of religious beliefs or free speech for this reason.
So explain how “you” or “they” or a last name goes against a religious belief.
I think that goes back to what I said earlier (which you may not have read)...if it is simply a mistake from time to time, that would be one thing. If it is intentional and hurtful, then that's another thing. Especially if your employer tells you to not do it because it can be hurtful.
You just can't arbitrarily claim a religious exemption absent any evidence of it being religious. That's not how it works.
The student is being forced to be called something they do not want to call. How can you claim the teacher is being forced to do something but not the student when it is the same thing?
Do you not understand the meanings of the words you are using? You can't claim words are both secular and religious. That's ridiculous.
Can she call kids ANYTHING and claim religious freedom?
www.aclu.org