An Oregon teacher who announced his intention to "dismantle and demolish the Tea Party" has been placed on administrative leave until his school district finishes its investigation into whether his political activity crossed the line.
Although I obviously do not agree with Mr. Levin politically and I think his goals were obnoxious, I'm hoping that he doesn't lose his livelihood over something like this. It is one thing if his idiocy seeps into the classroom setting — I think we all agree that publishing his scheme to frame and smear the Tea Party on the web is the height of idiocy — but if he is an otherwise excellent teacher and didn't make the mistake of using school resources to further his nefarious plans, then he should be allowed to go back to work.
(Although now that I think about it, forethought is probably not one of his strong points, and he very likely did use school resources for his grand master plan.)
I really do commend the school district's attempt at defending Mr. Levin's right to free speech. I hope they are as open-minded when it comes to conservative teachers who are accused of similar things, e.g. using school resources for extracurricular activities, which is really pretty much what Mr Levin is being investigated for from the district's point of view.
Besides, isn't his notoriety punishment enough? I mean, will anyone ever take this guy seriously again? He will always be the man who tried to smear an amorphous group that is supported by almost half of the population, and got caught doing it.
I truly feel sorry for the guy.
No comments:
Post a Comment