Teacher fired for conservative website
Pete Chagnon - OneNewsNow - 6/23/2009 4:00:00 AM
A Kansas teacher says he was wrongfully terminated for his conservative views.
Tim Latham has been teaching history and U.S. Government for over 19 years. But after teaching for just one year in the Lawrence School District in Lawrence, Kansas, Latham says his contract was not renewed because school officials did not like his conservative views -- particularly a teacher website that Latham hosted and paid for himself. A teacher coach confronted him on that issue.
"She had concerns about it. I've never had a complaint about it -- nothing but compliments. Parents love it because of their access to assignments, grades, etc. And she wanted a lot of the stuff that was on it removed. And when I asked why, I was told because it was too patriotic."
Latham had an introductory video on the site where he stated that he wanted students to truly love the American way of life, and he says he was told to remove that as well because not everybody loves the American way of life. According to Latham, other complaints included that he was picking on Obama too much. When he asked for an explanation as to why his contract was not renewed he was told, "You refuse to conform" and "you just don't fit in."
"Those are word-for-word quotes given to me by the director of human resources, who says he is quoting what the administration told him -- I refuse to conform and I just don't fit in," Latham notes.
He has since filed a grievance and is considering litigation if he does not get a satisfactory response.
6 comments:
Sad when a person can't voice their personal opinion on their own website. No matter what their views.
I think we should probably reserve judgement on this one simply because we don't have the whole story. Having taught history myself, I know that many schools all across the nation are terminating contracts left and right...and it has NOTHING to do with views. The bottom line is that the economy has hit everything...including teaching. And since history is not a priority in American schools (Math and Science are where the $$$ goes) a lot of history teachers have been getting the axe.
To be honest, I'm not buying the notion that he was fired for teaching "conservative" material. Maybe he's the exception to the rule but my experience (and I have taught in a few different districts) is that teachers (especially history teachers) have quite a bit of freedom in the classroom. Sure all teachers have a cirriculum that they must teach, but there is still a lot of "wiggle room" provided.
Bottom line: my guess is that his contract was terminated because of budget reasons. Maybe he was canned for his beliefs and if so that is EXTREMELY RARE and wrong. I'm just not buying it...not yet at least.
In addition, it is probably worth pointing out that there are quite a few websites (conservative and liberal) that are banned by most school districts because they provide HORRIBLE history. One of the most popular conservative site is called "Wallbuilders" and was established by a nut-job evangelical activist. The man isn't even a historian but is a math teacher. Anyway, he wanted schools to teach an ultra-Christian view of American history, one that completely and totally distorts the truth (stuff like "slavery was a plus for Blacks" and "Abe Lincoln was wrong for attacking the South"). This is stuff that is rejected by the OVERWHELMING majority of the historical community and as a result, is banned in most schools.
If this guy was using a site like this then he should be canned. Sorry, but it's true. And the same goes for the ultra-liberal sites out there. I guess it would be like some holistic, Native American medicine man telling Richard that he is full of crap for going to med school and that all one needs is to "trust in the Great Spirit" and magical spells to be cured. It's just nonsense...and so is this type of history.
By the way, if you are interested in seeing this "Wallbuilders" site (and yes, it's major crap) go to:
http://wallbuilders.com
The dude (David Barton) even has a radio program. He's written several books, all of which have been exposed as frauds by the historical community. The guy has gone so far as to make up sources that don't exist.
And this is the stuff that people want taught in our schools???
Ok, so this peaked my interest, which caused me to dig a little deeper. In so doing, I uncovered the webside of Mr. Latham. Here is the link:
http://teacherweb.com/KS/LawrenceHighSchool/Latham/t.stm
For the most part, it seems pretty even-handed and typical of a teacher. My only problem with his site is that his syllabus for American history skips over too much history. He's essentially one of those teachers that focuses on the Revolution, Civil War, and WW-II/the Cold War and nothing more. However, this is pretty normal of most high school teachers. I personally hate it, but oh well.
As for the material, I see nothing "conservative" about it. It all appears to be pretty objective. I also found a video that confirms my suspicions. Mr. Latham, like so many other teachers across the country, was let go for budget reasons...or so says the district.
Ok, sorry for writing so much on this thread but.....
UPDATE: Mr. Latham got his job back:
http://www.ksnt.com/news/local/story/Lawrence-teacher-reinstated/H6U1-zZYekqCS-PqL-T20g.cspx
I actually had the same thoughts as you did Brad. I've been too busy to comment, my research paper is due at the end of the month on Bilateral branchial arch fistulas. Makes for a white knuckle thriller. Sounds like Mr. Latham's story has a happy ending. Thanks for footing the research on that one.
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