District Settles With Student Who Accused Freshwater
Published: August 27, 2009
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio—A Central Ohio school board has approved a $121,000 settlement with the family of a student who said his teacher burned the image of a cross on his arm.
School board members in Mount Vernon agreed Wednesday night to resolve a federal lawsuit by paying $5,500 to the boy and his family and $115,500 to their lawyers.
The family still has a similar suit pending against the eighth-grade teacher, John Freshwater.
He was fired last year by the school district northeast of Columbus after an internal investigation accused him of using a scientific device to burn the student and found that he had preached his Christian beliefs in class.
Freshwater has filed his own $1 million lawsuit against the district, claiming it violated his free speech and civil rights.
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Reader Reactions
I love the free expression law suit Freshwater is pushing. Yeah, right! Let a wiccan teacher put a book on wiccan practices on their desk and see how fast the christians scream about that!
You’ve got to be kidding me! The man burned an image, doesn’t matter what, on a kids’ arm. And he didn’t deny doing it. And HE’S suing? He’s mentlally deranged. Good thing it didn’t happen in my town. We don’t like that type thing where I come from. It doesn’t matter what his religious beliefs are. And by the way, if he had been a teacher in a private christian school, and taught science instead of creationism or ‘intelligent design”, he would have been fired as well. Take him down off the cross. The man is not Jesus Christ. Stop treating him like he as such.
“and I only made the mistake of creating one child.“
Wow. Does your child know you refer to them as a mistake? Impressive viewpoint on parenting.
Your attitude on child rearing pretty much sums up your clout with regard to educating children: unqualified at best.
“the agenda to promote respect and civil behaviors” That’s a matter of subjective opinion. I am not religous either (bet you didn’t guess that eh?), but I advocate people living good respecful lives that do not cause harm to others through willful intolerance or the forcing of ones religous beliefs on another, especially a child. We should all be allowed to make our own decisions and to practice our beliefs in a personal and private way. And I question the claim that youth today are more disrespectful and violent simply because we “took God out of schools”. I don’t think anything is ever that simplistic. I think it has to do with a lot of things that have changed our culture over the past 60 years.
duh, the agenda to promote respect and civil behaviors. I am done here because i am not religious at all but I pormote for it to be a part of youth upbringing….hmmmmm, seems funny that ever since science became a issue on pursuing truth, and the fact that atheist and foriegners wanted religion eliminated from schools, our youth have become more and more direpectful and violent. who cares though, my time is almost up here, and I only made the mistake of creating one child.
Do you suggest that those who don’t adhere to your particular beliefs are amoral or disrespectful?
Why do you believe science to be corrupt and unreliable? Is it not based on observable testable evidence about our world? That seems more real and reliable than something written thousands of years ago by superstitious men who had little understanding of the true nature of the world.
And do you not think that “revealed” texts like the Bible have not been changed and altered over the centuries to reflect someone’s agenda? Why is that any more believable than science? Or the Qu’ran? Or the Buddhist sutras?
it is not terrible for me, my child says the pledge every day and understands morals and respect as well as the ten commandments. it the future of their children whom will base everything off science and continue to corrupt the minds of any whom still have hope.
the media writes what they believe to be true, or what they want for us to believe.
“Why does that seem such a terrible thing?“
hmmmmmmm, maybe because of the downward spiral of the youth of our country.
Yes because of what I read about the case in the press. That is how we learn about things in the world…through a free press. Or do you suggest that the media is also corrupt and run by evil Devil worshippers who warp the truth to serve their “Satanic agenda”? Hogwash.
The downfall of future youth is caused by the teaching of superstition instead of science in a SCIENCE class. If these students want to learn about religion, let them learn it at home or at church where it belongs. Why does that seem such a terrible thing?
and another supporter of the downfall of the future youth. One day we will be able to say that America was founded under evil, corrupt devil worshipers…...woohoo.
“Because from what I read he didn’t really
even try to deny the allegations. He simply said it was his right to spread…...“
Because of what you read….hmmmmmmm.
No were you? Does it matter? Because from what I read he didn’t really even try to deny the allegations. He simply said it was his right to spread his religious views to his students in PUBLIC school. State tax dollars go toward that school and for the salaries of the teachers that teach there and they are required to teach the state approved curriculum. Not religion. End of story. You want to learn about Creationism or the Bible, go to church where it belongs.
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