Follow procedures-Steps to Censorship

Amy Sorrell, a teacher at Woodlan Junior-Senior High School is in the hot seat. Sorrell failed to discourage an opinion piece written by a student. Did Sorrell not read what happened to a young male student at Carroll High School in expressing his views about a friend. This student was kicked out of school for expressing an opinion also for defending a friend but in his own publication that dogged his school.

But student, Megan Chase expressed an opinion in support of a friend with same sex issues. Bad, Bad She wrote this opinion and it was printed in the school student newspaper. For all the other students to be exposed to same sex issues. Hello, can we say Rosie, Ellen, Rock Hudson, just to name a few. It's not like it's the student looking hearing about the issue. Nevertheless, Chase's opinion stirred the Woodlan's Principal into action. The Principal took over the student newspaper. This way, he will have final say on what goes on in the student's newspaper.

It's not like the school is against same sex issues. Sorrell does not understand how it could have come to her losing her job. Krista Stockman reports:

The East Allen County Schools teacher at the center of a controversy over the newspaper at Woodlan Junior-Senior High School has been placed on paid leave.

English and journalism teacher Amy Sorrell was told Monday that she was being placed on leave while the district investigates allegations that could lead to terminating her contract.

She said she doesn’t know what the investigation is about or why she is being placed on leave.

“I’m assuming it’s with this whole mess of all this other stuff, but I really don’t see how it got this far,” Sorrell said.

Sorrell, probably got caught up in groupthink and decided she is an adult and skirted the rule of going through through the proper channels. Had Sorrell followed the correct procedure, the article would not have seen the light of day.. or at best would have been more balance. Balanced in the fact that the articlewould not have leaned so heavily toward supporting same sex relationships. Lesson, students need to follow school rules. And learning about same sex relationship has nothing to do with following man rules.

Sorrell knows the rules, she's a teacher. First and foremost schools are not about what students think. You can gossip all day, but don't have a student thinking. It is a place to teach them how to fit into society. Second rule, do not challenge authority. Who cares if authority, or role model are wrong. Heck the President started a war based on information that was wrong. But the President is authority, just follow the rules.

Sorrell broke the rules, and now her job is on the line. Sorrell took the risk, and now a quick dismissal will teach the students the price of not following the rules. Schools don't care if you eat, sleep, chew gum and even have sex, but for goodness sake, it's not a place to encourage students to think.

Oh by the way, Sorrell is a female. The student who wrote the opinion was a female. The reaction towards these two female is not out of character for a district that allegedly stopped collective bargaining with a group of workers who were mainly females.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) A federal labor board has ruled that an Indiana school district may have discriminated against female employees when it stopped collective bargaining with employee groups made up mostly of women.

East Allen County Schools said in December 2004 that the district would no longer negotiate contracts with nurses, secretaries, paraprofessionals and food service workers. District officials said the decision would save the district money, and noted there was no legal requirement to bargain with the associations, though they had done so for decades.

The four groups had a total of about 310 employees in 2005, but less than five were men. Union officials say the EEOC will work with the school district and the groups to come to an agreement.

East Allen County Schools attorney Tim McCaulay said he would forward the determination to the school board and consult with outside legal counsel about the ruling.

The saying goes, if you discriminate against one you will discriminate against others.

So now what? Hopeful those in the same sex community will stand with Sorrell and the student. Sorrell stood. Sorrell stood for the right to express your view. That students do have opinions and they need to be able to express these views without being censored. Let's see if the same sex community is without bias by standing up in defense of a female.

Public Restroom-rooms for sex

Fort Wayne Mayoral candidate Matt Kelty is hosting a discussion about sexual oriented businesses and its impact on the community. Indiana has suffered several stories with students having sex in school.And the behavior has now moved to a Fort Wayne public library, with the reporting of sexual of a young female pushed into the boy's restroom. However, the incident that caused the most outrage came after the story in Indianapolis reported that a teacher and students were presence in the classroom at the time of the act. We wonder what motivates children to cross the line of appropriate behavior into inappropriate behavior. Some blame parents, others like myself, blame the unprincipled character of leadership or adults titled as children role models.

Is this normal behavior from leadership? From the IndyStar an article by Whitney Smith raises certain questions:

Atlanta police have arrested an Indianapolis man and a Georgia public transportation official after police said they observed them having sex in a restroom at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

What if a child had entered that public restroom? Do adults care anymore about their lifestyle choices having an impact on children? I think that is probably why Kelty is having the discussion. Read more from the article in the Indystar.

Michael Pettry, 24, Indianapolis, and Edmond J.Wall , 43, Atlanta, were arrested on a preliminary charge of public indecency Tuesday after an undercover officer reportedly witnessed the sex act in a restaurant bathroom.
Pettry is managing director of the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir. Wall is board chairman of MARTA, the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.
Pettry, reached in Lafayette, declined to comment. Michael Abbott, his Atlanta attorney, said Pettry denied "that he has done anything wrong." Abbott said police did not give Pettry a citation.
Wall's lawyer, Steve Sadow, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the allegations were "malicious and false lies," and that Wall was at Hartsfield-Jackson to see the airport's general manager.

Hat tip to Advance Indiana.

Is it the African-American Community or Democrat Party Leadership?

Found this on AdvanceIndiana. Gary Welsh, attempting to compare African-American oppressions with gay issues, you be the judge, favored as a little colorblind racism. Gary Welsh says:

"Spaulding is right to emphasize the role anti-gay bigotry in the Alabama's African-American community is playing in the Democratic Party's actions, and that this issue is being downplayed in the media coverage. You can bet that if a group of white Republicans had taken similar action against an African-American candidate, the news media would have played up the race issue big time."

"The question now is whether Alabama's state Democratic Party, with encouragement from the DNC, will step in and overrule the local party leader's actions. If they don't, then our U.S. Justice Department should do its job in enforcing the Voting Rights Act and overrule the local party's actions. Somebody needs to act quickly; otherewise, we're simply allowing a bunch of bigoted sore losers to make a mockery of the very laws which were created to ensure fair elections for minorities."