|
(Posted
9:30 a.m., Nov. 3)
Students rally to the support of embattled civics teacher
By
Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online
If
embattled St. Peter High School civics teacher Scott Searle
was worried about his stature in the eyes of his students,
he needn't be as dozens of students both past and present
have rallied to his support in the wake of the recent
controversy surrounding a planned trip to Ohio.
Some
52 students had registered to go on the trip which would
expose them to U.S. politics in the battleground state.
Among other things, they were going to actively participate
in the get-out-the-vote effort for the Barack Obama campaign.
Apparently
that aspect of the trip didn't sit very well with a handful
of parents who voiced their concerns to several anti-abortion
groups including the Campaign Life Coalition, as well
as Parents As First Educators (PAFE) whose mission is
to monitor Catholic school boards to ensure that they
promote the teachings of the Catholic Church.
In
their eyes, Obama is a pro-abortion president and therefore
anti-Catholic. In a press release dated Nov. 2, PAFE states
their position.
PAFE
does appreciate the lengths that the teacher was willing
to go to give students a really memorable and “interactive”
civics lesson. But his good intentions in that regard
don’t outweigh in our opinion the harm that could
come to the students by making them complicit in support
of, as a parent put it, “the most pro-abortion president”
the country has ever seen. PAFE says “good for the
parents for speaking out!”
Just
how many parents contacted PAFE is not known. What is
known is that none of the parents voiced their concerns
to either Searle or St. Peter principal Norma MacDonald.
Despite the fact that they hadn't received any complaints
from anyone at St. Peter, they decided to cancel the trip
rather than risk further controversy.
News
of the controversy and the decision to cancel the trip
spread like wildfire through the students at both schools
who immediately took to Twitter under the hash tag #teamsearle.
"These
'Devote Catholics' are judging and making assumptions
about a person they know nothing about!", tweeted
one user.
“We
have a right to go on this trip! It’s unfortunate
that some people don’t see that we were just trying
to help. SPK for #teamsearle!” wrote another.
Searle
began planning the trip in September and every student
that signed up to go received permission from their parents.
Many of the students are understandably upset that the
trip was cancelled.
“I
feel bad for everyone’s trip that’s been ruined...
if u don’t support it, don’t send your kids.”
wrote @_johannnaa.
For
now the students will have to observe the US election
from afar through the filter of American and Canadian
news outlets.
(This
story was made possible thanks to their generous support
of our local business
partners.)
Return
to top
Return
to Front Page
|
