An English Teacher in Florida Is Fired
Mark Vath held a position as an English Language Arts teacher at Laurel Hill School in Okaloosa County School District in Florida.
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Vath had only been teaching in this school district for a year, so he was still on a probationary period.
A Lesson About Spirituality
According to Vath, this lesson was about “Rites of Passage.” As a result, he was teaching students about this event that often marked a very important stage in one’s life.
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This discussion included aspects of spirituality, as students began to talk about religious “Rites of Passage.”
Talking About Many Different Religions
As this discussion began to include spirituality, Vath included various examples of religious “Rites of Passage”, including from religions such as Catholicism, Judaism, and Buddhism.
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However, Vath quickly realized something was amiss after he began to speak on these various religions and how they could pertain to this discussion.
Students Walked Out
Vath explained that one student became upset with this discussion and walked out of the classroom. Others followed this first student.
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This resulted in Vath talking with the remaining students about the incident at hand.
What Happened?
Vath then opened up to explain that he was shocked by his students leaving the discussion.
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He explained, “When everybody walked out, I sat on my desk and said, ‘What happened?’”
Dismissed One Day Later
By the next day, the school told him that he was being dismissed because parents had complained about his discussion with students.
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Vath attempted to defend himself — and the lesson that he was teaching — explaining that these discussions were relevant to the subject matter at hand. However, the school didn’t listen, and he was fired.
Fired Because He Wasn’t Christian?
Vath now has stated that he believes he was fired because he ensured that the class discussed various religions — not just the Christian faith.
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He added, “I believe that’s why I was fired — because I did not believe what the majority of the students in my class believed.”
A Violation of First Amendment Rights
Vath has further claimed that this dismissal violates his First Amendment rights, most notably his Constitutional rights to freedom of religion and speech.
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He has also pointed out that his actions didn’t go against state guidelines put in place that allow teachers to hold lessons that protect all religious viewpoints.
Pursuing Legal Action
The Attorney General’s office has since recommended Vath to obtain assistance from local channels and authorities, or to consider using legal action against the school district.
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Vath has explained that he will do so and is using local channels to resolve this issue.
Florida’s Push for Religion in the Classroom
This latest incident comes as Florida has made a concerted push to add more religion into public school classrooms.
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However, many critics of these moves have pointed out that Florida doesn’t seem to want all religions to be discussed in class — they only want Christian ideas and values pushed onto students.
Chaplains in Florida Schools
Most recently, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a law allowing religious chaplains to volunteer at public schools and offer advice and support to students.
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Many parents are against this law. The Satanic Temple, in an attempt to show that this law violates the separation of church and state, has vowed to send their own Satanic chaplains to Florida public schools.