Teacher Fired For Stepping On Flag At Illinois High School In Front Of Students
A teacher was fired for stepping on a flag at an Illinois high school in front of his students.
The Daily Mail reports that English teacher Jordan Parmenter was fired from the Martinsville Junior-Senior High School in eastern Illinois for his controversial behavior.
Parmenter reportedly took the American flag out during a lesson on free speech on May 15. He then proceeded to stomp on the flag, demonstrating freedom of expression.
During an interview with the Mattoon Journal Gazette, Parmenter admitted that he immediately regretted his decision and apologized for his actions.
Teacher stomps on American flag to demonstrate freedom of expression..and gets fired http://t.co/Ryc3z1PXre
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) July 1, 2015
“What I did was never intended as a show of disrespect to our country, to our veterans, or to anyone, nor would I ever do or say anything with that intention,” he said.
“I love my country and have nothing but the utmost respect for those who serve it,” Parmenter continued.
“I have loved working for Martinsville and have greatly enjoyed the opportunity to help our students achieve success. I assure you that nothing of this nature will ever occur again.”
Apparently, Jordan likes to provide controversial lessons and assignments to his students. In April 2012, he uploaded an article from CBC News about a New York school who asked their students to argue that Jews were evil during a class while they were learning about the Nazis.
“You have to be careful how you go about it, but this strikes me as the sort of assignment I might assign,” he wrote in a Facebook post at the time. “It’s always valuable to be able to see things from an alternate point of view, even if that point of view is completely wrong.”
After placing him on administrative leave following the May 15 incident, the Martinsville School District board voted 6-0 to fire Parmenter after a student claimed his actions were disrespectful. Currently, Jordan is not speaking about his termination and is waiting to speak to his union representative.
What do you think about the teacher stepping on the flag? Do you agree that he should have been fired? Leave your comments below.
[Photo via Shutterstock]
