Teacher may be fired for condom demonstration

[zzyzzx]

http://www.bonitanews.com/03/01/naples/d864299a.htm

Teacher may be fired for condom demonstration
Monday, January 13, 2003

Health teacher Colin Nicholas instructed students how to put a condom on a banana and may lose his job.

He was told condoms have no place inside Collier County public schools. He was told he showed poor judgment. He was told he no longer could teach at Gulf Coast High School.

So, the teacher pleaded his case Thursday to School Board members, the ones who give final approval on who's hired and fired, and they decided to investigate rather then fire Nicholas — as staff recommended.

That means he'll draw his salary for at least another three weeks: collecting another $2,600 in pay while not teaching.

"Some of the board members questioned if he wasn't given support, or the instructional training," board Chairwoman Linda Abbott said. "It makes it difficult to say 'Let's get rid of him' if we don't know the details."

Staff recommended letting Nicholas go under a state law that allows districts to fire new teachers within their first 97 days on the job — without a reason.

"We use the 97 days to evaluate the teacher's performance in the classroom," said Allun Hamblett, the district's executive director of human resources. "It's clearly not part of the curriculum to introduce condoms into the classroom."

From upstate New York and New Jersey, Nicholas arrived in Naples three years ago with his wife to join other family.

He said he has a master's degree in health science, has taught university classes and has even investigated child abuse cases for the Florida Department of Children and Families.

He taught at an Immokalee alternative program for girls with behavior and academic problems prior to Gulf Coast High. Two months into this school year, he took over four health classes with 120 students, mostly freshmen.

"I had one contact with my peer teacher over a two-month period; we shook hands and that was it," Nicholas, 38, said, adding he never received any training on the district's sex education curriculum.

Hamblett disagreed.

"(Nicholas) received basic sex education training before starting at Gulf Coast High School," he said.

Even so, both agreed with the following account that led to the teacher's trouble: showing students how to put on a condom.

"It wasn't merely a demonstration of how to place a condom over a banana," Nicholas said. "But it was a role play simulating a situation students could find themselves in and help them act responsibly in such a situation."

Nicholas first showed students how to put a condom on a banana the second week of December. Then he picked two volunteers, a boy and a girl, to come up to the front of the classroom. The teacher then dimmed the lights, put on the music at hand — Christmas carols — and while the boy held the banana, the girl put the condom on it, Nicholas said.

Students could opt out of his class, he said, or if they felt uncomfortable during the class could have gone to the library.

But at least one student complained. Parents raised a fuss.

"Other teachers are familiar with the culture but I wasn't," Nicholas said. "If I'd known, I would have gone strictly by the book. ...Termination is too harsh a punishment ... not to ruin my career and reputation."

But that's not how his bosses see it.

"It appears even though he knows he's outside the curriculum, it appears he feels kids should be taught this material," Hamblett said. "What he doesn't understand is this is public education, compulsory education."

There are strange employment rules involving educators, Hamblett noted, which School Board members should have been made aware of.

That's why board member Steve Donovan supported delaying the matter until the Jan. 30 meeting.

"They're asking me to fire someone and I have no knowledge of what's going on," Donovan said. "I won't micro-manage but I want to be kept up on what's going on. I thought I could not make an intelligent decision without hearing both sides."

[tgpo]

Who knew you couldn't teach health education in a health class.

We had a teacher get fired for the way she taught her sex education class here in SC. She had students demonstrate stuff in front of the class (not sex or anything) and the kids complained to their parents and the parents complained to the school board and she got fired for it. Hey, even teachers have a line they should never cross. And although the line may not be drawn out in black and white they still need to know the limits of what they can do and not do. If you cross that line, you pay the price.

[MOVIEGEEK]

Sounds like a witch hunt to me;isn't sex education part of health?These are the same parents who wonder"how did my daughter get pregnant"or"how did my son get V.D?"
There are no lines to cross if the school board doesn't set guidelines for teachers.

[SteveDVD]

At my school they have this special teaching service called "operation keepsake" to teach us sex education. I think this is because they no the limits and laws and they dont want to risk our health teacher.