The People in Your Neighborhood

A few days ago, a student teacher in a suburb around here was asked, by the district, to be reassigned because when he was asked--by a fourth grade student--why he is not married, the teacher replied that he could not be, as he would marry a man and that's currently illegal.

Seth Stambaugh told a fourth-grader who asked if he was married, that he was not. When the student asked why, Stambaugh, who is gay, replied it was not legal for him to get married because he would choose to marry another man. The student then asked does that mean you like to hang out with other guys? and Stambaugh responded yes, said Lake Perriguey, Stambaugh's attorney.

The parent of a student who overheard the conversation complained, Perriguey said, and district administrators asked Stambaugh's advisors at Lewis & Clark College to find him another school.

Now, the parent of the student who actually had the conversation with Mr. Stambaugh is not the one who complained. This was a parent of another child who overheard the conversation--the same parent who had already previously complained about Mr. Stambaugh:

Perriguey said the parent who complained had already raised an issue about Stambaugh's appearance, which Perriguey described as pressed pants, an oxford shirt, a tie and a cardigan. Stambaugh has a light Van Dyke and pulls his hair back into a pony tail.

Pressed pants? A dress shirt? A cardigan? Do you know who that is, Complaining Parent? That's:

Fred Rogers: Purveyor of the Homosexual Agenda™ via Cardigan
I don't think I can think of a less objectionable wardrobe. OFFS. Axe to grind, much?

According to Stambaugh's school, it's not unusual for student teachers to move around and be reassigned. However, what is unusual is the way Beaverton School District handled it:

Lewis & Clark spokeswoman Jodi Heintz said it’s not uncommon for student teachers to change positions due to conflicts with their mentor teachers or other reasons. However, the decision usually comes at the end of a mutual discussion.

“Standard operating procedure includes all parties sitting down at a table and working out solutions,” Heintz said. “Clearly, in Seth’s instance, that collective conversation did not happen.”

Clearly something went wrong, that's for sure--and it's not particularly on Mr. Stambaugh's end that it happened. Shame on Beaverton School District (again--as back in 2005, they shut down Southridge High School's performance of The Laramie Project) for not standing behind their student teacher and caving to a parent--a parent who obviously was looking for something.

I've heard and read several teachers' opinions on the matter and many have expressed the general idea that "this is why you never, ever discuss personal stuff with students". Well, maybe it's a "good policy" to not discuss personal subjects. However, as someone viewing it from "the outside", so to speak, I can't say that I find Mr. Stambough's answers to very direct questions to in any way inappropriate. They seem perfectly factual. He didn't bring a "political opinion" into the conversation (as I've seen said of it). Yes, gay marriage is a current political issue but simply stating "I cannot get married because it's illegal", is not "a political opinion". It's a simply statement of unfortunate fact. It wasn't even embellished with "...because of the ignorant and bigoted", although those, too, would be factual. Mr. Stambaugh should not have to deny or deflect about his existence. He should be able to be just as "there and existing" as any other straight teacher.

Hey Ignorant Parent(s) and Beaverton School District: gay people exist. They work, they live, they teach. They are the people in your neighborhood. Time to pull the head from the ass, as fresh air is a lot better for everyone than the stinking darkness of ignorance from whence your head came.



(Yah, I know the 'people in your neighborhood' is a Sesame Street song and not related to Mr. Rogers)