In last month’s Catalyst, we ran a story on a public high school in Georgia where a Catholic student had her ashes involuntarily removed from her forehead on Ash Wednesday by a substitute teacher, who then berated the student. The teacher also hurled anti-Catholic invectives at her.
We followed the chain of command and, after a runaround, were able to confirm that the offending teacher will not be back at the school next year.
However, we have no reason to believe that this teacher won’t turn up at some other school. Such is the practice of what is known in the public schools as “passing the trash.” It is truly unfortunate that in most public schools, this kind of wrongdoing exists with impunity. Who’s to blame? The unions: they constantly defend indefensible teachers, thus contributing to the erosion of their prestige. These miscreant teachers should be shown the door.
In any event, it’s reassuring to know that the student in Georgia won’t have to deal with this bigoted teacher again.
