(Somewhat) Happy Ending

Does everyone remember the story of Matthew LaClair, the seventeen year old high school student who nailed his history teacher for gratuitous teaching of religion in an inappropriate venue? You know: the one where the teacher denied everything until it came out that he'd been recorded? Yeah, you remember. Well, it looks like, despite the treatment he received from fellow students and district parents following the incident, that he's getting a somewhat happy ending:

[New York Times]

The Kearny Board of Education in New Jersey and the parents of Matthew LaClair, a 17-year-old junior at Kearny High School, settled their dispute on Tuesday night about a teacher who proselytized in class.

The settlement will include training for teachers and students about the separation of church and state and a public statement by the board praising Matthew for bringing the matter to its attention.

Matthew recorded his history teacher, David Paszkiewicz, making comments in class in September, including remarks that only Christians had a place in heaven, that the Big Bang and evolution theories were not scientific and that dinosaurs were on Noah's Ark. After the tapes became public, Matthew received a death threat and was shunned and bullied by some of his classmates, he has said.

Unfortunately, that's not all there is too it (you may recall that I said "a somewhat happy ending" at the beginning of the post). The district, it appears, also took steps to make sure any such future incidents will be a "student's versus teacher's word" situation. Having been on the student side of just such an issue back in my high school days (again: an "inappropriate batch of proselytizing" situation), I have little faith in the districts actually siding with the "trouble making" students in the future:

In the fall, the board reprimanded the teacher and later adopted a policy barring students from taping in class without a teacher’s permission.

As far as I know, this anti-taping policy is still in effect despite the settlement, and it makes it much more difficult to take teachers to task for future policy violations.

More:

In February, Matthew's parents, Paul and Debra LaClair, filed court papers on their son's behalf saying that they intended to sue the district for violating his First Amendment and civil rights. They faulted the district for not protecting Matthew from harassment by other students and sought public corrections to some of the statements the teacher made in class.

As part of the settlement, in which neither side admits wrongdoing, the New Jersey regional office of the Anti-Defamation League will start training teachers and students in September about keeping church and state separate in public schools, and about "the distinction between the scientific theory of evolution and the religious doctrine of creationism."

Another part of the deal says the board will make a public statement commending Matthew for his "courage and integrity," and the LaClairs will issue a statement commending the board.

That's the good part, though I would have preferred an actual admission of wrongdoing by David Paszkiewicz, the teacher involved in the incident. However, that doesn't seem even remotely likely, given that the Paszkiewicz wouldn't cop to doing anything out-of-line even when the tape showed him to be a liar of the first order.

The one part out of the whole Times article that really bothers me comes right near the end:

The settlement does not address the status of Mr. Paszkiewicz, 39, who has remained a history teacher at the high school. Mr. Paszkiewicz, who is also a Baptist youth pastor, had his classes switched in the middle of the school year so as not to have Matthew as a student.

Demetrios K. Stratis, the lawyer for Mr. Paszkiewicz, said that his client was not involved in the settlement and knew nothing about it. "There are people who think my client is the victim," Mr. Stratis said yesterday.

WHAAAAAT????

Dude, your asshat client got caught doing something wrong and subsequently got caught lying about it because of a particularly resourceful teenager... and some people think your client is the victim? Give me a fucking break. He should have, if this was the only incident, been placed on leave for at least a semester at minimum (perhaps at half pay, if my sympathetic side has anything to say about it). However, my less sympathetic side says that he should have been canned outright and had his license revoked. Teachers make mistakes, and that can be forgiven. However, I have approximately zero sympathy for any teacher who lies to the administration at the expense of a student. That sort of person is exactly the sort we don't need in any position of influence. Victim, my ass...

The last thing I'd like to highlight is the tail end of a statement by the student in question:

He said that he had learned plenty, "like how hard it can be sometimes to go against the grain, and that a lot of times, even though things may be tough, you still have to go through with it and finish it."

Dude, my hat's off to you. I've been in a similar fight before and understand how tough it is. Fortunately for me, mine never had to go to any sort of litigation. I commend you for having the guts to stick to your guns.