{"id":588008,"date":"2021-07-10T17:51:10","date_gmt":"2021-07-10T21:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=588008"},"modified":"2021-07-10T17:51:12","modified_gmt":"2021-07-10T21:51:12","slug":"school-board-approves-termination-charges-against-tn-teacher-who-made-students-read-ta-nehisi-coates-but-refused-to-present-opposing-viewpoint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/school-board-approves-termination-charges-against-tn-teacher-who-made-students-read-ta-nehisi-coates-but-refused-to-present-opposing-viewpoint\/","title":{"rendered":"School Board Approves Termination Charges Against TN Teacher Who Made Students Read Ta-Nehisi Coates But Refused To Present Opposing Viewpoint"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">40<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fschool-board-approves-termination-charges-against-tn-teacher-who-made-students-read-ta-nehisi-coates-but-refused-to-present-opposing-viewpoint%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=588008&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Coates.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>A school board in Tennessee voted earlier this week to approve termination charges against a tenured teacher accused of insubordination and repeated unprofessional conduct after he gave multiple assignments focusing on white privilege but failed to present opposing points of view.<\/p>\n<p>WJHL News <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wjhl.com\/news\/local\/sullivan-county-teacher-facing-termination-at-school-board-meeting-tuesday-supporters-to-gather\/\">reported<\/a>, \u201cThe Sullivan County Board of Education Tuesday voted 6-1 that the charges of dismissal against teacher Matthew Hawn are true and warranted.\u201d According to the outlet, some former students gathered at the meeting to voice their support for Hawn.<\/p>\n<p>District officials pointed to two separate incidents that they said violated the Tennessee Teacher Code of Ethics, including denying students access to varying points of view and intentionally exposing them to embarrassment or disparagement.<\/p>\n<p>Hawn, who taught \u201cContemporary Issues\u201d and coached baseball at Sullivan Central High School, received a detailed letter of reprimand in February after assigning students to read an opinion article by Ta-Nehisi Coates titled, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/2017\/10\/the-first-white-president-ta-nehisi-coates\/537909\/\">The First White President<\/a>.\u201d According to the letter, a parent had complained, citing the article\u2019s \u201csomewhat angry, and hateful opinion towards President Trump\u201d which they said contained \u201cwords\u201d that should not be \u201cintroduced to our children by a high school teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"7.6732673267327\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Important update from \u2066<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BiancaWJHL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@BiancaWJHL<\/a>\u2069 Sullivan County school board approves teacher termination charges, supporters outraged  <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Gq1H7kHi9x\">https:\/\/t.co\/Gq1H7kHi9x<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jeff Keeling WJHL (@JeffKeeling12) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JeffKeeling12\/status\/1413672738145898497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 10, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The article claimed Donald Trump would not have been elected president if he was not Caucasian. It included words derived from \u201ccuckold,\u201d a term Coates said, \u201cis specifically meant to debase by fear and fantasy \u2013 the target is so weak that he would submit to the humiliation of having his white wife lie with black men.\u201d Coates also used the word \u201cwhore,\u201d and wrote \u201cn*****\u201d eight times, including six times in a single paragraph.<\/p>\n<p>Officials told Hawn the Code of Ethics required him to provide varying and credible points of view.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour job is not to teach one perspective,\u201d wrote Ingrid Deloach, assistant director of Sullivan County Schools. \u201cYour job is also not to ensure students simply adopt your own personal perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hawn defended the assignment by falsely stating, \u201cThose were the words of the President and I thought that kids were mature enough to handle it.\u201d He also claimed, \u201cThere is no credible source for a differing point of view.\u201d He appealed the issuance of his letter of reprimand, but the Board voted 6-0 to uphold it in early March.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"7.8277153558052\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Supporters of Hawn told me they were frustrated with the board\u2019s decision to continue the dismissal process against the Sullivan Central HS contemporary issues teacher <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WJHL11?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@WJHL11<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ABCTriCities?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ABCTriCities<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HF8L68IOyo\">pic.twitter.com\/HF8L68IOyo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Bianca Marais WJHL (@BiancaWJHL) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BiancaWJHL\/status\/1402423820326158336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 9, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Later that month, Hawn faced a second round of reprimands when students reported he showed a \u201cWhite Privilege\u201d poetry <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Qkz5UmXugzk\">video<\/a> to his class that contained more inappropriate terms and phrases, including \u201casses,\u201d \u201cs***,\u201d and \u201cf*** my brains out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The charges of dismissal compiled by the school board alleged: \u201cHawn clearly knew the video\u2019s content was inappropriate, especially in light of the prior letter of reprimand, as more than one student confirmed that Hawn remarked to the class that playing the video could affect his job status (one student quoted Hawn as saying \u2013 \u2018I\u2019m about to get fired but I don\u2019t really care.\u2019)\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hawn confirmed to the Board that no other perspectives were presented to students.<\/p>\n<p>During Tuesday\u2019s meeting, Sullivan County Director of Schools Dr. David Cox said he had been accused of racism for backing the charges against Hawn.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere has been a lot of talk online that accuses me of moving to dismiss Mr. Hawn because he taught anti-racism lessons,\u201d said Cox. \u201cLet me be perfectly clear. Sullivan County Schools, and I in no way condone racism of any county. We have encouraged all of our teachers, including Mr. Hawn, to promote an environment welcoming to all students of all races of all backgrounds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAppropriate discussions around concepts like white privilege remain perfectly appropriate for a high school class, like contemporary issues,\u201d Cox continued. \u201cThese charges of dismissal are about Mr. Hawn refusing to provide his students with access to varying points of view, which is required under Tennessee law. And these charges are about Mr. Hawn, again, assigning inappropriate materials to his students.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hawn obtained tenure with the school system in 2008. He has 30 days to request a hearing before an impartial hearing officer and remains suspended without pay.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><em>member<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A school board in Tennessee voted earlier this week to approve termination charges against a tenured teacher accused of insubordination and repeated unprofessional conduct after he gave multiple assignments focusing &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2314421,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Coates.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"School Board Approves Termination Charges Against TN Teacher Who Made Students Read Ta-Nehisi Coates But Refused To Present Opposing Viewpoint","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-588008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Coates.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"School Board Approves Termination Charges Against TN Teacher Who Made Students Read Ta-Nehisi Coates But Refused To Present Opposing Viewpoint","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2314421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}