Teacher suspended on ‘weapons’ charge after showing students garden tools; Teacher is fighting back

If this ridiculousness isn’t a sign that our school officials have simply gone nuts, I don’t know what is:

CNS NEWS – Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have filed a civil rights lawsuit against a Chicago public school district on behalf of a second-grade teacher who was suspended after he displayed garden-variety tools such as wrenches, pliers and screwdrivers in his classroom as part of a “tool discussion” in his class.

Despite the fact that all potentially hazardous items were kept out of the students’ reach, school officials at Washington Irving Elementary School informed Doug Bartlett, a 17-year veteran in the classroom, that his use of the tools as visual aids endangered his students. Bartlett was subsequently penalized with a four-day suspension without pay – charged with possessing, carrying, storing or using a weapon.

The complaint charges that Bartlett “suffered humiliation, embarrassment, mental suffering, and lost wages, and was suspended for four days” – and asks for “nominal and compensatory damages” and for the suspension to be expunged from the teacher’s record.

“This school district’s gross overreaction to a simple teaching demonstration on basic tools such as wrenches and pliers underscores exactly what is wrong with our nation’s schools,” said Rutherford Institute Pres. John Whitehead.

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(h/t: YoJoe)


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