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Students Rally for Suspended Teacher


BONOBO APES X390 (GETTY) | ADVOCATE.COM

Hundreds of students have rallied in support of a teacher who let his 10th-grade students to read a report on homosexuality among animals.

Dan Delong of Carlinville, Ill., at teacher at Southwestern High School in the nearby town of Piasa, will face a school board hearing November 2, after being suspended from teaching. A parent of one unidentified student thought the optional reading assignment was inappropriate for her child, according to United Press International.

The article, "The Gay Animal Kingdom," was by Jonah Lehrer, concerning the research of Joan Roughgarden, a biologist who has documented homosexual societies among more than 450 animal species, according to the Journal-Courier of Jacksonville, Ill.

Delong will face school district officials at the central office in Piasa at 6 p.m. on Monday.

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Reader Comments
  • Name: David
    Date posted: 3/5/2010 2:17:24 AM
    Hometown: Phoenix, AZ

    Comment:

    This is just absurdity. There are teachers still receiving paychecks more than a year later after being fired for sexual misconduct(some even get their jobs back). Yet, these poor students have to literally ASK and PETITION just to be able to be taught relevant science based on factual information in TENTH GRADE! Now, just because ONE student's parents are biased in their opinion on what is "appropriate" for their children; our education system will suffer once more and students will have to seek for the information that is real; privately, away from their parents knowledge. This discourages me very much in the fact that we have TV shows like Southpark, Family Guy, American Dad, and dare I say, "The Simpsons" which could be (and often is) seen as highly offensive to the general public. Let alone one specific group of students. -Just my Two and a half Cents (with taxes withheld of course)

  • Name: David W
    Date posted: 11/2/2009 12:13:48 AM
    Hometown: Seattle WA

    Comment:

    Now who what it that said "stupid is as stupid does..."? Hmmm. I guess that's the way the cow tips.

  • Name: Joshua
    Date posted: 11/1/2009 11:41:10 PM
    Hometown: Jacksonville, FL

    Comment:

    To Katie, the woman who has asked us to stop talking about her community as though they are, in her words, "a bunch of cow-tipping idiots," I have only this response. Stop acting like a bunch of cow-tipping idiots, restore this teacher's position, and we'll restore to your community the benefit of the doubt. In fact, we'll probably forget about your little cow-town completely, no matter how stellar your little miracles' SAT scores.

  • Name: Ken
    Date posted: 11/1/2009 11:24:27 AM
    Hometown: NYC

    Comment:

    Bruce NY- Vis-a-vis homosexuality and Darwinism: Since the theory of evolution posits nature selects those traits that best ensure the survival of the species or or genetic group, in social animals a gay uncle or lesbian aunt may provide an additional layer of protection for the next generation (since presumably said individuals are now available to help with rearing other than their own young without challenging other group members for scarce resources). In animals where reproduction is restricted to one alpha-male, non-procreative sex may also be a mechanism for social bonding as well as establishment of dominance hierarchies among other members. There are many proposed variations on these themes (depending on the critter being studied) that all suggest that homosexuality is beneficial to the survival of the species as a group. In essence, theory allows for non-reproductive sex that may still help promote the passing on of the "selfish gene".

  • Name: TSG
    Date posted: 11/1/2009 11:00:39 AM
    Hometown: Minneapolis

    Comment:

    Evolution is hit and miss. That's why humans have eyes that are prone to detached retinas and have a blind spot, but they work well enough to let us see at least until we are to old to breed. My guess (probably wrong) is that homosexuality provides a mechanism to reduce inbreeding in smaller populations. Since reading the article was optional I don't see why the teacher is in trouble. I suppose the student wanted to read the article and the parent didn't want her reading it. Still that is what a teacher is supposed to do, get the kids asking questions about preconceived ideas in science, religion, society and government so that those kids grow up to ready to deal with life and hopefully change things for the better.

  • Name: Kate
    Date posted: 10/31/2009 7:36:13 PM
    Hometown: IL

    Comment:

    As a mother of high schoolers, I totally disagree with the action that has been taken. I see nothing wrong with the article and don't understand why this teacher is facing disciplinary actions.

  • Name: Katie
    Date posted: 10/31/2009 5:48:59 PM
    Hometown: Brighton, IL

    Comment:

    Can I just comment on the use of words like "redneck" to describe this community? Considering I doubt any of you have actually been to this area except for the lady from Alton which...sorry you have no room to degrade anyone's way of life, you can't possibly know how we live. Yes we're a small community, but it's not like we sit on our front porches playing the banjo and spit tobacco into a can. It's a tight-knit, safe area and judging by ACT scores obviously more intelligent than quite a few surrounding schools...Alton for example. So please don't treat this community like a bunch of cow-tipping idiots. And his name is Mr. DeLong...with a capital L.

  • Name: BTS
    Date posted: 10/31/2009 3:23:26 PM
    Hometown: Spokane

    Comment:

    Not reading the science ain't going to make it go away. The article mentioned that the reading assignment was 'optional'. So mom, don't have your kid read it.

  • Name: Ariel
    Date posted: 10/31/2009 11:56:49 AM
    Hometown: Brooklyn

    Comment:

    Why the picture of Larry Johnson and Tim Hardaway for this article?

  • Name: Bruce
    Date posted: 10/30/2009 10:14:37 PM
    Hometown: NY

    Comment:

    This is actually a very interesting conundrum for the Christian fundamentalists. I Googled the article about animal homosexuality which argues that Darwinian evolution must be seriously flawed because (let's face it, if the goal is to insure the survival of your genes homosexuality is obviously not the brightest way to go about it). So how can Darwinism explain the phenomena of homosexual animal behavior, which is well-documented by the way? What's so interesting is that it puts the fundies on the same side as Darwin, and we all know how much they love his theory of evolution!



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