This is too upsetting to not pass on.  An Oklahoma teacher is being forced to resign for teaching the Laramie Project, a documentary drama (based on interviews, news articles, journal entries, etc.) following reactions to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shephard in Laramie, Wyoming.  Why was she teaching this?  "To help her students examine how hatred and intolerance can be justified by attitudes within a community, a church, or in the home," says SIECUS Action Alert.  

On a personal note, I remember 1998 and the extensive media coverage following the "Matthew Shephard" case.  As a wee twelve year old, I remember thinking how horrendous it was that anyone could ignore this blaringly obvious and psychically damaging hate crime.  The Matthew Shepard Act (formerly known as the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007) is one way that some folks are saying "we won't accept hate".  It will be reintroduced in the House and Senate in the upcoming month.

For more information about how you can support Debra Taylor, the Oklahoma teacher, please read below or contact SIECUS.

ACTION ALERT

 
Tell Superintendent Ed Turlington: Teach Respect!

Reinstate Teacher Debra Taylor!

 
SIECUS and a number of other organizations have been monitoring a school controversy in Grandfield, OK where a teacher was recently suspended for teaching The Laramie Project, an award-wining play about the murder of Matthew Shepard, a young man in Wyoming who was killed because he was gay.


Debra Taylor, who teaches the Ethics and Street Law class, was using pieces of the play to help her students examine how hatred and intolerance can be justified by attitudes within a community, a church, or in the home.  Midway through the unit, Superintendent Ed Turlington told her to stop teaching the material.  She held a mock funeral for the play to give her students closure and was subsequently suspended. She has now accepted a resignation agreement, as she feared that she would otherwise be fired.
 

Her students are standing behind the play and their teacher.  “She always taught us to speak our minds and have our voices heard,” said one student. We need to tell Superintendent Turlington that Debra Taylor is a dedicated teacher who is willing to confront issues of respect and acceptance for all people regardless of sexual orientation and that she deserves to be immediately reinstated.


Tell Superintendent Turlington: Teach Respect!  Reinstate Teacher Debra Taylor!

 
Advocates in Oklahoma, Texas, and surrounding states are strongly encouraged to call or email in support.


TAKE ACTION NOW…call Superintendent Turlington at 580-479-5237 or send an email to eturlington@grandfield.k12.ok.us and tell him:
 

“Debra Taylor did not deserve this kind of treatment. Young people need dedicated teachers willing to confront issues of respect and acceptance for people of all sexual orientations. She should be commended for creating a safe space for all her students and should be reinstated immediately.”