The Oregon student teacher fired for
discussing gay marriage with a fourth-grader says his dismissal sends
students the message that “queer is not okay.”
At a press conference on Friday in
Portland, Seth Stambaugh called his reinstatement “a great first
step.”
Stambaugh, 23, was fired for answering
a fourth-grade student's question about his marital status. He told
the student that he could not marry because it would be illegal for
him to marry a man, and answered in the affirmative when the student
asked him if he hanged out with other guys.
Stambaugh, a student at Lewis &
Clark Graduate School of Education, was notified on September 15 that
he would not be allowed back to teach at Sexton Mountain Elementary
School following a complaint by a parent. He said he was only told
that his comments were “inappropriate.”
“The decision to reinstate me is a
great first step, but does not address the larger issue at hand,
which, quite frankly, is killing our students: that somehow queer is
not okay,” he told reporters.
“My hasty disappearance from Sexton
Mountain is an express example that sends this message to children,
many of whom are perceived to be different, may live in LGBT
families, or may be queer themselves. All parents have a valid right
to voice any question or concern they may have regarding their
child's public school education. But public schools have a
responsibility to ensure that they are not favoring an educational
model that discriminates against queer people, or any other
minority.”
The graduate student also said that he
was never “informed nor had any indication that discussions of
marital status were 'inappropriate' or 'unprofessional,'” and added
that he has yet to hear an apology.
In a letter in support of Stambaugh,
twenty-two parents of students at the school said he had a “positive
rapport” with his students.