SC Teacher Stomps on Flag During Lesson, Facing Termination - UPDATE 2: GOT DAT MONEY!!!

Quote from smegalicious : The "reports" from the links in the OP are all from the same "concerned" parent -- a second-hand account at best. From The Daily Caller link: Compton’s attorney, Darryl D. Smalls, has argued that reportage of the incident has been unfair to his client. In an email to WIS, the area NBC affiliate, Smalls suggested that Compton wanted to demonstrate that the United States is an “inspirational idea” that is greater than any representation of it. “He made only positive comments about America throughout this lesson,” Smalls wrote. “The version of events currently circulating is incomplete.” “He meant no intentional disrespect to those men and women who served our country or to America itself,” Smalls added, noting that many of Compton’s relatives were service members. “Many people have rushed to vilify my client based on one segment of the story related through a secondhand account,” the attorney continued. “My client has had an exemplary 12-year teaching career, and was only trying to create a forum for discussion using a powerful symbol with which all his students would be familiar.”

Quote from 124nic8 : Because you don't think he very effectively taught his students the lesson you identified above?

Yes nic, because I think he is bad at teaching. Someone that clearly doesn't understand his own syllabus should not be in charge.

If he wanted to demonstrate the value of a symbol his words should have matched his lesson. Unless he was also trying to teach a valuable lesson on why lying is a bad idea. If so, he is currently doing a great job at teaching that lesson.

Quote from Xygonn : Yes nic, because I think he is bad at teaching. Someone that clearly doesn't understand his own syllabus should not be in charge. If he wanted to demonstrate the value of a symbol his words should have matched his lesson. Unless he was also trying to teach a valuable lesson on why lying is a bad idea. If so, he is currently doing a great job at teaching that lesson.

Again, you continue to assume that his words didn't match his lesson based on nothing more than a single statement by a parent who wasn't even there. That seems to be some pretty flimsy reasoning to judge him incompetent at his job.

Quote from Xygonn : Yes nic, because I think he is bad at teaching.

It seems like he was highly effective at teaching SOME lesson.

Quote : Someone that clearly doesn't understand his own syllabus should not be in charge.

What didn't he understand?

Quote : If he wanted to demonstrate the value of a symbol his words should have matched his lesson. Unless he was also trying to teach a valuable lesson on why lying is a bad idea. If so, he is currently doing a great job at teaching that lesson.

What was his lie? That stomping the flag communicates admiration for America?

Quote from 124nic8 : It seems like he was highly effective at teaching SOME lesson. What didn't he understand? What was his lie? That stomping the flag communicates admiration for America?

His lie was saying that stomping on a symbol has no meaning. Of course it has meaning. So, that would be a lie. Maybe so blatant it was intentional, in which case, as I said before, he has taught a valuable lesson on why not to lie, or perhaps more scholastically, that shock use of irony/sarcasm is a poor tool for use in teaching. If it was not a lie, then he doesn't understand how symbols work.

Quote from smegalicious : Again, you continue to assume that his words didn't match his lesson based on nothing more than a single statement by a parent who wasn't even there. That seems to be some pretty flimsy reasoning to judge him incompetent at his job.

If you are going to teach a lesson on symbolism, and you are going to stomp on the flag to do so, you should probably think about exactly how you are going to deliver the message. Unfortunately, he seems to have delivered the message badly.

He had many options in terms of how to teach symbolism, but he chose a particularly idiotic way of doing it, and didn't handle it properly. If you don't want to get burned, don't start a fire.

Quote from Xygonn : If you are going to teach a lesson on symbolism, and you are going to stomp on the flag to do so, you should probably think about exactly how you are going to deliver the message. Unfortunately, he seems to have delivered the message badly.

Upon what are you basing that conclusion?

Is it not possible that he did *exactly* as you stated above, yet there were still "concerned" parents whose panties got all bunched up? Just because some are either unwilling or incapable of understanding the message doesn't automatically mean he did an inadequate job of delivering the message.

Quote : He had many options in terms of how to teach symbolism, but he chose a particularly idiotic way of doing it, and didn't handle it properly. If you don't want to get burned, don't start a fire.

Again, based upon what?

Quote from Xygonn : His lie was saying that stomping on a symbol has no meaning. Of course it has meaning. So, that would be a lie. Maybe so blatant it was intentional, in which case, as I said before, he has taught a valuable lesson on why not to lie, or perhaps more scholastically, that shock use of irony/sarcasm is a poor tool for use in teaching. If it was not a lie, then he doesn't understand how symbols work.

Or maybe the parent's retelling of his daugher's retelling of what happened in English class that day wasn't very accurate.

Quote from smegalicious : Upon what are you basing that conclusion? Is it not possible that he did *exactly* as you stated above, yet there were still "concerned" parents whose panties got all bunched up? Just because some are either unwilling or incapable of understanding the message doesn't automatically mean he did an inadequate job of delivering the message. Again, based upon what?

Based on the fact he pissed off enough people to make national news.

What other ways do you think he could have handled a lesson on symbolism other than offending his students by desecrating a flag? I can think of several. He chose to desecrate a flag, and he failed to communicate it in such a way as to deliver the lesson without blow back.

Quote from Xygonn : Based on the fact he pissed off enough people to make national news.

And yet such national news all quote the same single, pissed off father...

Quote : What other ways do you think he could have handled a lesson on symbolism other than offending his students by desecrating a flag? I can think of several. He chose to desecrate a flag, and he failed to communicate it in such a way as to deliver the lesson without blow back.

So anytime someone gets "offended" by a certain message, it's the fault of the speaker, regardless of whether the message was properly understood by those so offended?

Quote from smegalicious : And yet such national news all quote the same single, pissed off father... So anytime someone gets "offended" by a certain message, it's the fault of the speaker, regardless of whether the message was properly understood by those so offended?

It depends on what the speaker did or said. Demonstrative flag desecration is a tricky topic. If the teacher knew more about symbolism, perhaps he would have avoided flag desecration altogether. Right now, he seems to be on the learning side of this lesson rather than the teaching side.

It is possible the parent is recounting it wrong, but that is not the claim put out by the teacher's representative. This makes me think the second hand tale has been told accurately. The event is called "incomplete" rather than "incorrect". Perhaps more context would help, but I'm not sure how much. If anything it probably makes it worse on the teacher not understanding how symbols work front.

Maybe he said "I love America. It's the best! It's the coolest country in the history of countries. Now if I take this colored piece of cloth and stomp on it, that doesn't mean anything. It's just a cloth and who cares? AMERICA IS AWESOME!"

I don't know. It still sounds like he made a pretty big mistake.

Question:

Wouldn't a made-in-China U.S. flag be a worse offense than stomping on said flag?

Discuss.

Quote from Xygonn : His lie was saying that stomping on a symbol has no meaning. Of course it has meaning. So, that would be a lie. Maybe so blatant it was intentional, in which case, as I said before, he has taught a valuable lesson on why not to lie, or perhaps more scholastically, that shock use of irony/sarcasm is a poor tool for use in teaching. If it was not a lie, then he doesn't understand how symbols work.

From the OP:

Quote : "This is a symbol of America. It is just cloth. This doesn't mean anything,"

Of course the contradiction in his sentences was intentional and introduced cognitive dissonance, provoking thought.

IMO, a highly effective teaching mechanism.

Except for the students who were too outraged to think about the contradiction.

Quote from Xygonn : It depends on what the speaker did or said. Demonstrative flag desecration is a tricky topic. If the teacher knew more about symbolism, perhaps he would have avoided flag desecration altogether.

Because knowledge leads to cowardice?

It's singularly *the* most effective way to demonstrate the value of symbols & their ability to communicate messages.

Quote : It is possible the parent is recounting it wrong, but that is not the claim put out by the teacher's representative. This makes me think the second hand tale has been told accurately. The event is called "incomplete" rather than "incorrect". Perhaps more context would help, but I'm not sure how much. If anything it probably makes it worse on the teacher not understanding how symbols work front.

Actually, the teacher's lawyer said that "the version of events" was "incomplete". As in, there was more to the story than the statement being circulated by the pissed off dad.

Quote : Maybe he said "I love America. It's the best! It's the coolest country in the history of countries. Now if I take this colored piece of cloth and stomp on it, that doesn't mean anything. It's just a cloth and who cares? AMERICA IS AWESOME!" I don't know. It still sounds like he made a pretty big mistake.

I guess trusting high school students to understand the message being taught was, sadly, a pretty big mistake.

If the man was truly courageous, he would have stomped on a Koran.

Offending Christians and American patriots is for cowards.