A message of support for Matthew LaClair

[Guest drz]

Keep fighting the good fight. Never back down and always question authority.

[Guest Dan]

Matthew,

Thank you for protecting constitutional rights, fighting for the continued separation of church and state, and fighting the good fight. As you can see from the number of comments, you're definetely not alone!

The best of luck in the future, and happy holidays.

-Dan

[Guest Simon Greenhill]

Kia Kaha Matt, stand tall, be proud.

--Simon

[Guest timelady]

Good for you Matthew! I imagine your parents are deeply proud of you - I certainly would be of my children. You are a fine young man with a sense of right and wrong that is commendable. Its hard to stand and fight for what you know is right, but in the long term, it is harder to live with the consequences of walking away.

Good luck with it all. Someone in Australia is thinking good thoughts about you!

[Guest Brian G]

I voice my support for Matthew Kearny. May those who hold him in contempt be shown the door out of society.

[Guest Mark]

I'd like to add my voice to the chorus of support for Matt. The only thing that's going to preserve democracy in America against the perpetual tide of ignorance is people of all ages who stand up and say "This ain't right!"

Go Matt! (And family!!)

[Guest Guest_James_*]

Thank you Matt.

[Guest cory]

Matt, I laughed out loud reading about you whipping out the recordings. Way to nail 'em!

[Guest Delpino]

Stay strong there, and wish you the best. Have to love the 'sane' people calling for your suspension/expulsion.

[Guest Nick Bowler]

Matt,

It took courage to do what you did. It is that courage that will seperate you from the rest of the class. It may be painfull -- but it is courage that will be noted by future employers, future lovers, and future friends. Keep up sticking with what you think is right -- because it is right, and it is what we all aspire to do, but often fail at achieving.

Nick.

[Guest Andrea]

Keep up the good work Matthew! I expect to hear great things about you in the future. You are very brave.

[Guest Pat]

Matthew, you have my respect and admiration for having the courage to take a stand and speak out for rational thought.

[Guest Peter Barber]

Matthew,

I too want to offer my support, from sunny (actually, smoky due to bushfires!) Melbourne in Oz.

I was raised in the UK as a Catholic, and went to a Catholic grammar school. Looking back on my school days, it is clear to me that even then I mainly regarded the Bible as a collection of allegories and legends. I was a definite science nerd, and knew the basic reasoning behind estimates of the Earth's age, etc. And my friends tell me how lippy I was!

And yet I am still not sure if I would have had the confidence to stand up in class and disagree with false and inappropriate remarks such as those of Paszkiewicz, especially when the majority of students apparently sympathise with the teacher. The pressure to defer to authority figures is strong, and peer pressure is even stronger.

So kudos to you, Matthew, and keep up the independent thinking.

[Guest guest_ohio]

Keep fighting the good fight Matt

[Guest Xot]

More support for a kid with brains and guts!

[Guest guest_eric]

Way to go Matthew! The world needs more people like you willing to stick up for those of us who hold a naturalistic view of the world. If you're interested in hearing/reading more about the current freethought movements you should check out these links:

The Council for Secular Humanism - http://secularhumanism.org/

The Freedom From Religion Foundation - http://ffrf.org/index2.php

Center for Inquiry - http://www.pointofinquiry.org/

all have great podcasts and tons of reading material.

good luck!

[Guest SimonC]

Well done Matt - from Sydney, Australia

[Guest Stuart Weinstein]

Matt,

More power to you. No student should have to endure preaching from a teacher, much less sermons replete with hell threats and all. If you were my kid, your teacher would be in a full length body cast by now drinking out of a straw. Preaching is for the Priests, Rabbis, Imams, whatever. The job of a teacher is to educate.

If he wants to preach, he should find a pulpit somehwere, and preach till his heart's content. The school should severely reprimand him. He has no right to force his religious beleifs upon anyone, let alone the captive audiences that are his classes. He is there to teach, not preach.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

You are to be commended for standing up for yourself not consigning yourself to further abuse. I understand your efforts haven't made you too popular. Doing the right things isn't always easy, nor does it always yield immediate satisfaction. But one day you'll look back on this and be glad. To your tormmenters.. well to heck with them Your whole life is ahead of you. Full speed ahead, and don't take crap from nobody.

Stuart

[Guest K]

I just finished reading the NYT article about the controversy in Kearny. Since I've been unable to find an email address for Matthew LaClair, I'm posting here and hoping it will get back to him. I haven't read the other messages relating to this topic, on this board, because I'll probably be so incensed by them that I'll end up yelling at the screen, as apparently the teacher has received more support.

Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you, Matthew. I think you've done a brave and vitally important thing, and you should be very proud of it. I am really impressed to see so much 'spunk' and initiative in someone your age - congratulations on having a functioning mind! It's a rarity around here these days. You have done the right thing, but I am very sad to say that it won't be enough, in my opinion. If you choose to stay and carry on the good fight, more power to you. If you decide that you're just banging your head against a fundamentalist brick wall, and decide to emigrate, as I did, might I suggest Europe? There are lots of like-minded people over here.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well said. I am, however, going to suggest that you stay in America...we need more minds like yours and can't all leave this country. I wonder how the Baptists who support this teacher are going to feel about little tommy coming home from school in 2015 saying that he was taught Satanic ritual during first and second period and Muslim extremism in periods five and six. Makes you wonder what "other" secrets this teacher wasn't sharing with the parents.

I'm not sure which religion (if any) that Matthew will ultimately call his own, but I am amazed to see someone stand up for the rights of all students to receive a fair and balanced education. If people don't find evolution to be a repeatable science, then we'll show them the pictures of their ancestors 3,000 years from now. Ignorance is not only bliss, but tend to want to share that bliss with brute force.

I was on the fence myself, growing up. But ultimately religion will die because of used-car-salesman tactics like these. Jimmy Carter = good Baptist role model, this teacher = another example of religion supporting it's own no matter how sleazy he was in doing what he did.

If you want to find God, Matthew...I suggest finding it within you. never trust someone who's selling you the pre-packaged version.

[Guest Johnny Blaze]

I'm all for freedom of religion, as long as it doesn't interfere with mine.

I'm sure the teacher was a good teacher, apart from his bizzare proselytizing.

I don't see why everyone's made a big deal about, the solution seems pretty simple to me just tell him to cut out the proselytizing.

[Guest Slayer]

The response to Matthew's bravery has been less than satisfactory. It's funny how so many Christians love to talk about how violent Muslims are, but when someone even so much as indirectly questions Christianity they're getting death threats.

[Guest Ian]

You did good, Matthew. Don't ever doubt that there are a lot of ordinary people out here who applaud what you did. The Constitution guarantees citizens the right to believe what they choose; it does not guarantee them the right to foist those beliefs on others.

[Guest NY Teacher]

Hello!

I am a teacher in New York State and this article caught my eye.

Matthew, if you are reading this, I want to let you know you have a great deal of courage to do what you are doing. Any teacher worth their salt knows that religious opinions need to be left out of the classroom. During one class I taught, I was cautioned by a superior who was observing that I leave out mentioning Lent in relation to a project on the old Italian holiday of Carnivale (which came after Lent). The superior said that just talking about Lent could result in upsetting students and parents.

The thought that any teacher would preach any religious beliefs in such a manner as this teacher did, be they Christian, Jewish, or otherwise, is appalling to me as a professional. What adult in their right mind tells children they are going to hell for not being Christian? Especially a teacher who has been teaching for 14 years.

I'd be shocked if the teacher is allowed back in a classroom unless they have a stellar career. Anyone who preaches to that degree in a class obviously cares more about their religion than the education of their students.

[Guest Guest]

Thank you Mr LaClair for defending freedom and the rights of students to a sound education.

[Guest Steve Murphy]

Added in support of Matthew. It is gratifying to see integrity and intellectual depth maintained under such a horrendous backlash.