# School fires teacher because her jailed ex might cause trouble when he gets out? Right call or not? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 13, 2013, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907 "2013-06-13T15:42:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/41 "2013-06-13T18:46:39Z")
> [@](#): > > The atheist does not arrive at his conclusions by the same method as the theist. Because the agreed-upon factual record regarding Jesus’ life and teachings is sparse, any meaningful calculation of “What would Jesus do” in a given situation is infuenced greatly by the religious tenets of the person asking the question. The atheist is generally not in a position to accurately answer that question, as the responses here illustrate. Would Jesus argue that the children attending the school be placed in danger to succor the employment needs of the woman? On what historical grounds might you answer that? Atheists are just as capable of reading the Bible as we theists are. OK, they might dispute how factual the Bible is, but the implication of “WWJD” is the behavior of the character described in the Gospels (even if that wasn’t the actual behavior of the actual historical figure), and so the Bible is the correct guide for either a theist or atheist to answer “WWJD”. And I think that Jesus made it pretty clear in the Gospels that you don’t punish one person for the sins of another. If you want to pull the “Think of the children!” angle, then I suppose you could argue in favor of tying a millstone around the ex-husband’s neck and throwing him into the sea. But that still doesn’t provide a reason to fire the teacher. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/42 "2013-06-13T19:17:14Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > So if this guy was the father of a student at the school and had the same history of violence at the school, would you support the school’s expelling that child to protect the other students? Something that seemed to have gotten glossed over here, **that’s pretty much exactly what happened.** > [@](#): > > Charlesworth and her four kids, who also attended Holy Trinity School, have not been back since the January incident. A letter was sent home to parents the following day, explaining the situation and noting Charlesworth and **her children were being put "on an indefinite leave.”** ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/43 "2013-06-13T19:25:52Z")
“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Not interpreting, mind you-just quoting. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/44 "2013-06-13T19:27:39Z")
I missed the part about the children. So, if it’s right to fire a teacher because she’s a victim of domestic violence, is it also right to boot children out of the school for the same reason? I work in a public school. Because we’re a public school, we’d never be able to fire a teacher for being a victim. However, during my time there, we’ve never had a problem with a teacher’s family member. Over the years, we have had a whole lot of trouble from various students’ family members. When things got really bad, we’ve banned parents from campus, but no one’s ever even expressed a wish that we could chuck the kids out because of their asshole relatives. It would just seem…wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/45 "2013-06-13T19:39:15Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > “But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” > Not interpreting, mind you-just quoting. So you think Jesus would rather have multiple chidren possibly murdered than simplly have one woman find a new job? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/46 "2013-06-13T19:42:16Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > “But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” > Not interpreting, mind you-just quoting. Right. But since Jesus said that when He was flesh and blood, theists (generally) realize he was not calling for children to be killed so they could come to Him in Heaven. Atheists just quote, apparently without understand or interpreting, if one may judge atheists by your example. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/47 "2013-06-13T19:45:03Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Is that a statement of fact, or just a layman’s opinion? The way you phrased it made it sound like you have knowledge about this case. It was miraculous insight, vouchsafed to me from on high. Kinda like your post #21, only accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/48 "2013-06-13T19:46:18Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > So you think Jesus would rather have multiple chidren possibly murdered than simplly have one woman find a new job? I’m just an ignorant ol’ atheist-what would a Christian think Jesus would do in this case? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/49 "2013-06-13T19:52:00Z")
Even assuming that there might be some circumstances where firing the teacher and expelling her kids would be justified, this case doesn’t seem to be it. The man apparently never entered the school and made no threats toward any students. And under any circumstances, whether this man is coming to the door or not, presumably the school has a duty to keep its premises secure against intruders. I recognize that many southern California schools are partly open-air facilities, but is the school really unable to prevent unwanted people from entering the campus? > [@Czarcasm](#): > > Are we pretending this isn’t about money? This didn’t become a real problem until a small group of parents threatened to pull their kids. All thoughts Of Christian sacrifice went right out the window when the possibility of a loss of revenue came up. Do Catholic schools make a profit per student? I would have guessed not. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/50 "2013-06-13T19:52:30Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > No, but her presence is. It doesn’t seem particularly plausible to imagine that **the ex-husband’s murderous, stalker impulses** will be thwarted because she’s at a new school, nor is it plausible to assume that her new school is some closely-held secret that he’ll never learn. How do you know that he has “murderous, stalker impulses”? Where did you learn that? Or are you forming an opinion without having all the facts? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/51 "2013-06-13T19:53:33Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Right. But since Jesus said that when He was flesh and blood, theists (generally) realize he was not calling for children to be killed so they could come to Him in Heaven. > > Atheists just quote, apparently without understand or interpreting, if one may judge atheists by your example. You actually think _that_ was my interpretation of the verse? I _know_ what it means-I was castigating that school system for not following it. “WWJD”, in your opinion? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/52 "2013-06-13T19:55:45Z")
Fine then, **Bricker**. Address **Chronos** who is a Christian. And who also agrees with me–also a Christian. Even if they must think of the children, they should do so without hurting the woman. Give her paid leave and help her find a new job. Don’t fire her. Sorry for the lack of quotes, but they aren’t working. The quote page is just blank. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/53 "2013-06-13T19:57:39Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > So you think Jesus would rather have multiple chidren possibly murdered than simplly have one woman find a new job? So you think Jesus would have just said “sorry lady, you’re on your own…”? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/54 "2013-06-13T19:58:18Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Fine then, **Bricker**. Address **Chronos** who is a Christian. And who also agrees with me–also a Christian. > > Sorry for the lack of quotes, but they aren’t working. The quote page is just blank. When you hit “quote” and the quote doesn’t appear in the box, just refresh that page and it’ll appear eventually. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/55 "2013-06-13T20:34:36Z")
Strictly speaking, the “What Would Jesus Do?” inquiry tends to overlook the fact that one of the options He seems to have had at his disposal was raising the dead. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/56 "2013-06-13T20:36:30Z")
Next week: School board fired because of improper firing of teacher may lead to revenge I hope those who fired the teacher quit now so that the teacher they fired don’t come back and pose a threat to the students ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/57 "2013-06-13T20:38:46Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Strictly speaking, the “What Would Jesus Do?” inquiry tends to overlook the fact that one of the options He seems to have had at his disposal was raising the dead. Didn’t he teach that his followers could do the same thing if they just believed? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/58 "2013-06-13T20:39:29Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > It’s not clear to me why the atheist would feel so confident about his judgement. First of all, I was stating my own conclusion. And that’s my opinion as a Christian: that a good many atheists have a better idea of what Jesus was about than most Christians do. Sucks, but that’s life. > [@](#): > > If Jesus was in fact a divine being whose very presence on the planet was a supernatural event, then the atheist’s denial of that rather critical fact suggests he doesn’t understand Jesus at all, at least in any meaningful way. > > If Jesus was not a divine or supernatural being, of course, it’s the atheist whose understanding is the right one. > > But the reason religious people ask themselves, “What would Jesus do?” is generally because they subscribe to the divine, supernatural theory. The atheist’s understanding of what Jesus would do is not particularly useful to reaching conclusions in the framework of Jesus being a divine, supernatural being. Whether one believes in Jesus’ divinity or not, Jesus is recorded as having said more than a few things. Whether one even believes that those were Jesus’ words or not, one can basically ask, “assuming Jesus said the things the Bible says he said, and did the non-miraculous things the Bible says he did, what was he about?” and come up with a pretty good answer by reading the Gospels. Those same words are available to everyone. So there’s no reason why an atheist can’t have confidence in his reading of those words; a belief in Jesus’ divinity is only going to make a difference in interpretation in matters that don’t have much to do with this life anyway. For instance, if sins of sexual immorality trouble a Christian more than sins of hardness of heart, there’s not much support for that in the words of Jesus; quite the opposite, as a matter of fact. And the atheist can see that just as well as the Christian can. What’s troubling is that far too many supposed Christians _can’t_ see that very well. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/59 "2013-06-13T21:31:08Z")
Imagine the outrage if this woman’s violent husband showed up at the school again and shot some of those kids. The school would be vilified for ignoring the problem. The lawsuits alone would bankrupt the school. Defusing a potentially violent situation by terminating one employee is the best course of action. Remember this lady is responsible for getting this violent guy arrested. He’s going to come out of jail even more angry and out for blood. She needs to use this opportunity to move out of state and start a new life. Otherwise she’ll probably get another beating and maybe even die. Just another stalker victim in our failed justice system. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/60 "2013-06-13T21:41:17Z")
_What_ new life? You don’t think having her and her kids kicked out of an entire school district won’t leave a black mark on her record? With what money is she supposed to leave the state and find a new home? What does she tell the next school district when they ask why she was fired? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907.md?page=4)