# The continuing saga of John Freshwater, Christian martyr **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 31, 2008, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-continuing-saga-of-john-freshwater-christian-martyr/470453 "2008-10-31T16:36:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-continuing-saga-of-john-freshwater-christian-martyr/470453/1 "2008-10-31T16:36:05Z")
Freshwater is the Mount Vernon, Ohio eighth-grade teacher whom the school district is trying to fire because he teaches creationism to his students, has had religious displays in the classroom and (apparently the last straw) [burned crosses into students’ arms](http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/30/Freshwater30.html?sid=101) with a lab testing device. There’s currently a hearing in the school district on whether Freshwater can keep his job. A high school teacher has testified that she has to spend time every year correcting the misinformation that Freshwater has imparted on evolution: \*"Surveys that Schutte gave her students at the beginning of each school year included observations about their eighth-grade science classes, including: “It’s all opinion. It’s not proven fact,” “It’s a very open subject” and “we can’t say what happened in the past because we weren’t there.” Concerned that students wouldn’t pass the science portion of the Ohio Graduation Test, Schutte complained to administrators, but little was done until this year."\* And that’s mostly what I’m pitting here - not so much that Freshwater is a jerk who can’t stop promoting his religious beliefs to science students, but that school administrators knew about this for years and did nothing to stop it. \*"Last fall, Schutte sent Mount Vernon High School Principal Kathy Kasler an e-mail: “Teaching creationism is illegal and the state Department of Education is looking for the names of schools who are allowing this to happen so that they can make an example of them.” Kasler said that she’s known of complaints about Freshwater for about seven years, and that she asked the middle school to assign her daughter to another science teacher."\* Under questioning, the principal claims she expressed concerns to other administrators, but didn’t do more because Freshwater “was not her employee”. Great. The principal gets her own kid out of this idiot’s classroom, but is content to let other children be indoctrinated. What is it about people who work in school administration? Is there an absolute requirement that you surrender your balls (or ovaries, in this case) before showing up for work? Oh, and another pit salute to the parents who live in the neighborhood of one family whose kid was “tattooed” with a cross by Freshwater, and are [harassing them](http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/27/Dennistalks.html?sid=101) via yard signs for speaking out. And an oops to myself for accidentally posting this in MPSIMS instead of the intended Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-continuing-saga-of-john-freshwater-christian-martyr/470453/2 "2008-10-31T16:46:55Z")
I’m not clear on how he “burned” crosses into student’s arms but wouldn’t that sort of thing be some form of assault? Which by itself should be a firing offense. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-continuing-saga-of-john-freshwater-christian-martyr/470453/3 "2008-10-31T16:56:35Z")
Let me guess why it’s so hard to fire him…teachers union? ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-continuing-saga-of-john-freshwater-christian-martyr/470453/4 "2008-10-31T17:18:18Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > I’m not clear on how he “burned” crosses into student’s arms but wouldn’t that sort of thing be some form of assault? Which by itself should be a firing offense. It was some sort of chemical reaction or somesuch that wore off after a few days. IIRC, when called on his actions, he tried to claim that the crosses were X’s. :rolleyes: e: the article says it’s a high-voltage, low-current, electrostatic device. So an electrical thing, not a chemical thing. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-continuing-saga-of-john-freshwater-christian-martyr/470453/5 "2008-10-31T18:10:46Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > I’m not clear on how he “burned” crosses into student’s arms but wouldn’t that sort of thing be some form of assault? Which by itself should be a firing offense. If I had a child and I found out he did that to them I’d probably be in jail. I know it’s illegal and wrong, but still… ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-continuing-saga-of-john-freshwater-christian-martyr/470453/6 "2013-11-20T17:57:16Z")
Updating this thread with the news that [Ohio’s Supreme Court upheld](http://io9.com/ohios-supreme-court-backs-the-firing-of-a-creationist-1468170111) Mr. Freshwater’s firing today. After five years of litigation. I’ve linked to a summation on IO9, they have a link to the full opinion in the article. They found the insubordination alone was grounds for termination, so the teaching of creationist nonsense, and the branding of the students did not enter into the decision.