The Education Wonks
We have so much more to worry about in our country. Who really cares if inflated Santas are tasteful or not?
Let me see: LA's mayor doesn't have enough actual work to do? He has to run the school district too? If he really has so much extra time, I htink the voters in LA have some work to do that has nothing to do with public eucation.
Regarding religion, one may certainly talk about religious issues. As a high school English teacher, I have to do it frequently, particularly in talking about literature of the past. However, based only on the NYT article (and if the Times told me it was dark at midnight, I wouldn't believe it until I went outside to check), this fellow clearly went over the line of separation between necessary curricular issues or the mere stimulation of debate into active proslytization. Clearly out of bounds.
No doubt he is a good Christian and teacher who is trying to do what he feels is best for his students. The real principle involved here is that school is not the proper venue for the sort of thing he is alledged to have done. As far as I know, the churches remain open and students may attend them at their leisure. This being the case, there is no defense for the teacher's actions, nor should there be.
The L.A. school district is huge and it makes no more sense to have a handful of politicans run it by committee than it is to have it within the powers of the Mayor and hence of the city council.
And it may not make more sense either.
But don't confuse the school board out there with local control - the board members are full-time professional politicans representing districts with hundreds of thousands of people.
The previous Mayor dabbled with the school issue but the current Mayor went for the brass ring. He seems to have done it legally and will probably prevail.
Mayoral control is a disaster in NYC, which still has the highest class sizes in the area and the very lowest standards for teachers.
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