In the past few weeks, Tennessee has seen a teacher and a doctor lose their jobs over discussions of topics including race in America and vaccinations for children. That is to say, when these individuals discussed truths that made some uncomfortable, they were terminated.
Here’s more on the tenured teacher who lost his job because he asked his contemporary issues class to confront issues around race:
Matthew Hawn, who had been a tenured teacher at the Sullivan County School District since 2008 and baseball coach at Central High School, was dismissed by the local board of education on June 8 in a 6-1 vote for two separate incidents where he taught about race, reported WJHL.com, a news outlet based in Johnson City, Tenn.
At issue was Hawn assigning the essay “The First White President” by Ta-Nehisi Coates to students in his Contemporary Issues class in February, and later in March, playing a video of “White Privilege,” a spoken word poem by Kyla Jenée Lacey to the same students.
The move comes after a legislative session which saw Gov. Bill Lee sign into law a bill which severely restricts the way school districts and teachers may present issues related to race, sex, gender, and sexuality.
Specifically, the legislation in question states:
This amendment also prohibits any LEA or public charter school from including or promoting the following concepts as part of a course of instruction or in a curriculum or instructional program, or allowing teachers or other employees of the LEA or public charter school to use supplemental instructional materials that include or promote the following concepts:
(1) One race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex;
(2) An individual, by virtue of the individual's race or sex, is inherently privileged, racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or subconsciously;
(3) An individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment because of the individual's race or sex;
(4) An individual's moral character is determined by the individual's race or sex;
(5) An individual, by virtue of the individual's race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex;
(6) An individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or another form of psychological distress solely because of the individual's race or sex;
(7) A meritocracy is inherently racist or sexist, or designed by a particular race or sex to oppress members of another race or sex;
(8) This state or the United States is fundamentally or irredeemably racist or sexist;
(9) Promoting or advocating the violent overthrow of the United States government;
(10) Promoting division between, or resentment of, a race, sex, religion, creed, nonviolent political affiliation, social class, or class of people; or
(11) Ascribing character traits, values, moral or ethical codes, privileges, or beliefs to a race or sex, or to an individual because of the individual's race or sex.
This amendment does not prohibit an LEA or public charter school from including, as part of a course of instruction or in a curriculum or instructional program, or from allowing teachers or other employees of the LEA or public charter school to use supplemental instructional materials that include:
(1) The history of an ethnic group, as described in textbooks and instructional materials adopted in accordance with present law concerning textbooks and instructional materials;
(2) The impartial discussion of controversial aspects of history;
(3) The impartial instruction on the historical oppression of a particular group of people based on race, ethnicity, class, nationality, religion, or geographic region; or
(4) Historical documents that are permitted under present law, such as the national motto, the national anthem, the state and federal constitutions, state and federal laws, and supreme court decisions.
If the commissioner of education finds that an LEA or public charter school knowingly violates the prohibitions described in (1)-(11), then this amendment requires the commissioner to withhold state funds, in an amount determined by the commissioner, from the LEA or public charter school until the LEA or public charter school provides evidence to the commissioner that the LEA or public charter school is no longer in violation.
Then, there’s also this bill restricting teaching around issues of sexuality or gender identity.
The bottom line: Teachers are having their voices silenced in the face of reality that seems to make some lawmakers uncomfortable. Of course, that’s also kind of tricky given the curriculum requirements around seahorses.
On a related note, Tennessee’s top medical official for vaccines was terminated this week in response to a memo she wrote indicating that certain minors could request the COVID-19 vaccine without parental consent - an opinion backed up by a Tennessee Supreme Court decision.
Here’s more on Shelley Fiscus:
Tennessee fired its top vaccination official, Dr. Michelle Fiscus. Dr. Fiscus believes she was a scapegoat to appease state lawmakers angry about efforts to vaccinate teenagers against coronavirus. She said, “It was my job to provide evidence-based education and vaccine access so that Tennesseans could protect themselves against COVID-19. I have now been terminated for doing exactly that.”
It's hard to disagree. Dr. Fiscus is the one who had the nerve to let medical providers know about the "mature minor doctrine" --created in 1987-- stating that when it comes to vaccines anyone 14 and older can get one without their parents consent, even though at the time only eight children had done so. Some Republicans were furious, even threatening to get rid of the state health department.
Here’s a statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics on the termination of Dr. Fiscus:
“Pediatricians are working every day in our practices to encourage families, adolescents and children ages 12 and older to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The Delta variant is more transmissible than other variants, leading to more infections and more hospitalizations and deaths among unvaccinated people. The vaccine is the best way to prevent this suffering and bring an end to the pandemic that has infected more than four million children and disrupted so many lives.
“American Academy of Pediatrics Board of Directors member Dr. Michelle Fiscus was terminated as the State Medical Director of Vaccine-Preventable and Infectious Diseases at the Tennessee Department of Health, apparently because she was encouraging eligible adolescents to get vaccinated. Pediatrician public health officials are medical experts who are trusted by the communities they serve. Dr. Fiscus’s termination is the most recent example of a concerning trend of politicizing public health expertise.
“We are also concerned by reports that Tennessee has stopped all communications about any routine childhood vaccines, including those for measles and other vaccine-preventable illnesses, at a time when children and adolescents overall still lag behind on these important vaccines due to the pandemic. Actions like this only increase the likelihood that we’ll see other outbreaks of these diseases even as we continue to fight COVID-19.
“The American Academy of Pediatrics will continue to promote the vaccine and support pediatricians like Dr. Fiscus who are doing the vital work that’s needed to get us out of this pandemic.”
Dr. Fiscus used science to make her recommendation and established law to back up the practice she was suggesting. Now, she’s out of a job.
Tennessee may very well be ground zero in the war on reality.