Axe Falls in Woodlan
By Shawn Healy
The fallout from the school newspaper controversy at Woodlan Junior-Senior High School outside of Ft. Wayne, IN, continues to grow as journalism teacher Amy Sorrell will apparently be fired for a list of seven grievances that includes insubordination, neglect of duties, and inability to perform her teaching responsibilities. She permitted a pro-gay editorial to run in the student paper, sparking an investigation, and the ascension of Principal Ed Yoder to the position of official censor.
The bitter irony centers on the charge of changing the curriculum without administrative approval. Instead of working on the student newspaper, Sorrell had her students study First Amendment Supreme Court cases. Imagine that in a class premised on the exercise of the same amendment!
The loser here is the student newspaper. Megan Chase, the author of the infamous article, said she probably not write again next year minus Sorrell, as Yoder's actions took the "fun" away from the process.
Sorrell has a right to call for a public hearing over her dismissal, and it appears likely she will do so. Expect Sorrell's students to rally to her cause, exercising those same five freedoms she apparently detailed in her classroom.
The bitter irony centers on the charge of changing the curriculum without administrative approval. Instead of working on the student newspaper, Sorrell had her students study First Amendment Supreme Court cases. Imagine that in a class premised on the exercise of the same amendment!
The loser here is the student newspaper. Megan Chase, the author of the infamous article, said she probably not write again next year minus Sorrell, as Yoder's actions took the "fun" away from the process.
Sorrell has a right to call for a public hearing over her dismissal, and it appears likely she will do so. Expect Sorrell's students to rally to her cause, exercising those same five freedoms she apparently detailed in her classroom.
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