Good morning Pastor Jackson,
Don’t know if you saw this on the WELS Discussion board or not but thought I’d bring it to your attention:
Winnebago Lutheran Academy Teacher Under Fire Female Circumcision Lesson. Some readers on the WELS Discussion board can’t see the forest for the trees, getting hung up on little details instead of the true meat of the story. Does the story have plenty
of clickbaity words that will catch a Google search? Oh indeed. The reporter isn’t foolish in that regard. School choice in Wisconsin, Lutherans, linking this story to the gay valedictorian that wasn’t allowed to address the school, female circumcision,
it is all a potential cornucopia of hot takes and buzz words.
Regardless of how one feels about how the school handled this topic and the teacher that brought it up female circumcision in class, personally I feel that he was completely run out of town on a rail by a weak-kneed school administration, there’s one point
in the story that only illustrates the bullying mentality that can run rampant in the WELS:
“Several persons who had affiliations with the academy were contacted by USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, but declined to be interviewed
for fear of retribution, they said.”
“Fear of retribution”. Retribution. At this point, I shouldn’t be shocked by any from the synod or synodical schools or school boards of education, but “retribution”? Amazing what was said by these people
not commenting, isn’t it?
Retribution. I think of Clint Eastwood during the finale of Unforgiven when I think of retribution. I certainly don’t think of a “Christian” school. But now my eyes are opened as to how a definition can be broadened. As an alum of this school, I
find this even more destatable and simply disgusting.
And now because of these events, a good man and a good teacher is kicked out. No chance for another call and the public sector won’t touch him, if he even wanted to go that way. A 24-year veteran instructor of WLA is gone and over something that certainly
didn’t warrant a forced resignation. I had him as an instructor back when he started there and as his focus was social studies, this wasn’t a topic that was beyond the realm of coverage. Besides he taught it for 15 years and the school board and administration
apparently had no issues with it for over half of his teaching ministry there.
Oh and to add to it being even more disgusting, here’s the newest update as of yesterday 6-17-19:
Fond du Lac Teacher Claims He Was Forced To Resign After Lecture about Female Circumcision In that article, we get a reply from a pastor who says nothing, brings up no real details other than being weak-kneed, and I’m shocked some random and not-relevant
Scripture passages weren’t thrown in for good measure, as that’s the usual Winnie-Lu way. Perhaps that pastor could also answer as to why there were persons affiliated with the Academy who feared retribution for speaking about this. Doubtful that’ll ever
come to light.
I hope and pray that all is well with you and your family.
Take care and keep up the good fight on Ichabod!
