Georgia Teacher Fired for Trying to Stop Anti-Gay Violence

By Michael A. Jones -

Teachers are supposed to keep their classrooms safe, and make sure that all students are treated with respect and dignity. In fact, nothing was more important to Dave Dixon, a drama teacher at Haralson County High School in Tallapoosa, Georgia. Dixon was personally responsible for talking three kids down from suicide, and dozens of other students stayed in school because of the mentoring and support that Dixon gave them.
But today, Dave Dixon is out of a job. Why? Because his school didn't like the fact that he was trying to combat anti-gay bullying. Moral of the story? A quality teacher gets canned, because school administrators don't want any mention of homosexuality in the classroom.
How unacceptable is that? During a time where LGBT suicide and anti-gay bullying are pervasive in nearly every corner of the country, Haralson County High School sends a respected and admired teacher packing because he had the audacity to say that gay students shouldn't get harassed or beat up.
Dixon's story goes something like this. In October 2010, Dixon showed an anti-bullying video in his classroom that dealt with the subject of harassment based on sexual orientation. That video, The Reckoning, is a film from 2007 about a gay man who is targeted because of his sexual orientation and gay bashed. There was some choice language in the film, but according to Dixon, it was nothing that his students hadn't already heard.  Besides, Dixon said, other movies with language have been shown in classrooms where the characters are heterosexual. (UPDATE: Dixon says in this article that he showed the first 42 seconds of the film, before realizing that it was not edited for language or violence. He immediately shut the film off, but kept a conversation about anti-gay bullying going.)
"During this time of so many kids hurting themselves over bullying, I thought it would be a good subject," Dixon told Talk About Equality. "I teach my students about the human condition in my theater classes, and to play a part means to understand the character. Through that understanding, I hope my students will become more tolerant of all types of people, regardless of background, race, orientation or behavior.”
Too bad the school isn't interested in fostering an environment rooted in tolerance. They originally suspended Dixon after he showed the film, but this week made the decision to fire him completely.
That's right. A teacher who has saved the lives of some of his students, who kept many others from dropping out, and who has led his school's theater program to a number of awards, was fired, all for trying to address the very real subject of anti-gay violence.
Could these school leaders be any more obtuse?
Send the principal of Haralson County High School, Charles Needham, as well as the Haralson County Superintendent a message that Dixon deserves to be reinstated. Teachers who try to stop violence and harassment should be celebrated by districts, not kicked out of the classroom.

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