The Wisconsin English teacher, Jordan Cernek, argues in the suit that the district violated his freedom of religion and free speech in mandating the use of the students’ preferred names and pronouns.

A high school English teacher is suing a Wisconsin school district, alleging it did not renew his contract last year because he refused to use the preferred names of two transgender students.

Jordan Cernek’s federal lawsuit alleges the Argyle School District violated his constitutional and civil rights to be free of religious discrimination and to be able to express himself according to his religious beliefs when it did not renew his contract because he refused to abide by a requirement that teachers use the names or pronouns requested by students.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    He better not fucking win. Apart from it being bigoted against trans kids, this opens the door for teachers to give kids whatever insulting nicknames they want. Call the clumsy kid the r-word? Don’t violate his free speech! Call the black kid the n-word? The Book of Mormon clearly says black people are inferior! Don’t violate his freedom of religion!

    • rc__buggy@sh.itjust.works
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      4 months ago

      He better not fucking win because a public school teacher needs to check their religion at the door. The SC said that private businesses can practice their religion as part of commerce but this is the public sector. Kim Davis lost her case about refusing the same sex marriage license due to “her religion” and this should follow.

  • betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Good, fuck off. He can find a new job where he’s not expected to treat his fellow humans with the respect they deserve. Being wrong about the nature of reality doesn’t grant the right to be an asshole even if they sincerely believe that it should.

  • Zahille7@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Idk man. When I was in school before everyone started coming out as trans and such, all my teachers would still ask if there was a different name you preferred on like the first day of school. And they suck to it. It didn’t matter if the student was gay, straight, trans, or whatever; they still had a preferred name they liked to be called by, the teachers asked, and they respected it. I’d like to think those teachers of mine would continue this practice and not have an issue with it, but you never really know.

    • TallonMetroid@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      That was my experience as well, but then I grew in San Francisco, which is like the gay hippie commie Mecca that the Christofascists jerk themselves off on hating. Plus we had a lot of minority students with potentially difficult to pronounce ethnic names, so that might also have been a factor.

      • Zahille7@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Makes sense. My personal experience with this is coming from a small Midwest city in elementary and middle school. By the time we got to high school, the teachers just knew because it was in your record by that point.

    • quantumantics@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Teacher here; this is the first thing I do on day one with new students! You want to build a classroom community of mutual respect; failure to do so makes for a hostile classroom and a wasted year.

  • flicker@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    I’m not trans.

    I hate my legal name. I will change it when I’m ready to do the paperwork. Until then, everyone calls me the name I prefer.

    I would have been a thorn in this teacher’s side. I’m not answering to that name, asshole. I’m not writing it on any documents. I’m allowed to tell you what to call me for whatever reason I want. My mother’s best friend, who I was named for, was an abusive fucking cunt to me and every time you say her name I’m reminded of her.

    What a douche. Stop policing names. The only names worth policing are the ones that are remarkably dumb.

    • primrosepathspeedrun@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      nah. I think there’s room. religious shit should be banned from public use (as in, use by public institutions) , and I don’t think we should have a robert e lee or nathan B forest high school any more than we should have an erwin rommel elementary or a reinhardt heidrich middle school.

  • Mediocre_Bard@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Yep, and good riddance.

    If students do not feel respected, then they will neither give respect nor learn. You call a kid what they want to be called. Without a sense of shared community, the classroom will fail.

    Additionally, there is not a religion on earth that says you can’t use people’s nicknames, preferred names, chosen names, or whatever. This guy can go eat a bag of Dicks.

    • Wrench@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      We had two kids my age that wanted to be called by Final Fantasy character names. AFAIK, no one had any problem with it.

      • mosiacmango@lemm.ee
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        4 months ago

        I had a classmate that hated her name that went by Peaches. She would politely correct each teacher each year, and it was done.

        The only time I ever saw her have an issue was with a shitheel sub who refused to call her that, and the class literally revolted. Started yelling “thats her name” and “what’s your problem!” We just brutalized that dude for the whole class hour about it. Never saw him again.

        It was great.

        • person420@lemmynsfw.com
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          4 months ago

          To be fair, lots of students mess with subs. It’s possible the sub assumed the kids were fucking with them.

          • mosiacmango@lemm.ee
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            4 months ago

            She wasn’t, and this guy double/tripled down. We only started yelling at him after he tried to lambast her about her name repeatedly.

            She really was sweet as peaches, too. Nobody was going to let some rando asshole treat her bad about her name.

  • swampwitch@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Don’t know what happened to “love thy neighbour”/The Golden Rule, but some Christians sure are struggling with that part of the Bible.

    • callouscomic@lemm.ee
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      4 months ago

      Most Christians have always struggled with that part.

      Setting aside religion, I used to have a shitty boss who would never shut up about how the platinum rule (treat people how they want to be treated) is better than the golden rule (treat people how you want to be treated), but then would proceed to never actually follow it and never really understood how he treated people.

      People suck in general at just giving a shit about others. They just want to sound and feel like they give a shit without actually following through.

      • linearchaos@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        That’s the church modernization strategy right there.

        Here are the rules you should follow the rules.

        Preacher, I disagree with the rules. The rules make me feel icky.

        You should just do your best end repent and give back in another ways. By the way this month’s tidings are a little light can you help us out.

        • callouscomic@lemm.ee
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          4 months ago

          Gave my parents the excuse they needed to never have to face everyone they’ve hurt.

          “I’ll have to answer to God for that, not to you.”

          How convenient. I’ll just sort out my abusive childhood myself I guess.

  • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Let’s all say it together.

    Your Rights. Do Not. Override. The Rights. Of Others.

    It’s a far smaller imposition to use a preferred name than it is to be dead named.

  • SeaJ@lemm.ee
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    4 months ago

    What religion requires you to use someone’s birth name? It can’t be Christianity since people always go around calling that one dude Jesus when his birth name was Yeshua.

  • norimee@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    It’s discrimination because he can’t discriminate others?

    Freedom of discrimination for me, but not for thee?

    • primrosepathspeedrun@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      then I have a right to sit outside churches and take pot shots every sunday when they let out. saying I can’t is discrimination! AND infringement on my second amendment rights! and saying I should be STOPPED from doing this, rather than just not allowed, is infringement of my fourth amendment rights!

      edit: not actually planning this. you can tell because it would require waking up before noon. just that I have the constitutional right to.

      • Jiggle_Physics@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        The USSC has ruled that there are limitations on free speech in public schools. This includes things that will significantly disrupt the general operation of the school, what is produced in the name of the school (such as a student news paper), and allows for disciplinary action, for both students and staff, in regards to maintaining professional, respectful, conduct. So the guy doesn’t actually have the right to knowingly be disrespectful to students, or other staff members.

        • primrosepathspeedrun@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          okay but these fucking cultists have got away with much worse pretty regularly, and I expect this one to get away with this, so im still going to argue for my constitutional right (though not necessarily ability) to shoot up a church without imposed consequences.

  • Ilovemyirishtemper@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Whelp, Walker neutered our teachers’ unions, and the conservatives pushed for being a right to work state, so here are some unexpected consequences of that. They do not have to tell him why his contract wasn’t renewed, and now he doesn’t have a union backing his position. Plus, he wasn’t even “fired,” just not renewed.

    F this teacher for creating an environment of hate.

  • Passerby6497@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    “Teacher suing school after being fired for being purposely hurtful to students for ReLiGeOuS rEsSoNs”

  • StrandedInTimeFall@lemm.ee
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    4 months ago

    Your pastor or preacher told you to do it, not your religion. Pretty sure there’s no explicit mention how to use or not use pronouns or using someone’s preferred name in the bible. Language is just arbitrary, made up bullshit anyways. Let’s reverse it, his name is no longer Jordan Cernek using pronouns he/his/him. Now, it Jerkin Cumneck with the special pronoun of shitstain.

    Jerkin Cumneck is a dumbass. Shitstain shouldn’t bring shitstain’s political views to work. Jerkin should teach at a private christian academy because shitstain can be an obnoxious asshole over there without having shitstain’s fragile little mind broken every time shitstain has to use words that shitstain doesn’t like.

  • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Jordan Cernek’s federal lawsuit alleges the Argyle School District violated his constitutional and civil rights to be free of religious discrimination and to be able to express himself according to his religious beliefs

    Fun fact: when your religious beliefs include a mandate to trample on the rights of others based on pure bigotry, you and your obnoxious interpretation of bronze age fairy tales can fuck off.