Sullivan County Educator Fired for Teaching CRT Pushes for Reinstatement
Photo Credit: Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
Former Sullivan County teacher Matthew Hawn says he plans to continue to push for his reinstatement, even though the school board upheld his firing with a 5-1 vote last week.
Hawn says he plans to appeal the termination in Sullivan County Chancery Court. It could take up to a year for a judge to hear his case.
“I still expect to return to the classroom in Sullivan County, just not as soon as I thought,” Hawn said.
He says he plans to spend his time out of the classroom supporting other teachers who he believes are being bullied by legislators.
Hawn lost his job for pushing ideas associated with Critical Race Theory on students in his Contemporary Studies class.
In January, just after the events that took place at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Hawn assigned “The First White President” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The essay claimed former President Donald Trump’s rise to presidency was simply a way to negate the historical legacy of President Barack Obama.
Hawn was told to stop the lesson immediately after complaints were filed by angry parents.
*** Click Here to Support Conservative Journalism in Tennessee. We can’t cover stories like this without your support! ***
A few months later, in April, after following the trial of Derek Chauvin with his students, Hawn assigned the spoken word poem “White Privilege” by Kyla Jenee Lacey.
School administrators reprimanded Hawn once again, saying that he was “continuing to deny his students access to varying points of view.”
Hawn continued his discussions of privilege and was eventually fired on May 5 for insubordination and unprofessional behavior.
He believes the firing on that particular day was aligned with the Tennessee legislature’s passage of a ban on teaching critical race theory in the state.
“They were tracking that bill,” Hawn stated. “There is no way they did not know that bill was being pushed through the House and Senate.”
During questioning, Hawn was asked if he still would have assigned the Lacey poem, knowing the impact it could have on his career. Hawn continued to defend his actions, saying that the author made important points that needed to be heard.
Hawn’s teaching license is currently inactive, and the state board of education could suspend it for six months to a year. This would keep him from finding a teaching job elsewhere within the state, unless the Tennessee Education Association pushed in his defense to block the suspension.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Directory for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
Hooray! It’s about time somebody got their tail twisted for teaching that crap. I hope he gets his license suspended in Chancery Court and is barred from teaching for life.
Incredible! The teacher’s union usually rises up to the tune of $1M to defend teachers, right or wrong. Good example! I hope some of the other communists learn their lesson.
Your headline is a complete lie. He was not teaching “Critical Race Theory” at all, since there isn’t a single K-12 school in the country that teaches this graduate level college course. But if teaching that racism is bad offends you, you’re the problem, not a teacher doing his best to create understanding among his students.
Why do conservatives hate teachers? Does knowledge make you feel bad?
I think it’s clear that he was teaching CRT without the blessing of the school administration.
You weren’t there so you don’t know.
Your reply looks like a copy and paste from ABC fake news. You should stop allowing yourself to be indoctrinated.
Good. This garbage has no place anywhere. Schools anymore are just a place for indoctrination centers of liberalism. The students hardly can read, do basic math or even sign their name without a keyboard must less any History lessons!!
Well, this queer can always move to San Francisco where he’s free to indoctrinate the masses.
Tennessee children will make their own choices about such matters in due time. Brainwashing is the way of the totalitarian. Not of free thinking people.
Awesome Awesome Awesome. This made my day.
If this guy is teaching in a college or graduate school I think he should be allowed to and it would be up to the alumni and donors to fund him or not. But if K-12 public school, then he doesn’t get to decide what to teach, he must follow the state curriculum which is approved by the school board and overseen by the public which is the parents thru their voting rights. This is how I understand it as a citizen.