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Texas Teacher Reportedly Threatens to Give Students Zeros on Homework Assignment for Writing About Guns

Feb. 21, 2013 10:59am Mike Opelka

Earlier this week in Denton, Texas, the First Amendment seems to have been compromised by a few high school essays that mentioned the Second one.

High School seniors at Denton High School were given a simple assignment in their English class: Write a paragraph about something you did over the weekend. There was no additional direction on topics for the essay. However, a few students who wrote about guns, including attending a gun show or going to shop for a gun, were told that they would be given a zero on the assignment if they did not change what they were writing about.

The teacher, Mr. Dewey Christian, reportedly told the students that the topic was unacceptable.

Denton High School senior Alex Wright explained what happened to him:

“Mr. Christian said I want you all to write a paper, write about a fun experience you had… a nice experience. … So I said, me and my mom went to Cabella’s to buy a gun. As soon as he heard the word “gun,” he told me to sit down.”

Marshall Williams, another student in the class who was given the option of a zero on the assignment or a rewrite, told about going to the Fort Worth Gun Show – something he has posted on his Facebook page:

Denton High School Teacher Threatens Zero on Homework Assignmet for Writing About Guns

In the comments section of Williams’ Facebook of this photo he posted the following;

Today I held both the guns used in Aurora and at Sandy Hook Elementary. Contrary to popular belief, everyone in my vicinity did not die.

Classmates reportedly laughed at the students after their papers were rejected based solely on their subject matter.

Williams and his mother Kimberly visited the school on Monday and confronted Mr. Christian, recording the conversation with a cell phone camera:

After speaking with the teacher, Kimberly Williams and her son were not satisfied and demanded an apology. KDFW-TV that the school district and Dewey Christian sort of apologized. Marshall Williams says that the apology is not yet satisfactory.

Denton High School Teacher Threatens Zero on Homework Assignmet for Writing About Guns

Image: MyFoxDFW

The news outlet also reports that the school district claimed:

“The teacher’s intent was for guns not to be trivialized in any school situation because of recent events.”

After hearing the school district’s response, Marshall Williams replied:

“I don’t feel like I’ve gotten an apology yet. I feel like he has just stomped on our right to free speech. He told us we would not be allowed to express ourselves and didn’t even consider what we had said. He didn’t have a clue of the content of my paper before he told me… he just knew that my paper was about guns before he told me that I would be getting a zero on the assignment.”

Calls and emails from TheBlaze to Mr. Christian have gone unanswered.

Watch the full TV report from KDFW:

Dallas News | myFOXdfw.com

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

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Comments (237)

john vincent
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 1:07pm
Thanks to a media infested public opinion gun hating mob, this is what we get: people, in this case a teacher going ‘postal’ over absolutely nothing.
These non thinking souls need to be beat by using their own stupidity against themselves.

How about a creative paper like this:

‘My mom and me went to buy paint; it was an awesome day looking at colors and spending time with my mother who i cherish deeply. We looked at color samples, and really liked the blue and browns
but finally settled on GUN metal gray for my bedroom-

We then had a wonderful lunch at ShoGUNS, in which our great meal and wonderful conversation centered on my sisters plans for a shotGUN wedding. And we happened to run into my mom’s boss, GUNther, who as he wished us all well.

On our way home we pulled up our gps and wanted to know how far it was to GUNdy Va for the annual Boy Scout jamboree, (and I was GUNg-ho to be sure,) but would you believe we broke down; yep, too much GUNk in the crankcase…………….

.but it was all good, a day with mom…………..’

Back to reality, this teacher and her ilk, are products of the most severe indoctrination.

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garbagecanlogic
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 12:56pm
A black teacher refusing to give someone a grade for mentioning “gun”. GIVE ME A BREAK!
Just this morning, it is reported the police were looking for a “black man” who was partially responsible for a “running gun battle’ in Las Vegas. Get some commons sense you fool – after you start applying for another job.

Praise Be To Obama. Psalm 109:8

The U.N. Out Of The U.S.
The U.S. Out Of The U.N.

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heidihoneighbor
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 12:56pm
CCabelas should step forward and show support for these students.

If this kind of mental brain washing starts in public schools, parents need another option for educating their children.

Oyr tax dollars should be used for basic education and teachers need to keep their noses out of family business, concentrating on how well the student writes, not what the student wrote about.

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Tpr211
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 12:48pm
Red state, blue state, who cares, these idiots are in our schools with our children and they are way more dangerous than any firearm. Guns are just a hunk of metal that doesn’t do a thing unless a human influences it, this type of human idiot who can’t synthesize between what happens thousands of miles any its necessarily an indication that your town is screwed up. These morons need to be identified and run out on a rail.

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Beachmastermax
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 12:47pm
This is no different than Cops beating the hell out of Rodney King, a pure example of abuse of authority.

This Teacher is an idiot who does not even know how to give proper intructions, he says, “I want you all to write a paper, write about a fun experience you had… a nice experience.” He forgot to put in the instructions, “A fun and nice experience THAT I APPROVE OFF AND HQAS BEEN CLEARED BY THE COMMITTEE OF ACCEPTABLE TOPICS!!”

You know what would be a fun and nice experience? Watching this guy get fired.

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NachtundNebel
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 12:44pm
I had long thought of Texas as the last bastion of sanity in the United States – a state that had relegated mewlling, pathetic hand-wringers to harmless, insignificant jobs. Now we see different. Apparently the Texas legislature needs to take a much more active hand in the local school systems.

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- garryb
  Posted on February 21, 2013 at 3:10pm
  Unknown to many, Texas was a very Blue state until the ’80s when George Bush beat Ma Richards. Richards made a poor move by stating that Texas needed a State Income Tax, she lost big.
  Texas is still blue in the Metropolitan areas such as Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin and El Paso. The Rio Grande Valley is still mostly blue. The difference is that rural Texas is very populated and distinctly RED. Not only that, but we VOTE! The Texas Legislature is mostly Red and is currently trying to flush the liberal doctrine out of the Public education system. It’s hard work and a long process, but it is a work in progress. Don’t buy into the hype that Texas is turning blue… That is wishful thinking.
  
  Report this comment
JTX
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 12:35pm
Denton Teachers need to remember they are not little gods, like the president thinks he is.

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DoOrDie
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 12:31pm
America is too full of idiots now to be able to return to it’s former glory.

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- Beachmastermax
  Posted on February 21, 2013 at 12:53pm
  Publicly educate 23 year olds. Hire bottom 50% with BA degrees to teach next batch of 23 year olds.
  
  Wash, rinse and repeat.
  
  We are on about the 4th cycle. A perpetual idiocy machine.
  
  Report this comment
PW656
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 12:26pm
Perhaps he should have written about having unprotected sex with his underaged girlfirend instead of doing exactly what the teacher requested: something you did over the weekend. Maybe that would have pleased his teacher.

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le misanthrope
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 12:26pm
As soon as he heard “me and my mom went” he should have corrected you. My mom and I went. That is what the teacher should have focused on, but teachers don’t teach they indoctrinate and you are being indoctrinated against guns. Grammar they don’t care about.

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IntheDirt
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 12:21pm
I had a semi-auto .22 behind my seat more than half of the days I drove myself to high school. Usually it had up to 18 shells in the magazine so I could shoot squirrels and rattlesnakes on the way home. One day there was this big controversy over some kids transferring shotguns from one car to another in the school parking lot. They were headed out to hunt quail after school. That was when I learned I could be expelled for having the gun in my truck and that America is no longer a free country.

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dosdelgados
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 12:10pm
I’d like to introduce my children to responsible firearm handling at a young age. My daughter turns two in April…what would be appropriate to give her? Cap gun? Daisy rifle?

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- BlackTalonAmmo
  Posted on February 21, 2013 at 12:29pm
  Do what Crazy Uncle Joe says to do, “git” her a double barrel SHOTGUN, and should anyone break into your home, show her to fire the 2 shells out of any window! They may be available in pink now. When she is old enough to read, I suggest that you teach her the Constitution, if you know it yourself. It’s on the interwebz channel somewhere…. Thanks to algore.
  
  Or you could buy her a rape whistle. A pen. Teach her to run really fast. Pee or vomit on an attacker. Teach her how to faint or convulse to repel an attacker. Whatever you do, DO NOT let that young daughter of your be “Pro-Choice” when it comes to protecting herself. You do what the liberal progressives tell you to tell her to do. Oh yeah, when she is being attacked, PRAYING IS NOT AN OPTION.
  
  Report this comment
- garryb
  Posted on February 21, 2013 at 3:15pm
  I started my grandson out with a cap pistol at 3, teaching him to never point it at anything even though it didn’t send anything out of the barrel. He is now 6 and I got him a BB gun. He already understands firearm safety and is showing real skills (hits 2″ bullseye at 12feet) and very aware of where the barrel is pointing at all times. By the time he’s 10, I will probably start him out with his first single action 22, if we’re still allowed to own such things….
  
  Report this comment
BlackTalonAmmo
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 12:08pm
Up next…. SHOW AND TELL! That teacher would quit on the spot! Good riddance gun grabber!

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RANGER1965
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 12:02pm
The assignment given was performed to satisfaction by any reasonable measure.

The fact that parents had to get involved, and the School District and the Teacher had to issue an apology doesn’t solve the problem. The problem is much deeper.

The teacher felt like what he was doing was taking a stand on his perception of guns, and he knew that he was wrong…..but he got caught. His getting caught was the motivation for the apology, and he didn’t want to get transferred or lose his job.

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- Sgt_Rock
  Posted on February 21, 2013 at 12:29pm
  “The teacher felt like what he was doing was taking a stand on his perception of guns…”
  
  A perception based on ignorance. Ignorance which turns into arrogance, that breeds intolerance. We are told, that these are the “problems” plaguing conservatives. Yet, when you need to produce an example of ignorance, arrogance or intolerance it seems easiest to find it in the ranks of the opposition…
  
  You gotta love the kid’s caption on his FB post…well done.
  
  Report this comment
- BlackTalonAmmo
  Posted on February 21, 2013 at 12:54pm
  Semper Fi Rangers! What would have happened if the student described that he spent his weekend wearing military garb, marching around the woods, eating mre’s, carrying an M-16, and sleeping in a tent for the local MILITIA?
  
  Like National Guard High School recruits are required to do once a month before they head off to boot camp?
  
  Report this comment
- RANGER1965
  Posted on February 21, 2013 at 2:12pm
  @BLACKTALON
  
  The teacher would have likely called the Department of Homeland Security and reported a Terrorist threat.
  
  Report this comment
- El1Supremo
  Posted on February 21, 2013 at 2:55pm
  Heaven forbid they wrote about tearing little squares out of paper to make something that looked vaguely like a pistol, or worse yet point their finger and crook their thumb and mouth the word bang, or even more worser (lol) make their hand into a fist and make believe pulling the pin and throw an air grenade complete with a sound effect boom. What the hell is becoming of our country? school should be teaching the basics not violating 1st and 2nd amendment rights.
  
  Report this comment
Micky73
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 11:59am
It was Denton, TX where the OWS camper at North Texas University died and all the protesters abandoned the camp with the dead body still there. No charges were filed. Those kids should have been expelled.

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65Mustang
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 11:57am
I think Mr. Wright has been short-changed by the UNION TEACHERS… “So I said, me and my mom” is poor grammar. This should have been taught in elementary school but even professionals do speak correctly.

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- 65Mustang
  Posted on February 21, 2013 at 12:03pm
  correction: college educated people do not use correct grammar.
  
  Report this comment
- DonnieD
  Posted on February 21, 2013 at 2:11pm
  He could not be taught due to a teachers’ political agenda.
  
  Report this comment
david3755
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 11:55am
And people wonder why todays children are not getting a good education. Teachers like this need to be put out to pasture for the complete lack of understanding of the U.S. Constitution. This is what you get when unrepentant terrorists like bill ayers go into the teaching business.

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charliegirl4u
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 11:53am
Stupidity at it’s BEST!
These hysterical minds need to let students be people for pity sakes and people do a multitude of activities and attend events. What this is about is suppression of our first amendment right to talk about our second amendment right and what it pertains to, firearms. You cannot walk on eggshells your entire life because of what some “disturbed thinking”, or down right EVIL individuals do/did!
It is a sensitive topic because of what took place but let’s keep it real and in perspective. Firearms are
apart of my day to day life, why in the world am I going to give up, or limit, my right to talk about them, or a student for that matter, because of the horror that took place! They want to use these tragedies disgracefully to/for their advantages and purposes. Controlling me/you and telling me/you how to use my/your weapon and how to store it, or else! They need to reload their thinking!
SAY it again Charlie, Stupidity at it’s BEST! ;-)

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bumfuzeled
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 11:52am
Too many Kalifornia license plates in Texas already.

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SLARTIBARTFAST
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 11:50am
Denton High School is an IB World School (look at the newscast). In plain talk, a UN subsidiary! I’m typing badly, arm in a cast. Can someone at TheBlaze pick up the ball on this?

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NewCreationDave
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 11:49am
Get off the teacher’s case! It’s a free country, right?
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7950634/It%27s%20a%20free%20country.pdf

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- Beachmastermax
  Posted on February 21, 2013 at 1:20pm
  Teachers are not free to fail students for personal reasons. Especially captive public school students.
  
  Report this comment
Lexguy
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 11:47am
“So I said, me and my mom went to Cabella’s to buy a gun.” Well, no wonder he flunked. The proper phrase is “my mom and I”. I’m sure that’s what the teacher meant!

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- BlackTalonAmmo
  Posted on February 21, 2013 at 12:22pm
  Looks like the SCHOOL FLUNKED for not teaching him to write properly. Yet I am sure he is well versed in homosexual Americans and their sexual practices, condoms, abortion, unable to say the Pledge of Allegiance, cowers when God is mentioned out loud for fear of reprisal by said teachers, believes that soetoro is his daddy, the Founding Fathers were white slave owning racists, the Constitution is way too old, Palin is stupid, republicans are racists, the Pilgrims had no passports…
  
  Report this comment
Okie4Christ
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 11:44am
Nothing new. I grew up the child of a hunter and a Cop in a Tulsa, OK suburb. In 8th grade civics class my Conn born, liberal teacher assigned us the task of creating a collage of our “recreation” using magazines around the house. Of course I cut up Guns & Ammo, Shooting Times, and The American Rifleman….. I received a C- on the collage with the comment “Oh come on Bruce”…… That has been 30 years ago and I will never forget it.

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spirited
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 11:42am
A “fun experience” should be as subjective as art; No?

Regardless as to whether the teacher thought that the student was being a wise guy, or a creep(y)…, by writing about his “fun experience” at a gun show with his mother, the teacher should have graded the written assignment in accordance with the English class grading system (period).

This seems to fall in line with the political correctness nonsense…; teachers imposing their personal, political and (non) religious ideologies on students.

Would a paper about attending Sunday mass/service be okay?
How about sex with his girlfriend or boyfriend?
Would working for a local congressman been acceptable?
Is deer hunting or fishing fun?
What about shopping?
Can painting the bathroom or cleaning the garage be considered fun?

>Next time Mr. educator might try specifying limited topics to write about; and define “fun experience”.

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Your_Senile
Posted on February 21, 2013 at 11:40am
This is what you must know

The Teacher is only sorry for it coming to light. If not that – the zeros would have stood.

it is so

Your Senile

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