French Teacher Suspended for Having Class Hold Moment of Silence for Suspected Jewish School Gunman
- Posted on March 23, 2012 at 6:00pm by
Madeleine Morgenstern
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Mohammed Merah (AP)
A teacher in France was reportedly suspended Friday after having her class observe a moment of silence to honor the man who admitted to killing a rabbi and three young children at a Jewish school this week.
Mohamed Merah claimed he had links to Al-Qaeda and said he was proud of the school shootings in Toulouse, France, as well as of killing three French paratroopers in a separate incident. He died early Thursday after jumping from a window during a shootout with French police.
According to the Agence France-Presse, the unnamed 56-year-old teacher asked her students during an English lesson to pay their respects to Merah:
Student representatives in the final year class in the northern city of Rouen wrote to the principal to voice “shock” at being urged in an English lesson to pay respect to a self-declared Al-Qaeda militant who killed seven people.
Most of the class walked out, though some remained “to try to understand what she was talking about,” their letter said.
She “clearly said that Mohamed Merah was a victim, that the link with Al-Qaeda had been invented by the media and ‘Sarko’,” said the letter, a copy of which was published by the Paris Normandie newspaper.
“An immediate suspension has been decided along with a ban on entering the school,” a local education official told journalists, adding that the suspension did not imply the teacher is guilty.
The head of a local teacher‘s union told AFP the teacher’s actions were not “the political act of an extremist but the act of a colleague who has health concerns, who is fragile and who is receiving psychological treatment.”
“She said something unfortunate in a particular context and she immediately regretted what she said,” Pascal Bossuyt said.
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Comments (60)
texanpatriot
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 11:29pmI think we need to observe a moment of silence to honor the — teacher profession. My Mom taught for 40 years and would be absolutely shocked at what is now happening all over the world. On the other hand she believed that only the kids mattered and would probably have ignored the news, if she even heard it.
My heart goes out to the kids in public school all over this great country.
Report Post »cmonnow
Posted on March 24, 2012 at 12:24amI agree. ..but you might be on the wrong site for that. Conservatives are more prone to criticizing teachers as lazy, corrupt, unionized, communists, atheists. Of course, if your mother was alive in the 40s, there was a World War and a Holocaust, segregation, scary social programs, high marginal tax rates…. so she might not be that surprised
Report Post »The Gooch
Posted on March 24, 2012 at 1:55pmWhen you see cities and states (or, more correctly, unions) protecting pedophiles, slugs and drunkards, it disillusions one to the foolish notion that the best, brightest and most noble are drawn to the teaching profession.
Report Post »In my own experience, I attended a fairly liberal, small college in the east. The education dept. at my school was cult-like in weeding out those who didn’t carry water for a progressive agenda. It was one major that didn’t tolerate those who did not fall in lockstep with the instructors, rivaled only by the school’s sociology dept. (which was infamous for a race-baiting professor who was a master at the shout down).
I have several friends and families who are in the teaching profession. Funny how the most progressive of them are the least tolerant of any ideas that do not parrot their beliefs. Go figure.
Not all teachers are progressive, zero tolerance jerks who revel in nihilism. I was lucky enought to be a student to two very fine teachers.
However, to assume all (or even most) teachers are exceptional is a gross generalization. I’ve worked with too many people dependent upon the state and aware of the buffer union membership affords them. That type of environment corrupts some decent people.
I’m not anti-teacher, just anti-BS. Per this article, the teacher arguably wasn’t fit to be teaching to begin with, regardless of her ramblings on this matter.
Thank goodness for the few exceptional teachers, but if the shoe fits…
pavepaws
Posted on March 24, 2012 at 4:00pmGood. Perhaps another profession is in order.
Report Post »jlcook
Posted on March 24, 2012 at 10:48pmMaybe there’s a cabinet seat with Barry for him.
Report Post »dawg71
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 9:52pmYeah all of us reactionaries that claim Ant-semetism is on the rise are just a bunch of nut jobs.
Report Post »Well done to all the kids that walked out, that shows there may just be hope for the future.
Cemoto78
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 10:24pmToo bad they all didn’t walk out and go right to the principals office to report this misfit. Imagine what other propaganda this so-called teacher was giving.
Report Post »txjb
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 9:08pmShe has medical concerns ? Sounds like she could be a future shooter if she thinks that much of muslim terrorist .
Report Post »johnpaulkuchtajr
Posted on March 24, 2012 at 1:06pmToo bad that theblaze.com didn’t carry the story about old “Mad Mo” dragging his eight year old female victim by the hair before he shot her in the head. This brave jihad warrior videoed the entire episode to transmit to his brave cohorts back in their dung heaps.
“Mad Mo” was just another poor misunderstander of the peaceful religion of Islam. Maybe Obammie will send some of his DoJ attorneys over there who are big supporters of Sharia Law?
Report Post »KusoJiJi
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 8:55pmif obama had a son it would look like the mohammad jerk
Report Post »The Scarecrow
Posted on March 24, 2012 at 10:37amJust what I was thinking!
Report Post »georgiavietvet
Posted on March 24, 2012 at 6:49pmKUSOJIJI………………………amen brother.
Report Post »Magyar
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 8:51pmComin’ to a school system near you!
Report Post »junior1971
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 8:46pmJust another sign that we the people, regardless of where you live, are squeezing the life out of these brainwashed, indoctrinated so-called scholars without lifting a finger to do it and they have their whole life to get over it. Reality speaks volumes. Call it a gift from God. If you will. They are a dying breed. However, it appears that they were right about evolution after all. We are evolving! Unfortunately for them, they are going extinct.)
Report Post »wboehmer
Posted on March 24, 2012 at 5:28amI’m afraid the trend is going the other direction . . .
more & more people without the sense to distiguish between right & wrong.
DEGENERATES!
Report Post »KangarooJack
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 8:18pmI’m most impressed with the students. “most of the class walked out”.
Report Post »dontbotherme
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 8:11pmGood. Teacher deserved it. Should also be required to do community service for underprivileged Jewish children.
Report Post »The Gooch
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 8:01pmVictim? Of what? Himself and his religion as far as I’m concerned.
Report Post »searching for the Truth
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 7:28pmI feel sorry for those that can not fall in love with God – they will never be able to reach into the impossible .
Report Post »HorseCrazy
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 7:26pmwow sickening disgusting needs to be removed from teaching and sent to gitmo for some therapy
Report Post »Its Gonna Getcha
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 7:16pmWould it be a stretch to wonder if alien grey’s are really us humans coming back from the future to hide scientific formulas & medical equipment we’ll use to instill equality?
And yes, that is a human ear growing on the side of a lab mouse. It’s real, search it.
Report Post »gingerbread
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 7:07pmHooray for the French. Now just imagine if this was in our school? The teacher would have been hailed as a hero of the revolution, and there will be a day reserved for her.
Report Post »HorseCrazy
Posted on March 24, 2012 at 9:49amsad but true
Report Post »justangry
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 6:59pmA moment of silence for someone who killed CHILDREN and only a suspension? Wow!
Report Post »momrules
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 6:50pmWow. So he’s not a murdering, hate filled Muslim carrying out the orders of his prophet. How could so many people be so wrong.
Report Post »sarc……
survivorseed
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 7:21pmOf course he is a murdering hate filled muslim but theres always going to be people to support him, just look at the comments on this site defending the murdering hate filled US soldier who shot 17 afghans. Innocent children are innocent children whether they are Jews or muslims.
Report Post »txjb
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 9:12pmI didn’t support the American soldier, he crossed the line , and became a murderer , needs to pay dearly .
Report Post »Pigpen
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 6:44pmHEY, is anybody else here wishing that the SEMITES (you know, the race group that includes BOTH the Jew AND the Arab) would keep this FIGHT in the Middle East?
Hey, FRANCE, how’s that diversity working out for ya?
Report Post »fande3rls
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 6:43pmShould have been terminated
Report Post »oriondma05
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 6:36pmFinally a school does the right thing! We’re starting to fight back.
Now if only we could get the DOJ to visit East High School in Kansas City after they torches that “white boy”.
Report Post »paleoman
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 7:11pmThats a joke,right. Ain’t going to happen. It’s all about Sanford just ask al sharpton or the pos pres.
Report Post »oriondma05
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 8:03pmthe DOJ comment was meant to be sarcastic.
But I’m at least glad the school suspended the teacher. In the US if they did that it wouldn’t get any notice.
Report Post »Mark0331
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 6:19pmListen to the lies her union rep states to explain the situation…like that guy who did the Kony 2012 bs propaganda video…”He is being treated for exhaustion, psychosis….” blah blah blah…liberals lie so badly to justify their behavior when they get caught doing and saying what they truly believe. But she, the teacher, still keeps her job and benefits… A moment of silence for a terrorist and child killer, wow…
Report Post »Shasta
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 6:23pmUnions are the same everywhere I guess.
Report Post »RJJinGadsden
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 6:37pmSHASTA, Yeah, that was the thing about this article that grabbed my attention right away. I guess their teachers unions are just as screwed up as ours.
Report Post »barber2
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 6:39pmSHASTA: There is a connection between our unions and those of the international Left. Even the “ ready made posters” they all use with the raised fist ” look the same ! The old Workers of the World Crowd….
Report Post »kentuckypatriot
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 6:18pmThe head of a local teacher‘s union told AFP the teacher’s actions were not “the political act of an extremist but the act of a colleague who has health concerns, who is fragile and who is receiving psychological treatment.”
Typical unions.. sounds like an excuse.
Report Post »stumpy68
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 6:17pmAnd people wonder why im discouraged
Report Post »barber2
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 6:14pmThe teacher ” has health concerns … is fragile ..and is receiving psychological treatment .“ One can only wonder why such a teacher is in the classroom and calling the French leader ” Sarko.”
Report Post »Mess23
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 6:12pmCome to America via Mexico andyou can probably get a job teaching here. I am sure the NEA would hire you…
Report Post »Shasta
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 6:25pmIf she comes to the USA, the liberals, especially the unions, would throw her a hero’s parade.
Report Post »Grawpy
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 6:12pmThat dude looks more like Obama’s son than the Florida boy.
Report Post »AJAYW
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 6:20pmNope- ears not big enough
Report Post »biohazard23
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 6:05pmOh, good Lord…..
Report Post »