Stacie Halas
was a science teacher at Richard B. Haydock Intermediate School, in Oxnard,
California, until she was fired for having once been a porn actress. Her school
board argued that her past was disruptive to the teaching environment. Halas is
now appealing her dismissal.
Halas acted
in pornographic films for 8 months from 2005 to 2006 because of financial
duress, her attorney told a panel of judges last week, but she never acted in
any pornographic films during her teaching career, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Nitasha
Sawhney, one of the attorneys representing the school district, said the case
was about “whether the students of the Oxnard School District are required to
incorporate into their learning environment the choice Ms. Halas made to be a
porn star." This, of course, is an absurd argument. No one is forcing any
student to incorporate anything about Halas’ past into their learning
environment. Her past shouldn’t be any of their business, so long as she hasn’t
been convicted of abusing children.
If the
students somehow learn about her past (as it seems happened), this could lead
to disruptive behavior. However, teachers are regularly required to quell
disruptions and maintain a productive learning environment. Good teachers are
able to do this effectively and appropriately, even when issues around their
personal lives are involved.
Students are
often curious and ask about teachers’ marital status, hobbies, personal
interests, political views and sometimes even their sexual identity. Teachers
may even have been arrested for civil disobedience or may have had a past
problem with drugs or alcohol. Any of these could lead to disruptive behavior
in students, but none are reasonable justification for firing the teacher,
particularly if the teacher handles them appropriately.
The fact
that Halas’ past was at all controversial is indicative of how puritanical our
society still is and how much society still expects teachers to be flawless
saints. Teachers are no longer being fired for getting pregnant or for
cavorting with men, but they are still expected to live virtuous personal lives
and they continue to be disciplined or fired for legal behaviors that occurs
outside of school hours and that have nothing to do with their teaching
responsibilities.
For an
amusing spoof on this, please see, “Stripper Fired for Being A Teacher,” from the Students Last blog.
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