Teacher showing foreign flags put on leave

[one...two...tree 2,762]

By Karen Rouse

Denver Post Staff Writer

A seventh-grade geography teacher who refused to remove Chinese, Mexican and United Nations flags from his classroom was placed on paid administrative leave Wednesday by Jefferson County officials who were concerned that the display violates the law.

District officials said state law forbids the display of foreign flags unless they are temporary and related to the curriculum.

Carmody Middle School principal John Schalk looked at the curriculum for Eric Hamlin's world geography class "and there was nothing ... related to any of these countries," said Lynn Setzer, district spokeswoman.

She said Schalk asked the teacher three times to remove the flags and warned there would be consequences, but Hamlin refused.

Hamlin, in his first year at Carmody, said he regularly displays flags from different countries, rotating them out based on countries being studied.

He said that the first six weeks of school are devoted to discussing the "fundamentals of geography" and that the flags were randomly selected.

District officials are citing Colorado Revised Statute 18-11- 205. It says: "Any person who displays any flag other than the flag of the United States of America or the state of Colorado or any of its subdivisions, agencies or institutions upon any state, county, municipal or other public building or adjacent grounds within this state commits a class 1 petty offense."

It says an exception to that law is "the display of any flag ... that is part of a temporary display of any instructional or historical materials not permanently affixed or attached to any part of the buildings ... ."

Mark Silverstein, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, said he didn't see how the statute applied to this situation.

District Superintendent Cindy Stevenson said the district has contacted

Hamlin and is trying to resolve the issue.

"We have not heard back," she said.

She said Hamlin could have complied with the principal's request and then followed policies that allow him to appeal.

Schalk did not return a phone call seeking comment, but Stevenson said the current topic for the class was "latitude and longitude, not the culture of China, not the culture of Mexico."

The punishment for insubordination could range from a reprimand to dismissal, Setzer said.

Hamlin said he was in his classroom Monday when an assistant principal came in, saw the flags and told him they needed to be removed.

Hamlin said there is an American flag stationed permanently in the classroom.

He said he believes school officials are being extra cautious because of a controversy at Denver's North High School when a Mexican flag was hung by a social studies teacher and people complained.

[vartan 0]

He is back in class he just has to rotate the flags every 6 weeks

[Fuzzness 2]

another stupid, useless law

[vartan 0]

In the county I grew up in it was illegal to chew bubblegum while swimming.

[Jenn! 918]

I think it's illegal somewhere to fall asleep in the bathtub...

[vartan 0]

this site is pretty funny .. the validity of the laws can not be guaranteed but funny nonetheless.

http://www.dumblaws.com/

[one...two...tree 2,762]

In the county I grew up in it was illegal to chew bubblegum while swimming.

This is more than just about some stupid law. This is about a political climate in this country that is teeming with intolerance, paranoia, and nationalism disguised as misguided patriotism.

Edited August 25, 2006 by Steven_and_Jinky

[lostinlove228 0]

The teached commited such a horrible crime. OMG, she is teaching the kids geography what the flags look like in other countries...She should be Hung!!!!

[Jenn! 918]

In the county I grew up in it was illegal to chew bubblegum while swimming.

This is more than just about some stupid law. This is about a political climate in this country that is teeming with intolerance, paranoia, and nationalism disguised as misguided patriotism.

Well, I don't really see anything wrong with restricting government buildings to only dispaying the U.S. flag. I agree with the ACLU lawyer, however, that schools should not be subject to this. I think the law itself is sound, it's the application of it that is misguided.

[Alex+R 0]

Perhaps this law is why I have embarrassingly little knowledge of other flags. I can't identify more than 15 or so, if that.

My relatively recent public school education (80s and 90s) included precious little information about other countries. I took AP European history for my "world history" requirement and was never at any other time in high school asked to learn anything about other countries. Not even in Spanish class! I didn't really fully realize there was a world outside my suburb until college.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I think the law itself is sound, it's the application of it that is misguided.

The law seems too ambiguous. The flag display restrictions should fall under prohibiting a teacher from displaying any political propaganda except for class related reasons. For example, a teacher hanging on his wall a picture of Hitler and the Nazi flag would be in violation unless he put it up there for the purpose of the class and not for personal reasons.

[Alex+R 0]

I think the law itself is sound, it's the application of it that is misguided.

The law seems too ambiguous. The flag display restrictions should fall under prohibiting a teacher from displaying any political propaganda except for class related reasons. For example, a teacher hanging on his wall a picture of Hitler and the Nazi flag would be in violation unless he put it up there for the purpose of the class and not for personal reasons.

I'd just like to know when the law is from. It's probably some older patriotic law. It seems obvious from the story that they dug it up to validate their xenophobia/hatred of Mexicans in the previous "flag scandal" and that this vice principal was concerned about his school getting in trouble.

[vartan 0]

Well I think its obvious the teachers mom is from china and his dad is from Mexico and he was trying to create his own little kid army to take over the USA. Geez.. its soooo obvious

[UmmSqueakster 54]

I'd just like to know when the law is from. It's probably some older patriotic law. It seems obvious from the story that they dug it up to validate their xenophobia/hatred of Mexicans in the previous "flag scandal" and that this vice principal was concerned about his school getting in trouble.

Unfortunately, I don't have access to the annotated statutes to get the whole story, but it looks like this law was enacted in 1963, if I'm reading the notes on the bottom correctly.

Also of interest, this is located in the section on disloyalty/treason/sedition/anarchy.

[Alex+R 0]

Well I think its obvious the teachers mom is from china and his dad is from Mexico and he was trying to create his own little kid army to take over the USA. Geez.. its soooo obvious

yikes! i'm sorry for using the word "obvious." I'll change that first part of the sentence "it really appears that"