Teacher Admits He Is Gay To Student, Is Fired
23-year-old Lewis and Clark graduate teaching student Seth Stambaugh claims he has been discriminated against while on an assignment as a student teacher at an elementary school in the Beaverton, Oregon Student District. This comes after a second complaint from a parent who had initially already complained about the way Stambaugh was dressed. What was he wearing at the time? According to Oregon Live, "pressed pants, an oxford shirt, a tie and a cardigan. Stambaugh has a light Van Dyke and pulls his hair back into a pony tail." Stambaugh is represented by an attorney, Lake Perriguey.
The Portland Mercury details the second complaint by the very same parent:
Later in the week, Stambaugh was leading a journaling activity in the classroom when one of the students asked whether Stambaugh was married. Stambaugh said he was not and, when the student asked why, replied that it would be illegal for him to get married because he "would choose to marry another guy." The student pressed further, asking if that meant Stambaugh liked to hang out with guys and Stambaugh responded, "Yeah." That was the end of the conversation.
After that, says Perriguey, word of the short conversation apparently got back to parent who had previously complained about Stambaugh's appearance. The parent called the school and threatened to remove his child from the classroom.
On September 15th, the principal of Sexton Mountain called the Beaverton School District and told them that Stambaugh was barred from teaching in the district. Stambaugh was told that the comments he had made about his marital status were "inappropriate."
"There's no factual dispute about what happened," says Stambaugh. "The question is whether we tolerate what happened in this state and this culture."
What makes this even more sad is that Stambaugh is of course teaching for the same reason most people do and it's not for the low pay. He said about teaching: "The long hours, the tiring days, they paled in comparison to the sheer energy I got from being in that classroom."
Lewis & Clark says that Stambaugh was dismissed from the school in Beaverton by the school district and though they would have welcomed a conversation about the incident, none was offered.
Thanks to reader Ms. B, here's the contact information for the school:
Sexton Mountain Elementary School - (503) 672-3560
15645 SW Sexton Mountain Dr. Beaverton, OR 97007
Don Martin, Principal: donald_martin@beavton.k12.or.us
Jerome Colonna, Superintendent: Jerome_Colonna@beaverton.k12.or.us
@BOBBYJOE
RE: "Saying the gay teacher should have just ignored or deflected the "are you married" conversation is passively accepting the role of second-class citizen foisted on us by the worst of the homophobes."
Trust me, there was nothing passive about it. Those who've suggested ignoring or deflecting are closet cases whether they want to admit it or not and they live in their own victimhood and sickness. In short, they're pathetic.
Posted by: Jubal Harshaw | Oct 3, 2010 12:12:20 AM
This story makes me so upset. When I first started teaching I would deflect questions about my relationship status. But once I was legally married in California I became more open and completely honest with my students when they ask if I'm married. Most,if not all of the teachers at my school have pictures of their spouses or significant others on their desks and I am proud to have a picture of my wife on my desk.
I will definitely write a letter to the principal and superintendent about the hypocrisy and bias their school portrays.
Good Luck Mr. Stambaugh
Posted by: Ms. B | Oct 3, 2010 12:12:35 AM
I bet if he said he murdered someone THAT would have been ok! but to be gay????? AND LOVE SOMEONE ?????NO.................
Posted by: shannon | Oct 3, 2010 12:37:45 AM
I am a Lewis and Clark student, and I want to shed light on a few things:
1st) the student that asked was not the child of the parents that complained.
2nd) Lewis and Clark College has not adequately dealt with the situation, despite being such a 'progressive' liberal arts school in one of the most tolerant cities in the United States(Beaverton is NOT Portland, Oregon).
3rd) Seth was first told by Lewis and Clark that he was fired. Then he was told he was not. And then Beaverton told him that in fact he was fired. Lewis and Clark, which sets up the program through the graduate school of education, has not done enough to assist him.
4th) START CALLING THE SCHOOL DISTRICT/CITY COMPLAINING! Overload their phones, email inboxes, etc.
5th) I am not completely sure about this, but this was an UNPAID job. The extremely cash desperate school districts actually fired a free worker with a great record. Without enough teacher sand enough money, they really could not afford to do this but yet...
Posted by: A Lewis and Clark Student | Oct 3, 2010 12:49:02 AM
Sexton Mountain
Principal Don Martin
donald_martin@beavton.k12.or.us
15645 SW Sexton Mountain Dr. Beaverton, OR 97007
(503) 672-3560
http://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/home/schools
/sexton-mountain/
Superintendent
Jerome Colonna
Jerome_Colonna@beaverton.k12.or.us
503-591-8000
Posted by: Ms. B | Oct 3, 2010 1:14:24 AM
So - what happened to Seth's First Amendment Rights ? Andrew Shivell is targeting and harassing (i.e stalking) a young college student and the Attorney general of Michigan refuses to let him go. Yet a teacher who told a student that he was gay gets fired ??? TOTAL BULLSHIT. He needs to sue and put an end to this nonsense once and for all.
Posted by: Tre Gibbs | Oct 3, 2010 1:20:09 AM
First off I would like to say I feel bad for the teacher who got caught up on this scheme in the first place. It is simply a shame that as a society in supposedly the "freeest" country actually is not free for ALL.
Because I am a gay person that has lived, worked, etc. in America, is ridiculed by others and apparently nothing is really done about it. This is an abomination to my freedom as an American.
This whole thing has been blown way out of proportion. If telling the truth is wrong what kind of world are we living in? What is this teaching the children of today? The kids of today are way smarter than we were as kids. The parents need to take more responsibility of their children's actions!!!
I also think that this is a very good lawsuit against the child's parents, school district and everyone involved.
Another issue is he is a marked man by most of this that is NOT his fault. The children also need to be held accountable for their actions as well as the parents.
My heart goes out to this poor man that has been ridiculed this way.
Posted by: Billy | Oct 3, 2010 1:27:21 AM
@ Jubal Harshaw:
"Those who've suggested ignoring or deflecting are closet cases whether they want to admit it or not and they live in their own victimhood and sickness. In short, they're pathetic."
I find your comment incredibly close-minded and fairly ignorant. Not all LGBTQ people have the privilege of being safe in their communities as out people. I myself am out in the workplace, but that is because I know my workplace is not going to fire me for being gay. Some people don't have that luxury, and they also don't have the funds to survive losing a job.
Just because someone is poor or really needs to keep their job, does not make them a "pathetic" "closet-case". Your privilege is showing.
Posted by: Btown | Oct 3, 2010 2:15:59 AM
Seth Stambaugh has enough intelligence to arm himself with a lawyer. I only hope that his attorney arms himself with enough intelligence. This case has ALL the earmarks of CHANGE. This case is but one in a long line of court rulings for change. That child actually needs him for a teacher.
Posted by: J. Thebeau | Oct 3, 2010 2:28:04 AM
Fuck you, btown. If you can't take it all the way down, then you ain't worth a damn. I tire of people tallying up what they've to lose. You only live this once, and that's it. With that in mind, if you can't bring it the house down for a good cause, fuck the consequences, then you just ain't a person...and should be treated as such. And no, I dont' care how old you are, or what you do, or your position (however unique), it's all or nothing from the moment the doc pulls from the crotch until you die...alone...because we all do.
Posted by: TANK | Oct 3, 2010 2:30:54 AM
I'm of two minds about this. On the one hand, he should not be fired for telling the truth in a non-graphic way. On the other hand, teachers should not discuss their personal lives with students, whether they are gay or straight. I think this is true up through college. It's unprofessional and it's simply not the kid's business. There is an unfortunate movement to eradicate the concept of personal privacy, an it needs to be reversed. Students have no business asking about private matters.
Posted by: midnightcyn | Oct 3, 2010 2:50:42 AM
Fuck y'all about the personal lives of teachers. I never encountered a teacher who didn't talk ad nauseam about their personal life, and make the class privy to that information. Difference is that they were straight. SO fuck y'all, and hard.
Posted by: TANK | Oct 3, 2010 3:07:31 AM
Good grief America, what's HAPPENING to you???
Posted by: EM | Oct 3, 2010 3:13:09 AM
Wait a minute. A gay guy with a pony tail? WTF?!
Posted by: MoJo | Oct 3, 2010 4:41:54 AM
DUDE THE SCHOOL DISTRICT DID THE RIGHT THING FIRING HIS LAME ASS. ONE NO MATTER WHAT STUDENT YOU ARE TEACHING YOUR LIFE AND VIEWS ARE NOT ONT HE CURRICULUM SIMPLE AS THAT. I KNOW HE THOUGHT HE WAS BEING OPEN ABOUT WHO HE IS AND HIDING IN THE CLOSET BUT HE OVER LOOKED THE FACT THAT A CHILD WAS ASKING THESE QUESTIONS AND HE SHOULD HAVE TOLD HIM OR HER THAT THEY NEED TO STAY IN A CHILDS PLACE AND NOT ASK QUESTIONS LIKE THAT. HE SCREWED HIMSELF AND A PARENT HAPPENED TO BE IN THE AREA TO HEAR SO HELL YEA HE GOT WHAT HE DESERVED AND IF NON OF YOU HOMOSEXUALS CANNOT SEE THAT I WOULD NOT WANT YOUR ASSES TEACHING AT MY CHILD SCHOOL DISTRICT EITHER. IF YOU PLAN ON BRINGING UP THE LAME ASS WELL MAYBE THE KID WAS GAY AND WAS CURIOUS THE STUDENT TEACHER SHOULD HAVE DIRECTED HIS ASS TO THE KIDS PARENTS. I GUESS THE HOMOSEXUAL LUCKED UP AS HE DID NOT GET FIRED BUT RELOCATED HENCE THE REASON HE IS NOT SUING BECAUSE IN RETROSPECT HE KNOW HE WAS WRONG.
Posted by: B-RAD | Oct 3, 2010 6:27:49 AM
There is a cultural war going on in the United States and it seems that the U.S. is inexorably shifting to become an evangelical theocracy. Farewell civilisation.
Posted by: Roman Bolliger, Switzerland | Oct 3, 2010 6:31:42 AM
I am a teacher. In some school districts there are rules covering what a teacher can or should disclose about their personal lives. If the policy clearly states that the teacher should not talk about theri personal life the case is closed. On the other hand if it doesn't, then the teacher should use discretion based on the circumstances. I would like to tell all the students at the school that I am gay but this might cause more disruption than the potential value it may have to the few students that are gay. There is no secret between me and the administration and my coluges that I am gay. It has not influenced my relationship with any of the staff. The question for me is when is it proper for a teacher to acknowledge the fact that he or she is gay in a supportive enviornment? Do we tell all? Do we make it known only to those young folks who are looking for direction?
Posted by: Eliott | Oct 3, 2010 8:00:33 AM
@Eliott: If they don't enforce it against heterosexual teachers, the policy is discriminatory and should be void.
@B-RAD: Get professional help.
Posted by: Chris | Oct 3, 2010 8:05:29 AM
Leave it to Beaver-
ton.
Posted by: Philo | Oct 3, 2010 8:18:29 AM
Kudos to Seth for telling the truth! I think, hiding and lying about oneself is instilling the wrong message to impressionable children.
The school district has already sent the wrong message by saying, "it's NOT ok to be different and we will get you for being so."
I guarantee there is at least one child in that class who has already questioned their own sexuality and this school district has traumatized that child.
Education does not stop in the classroom!
Shame on the parent for not teaching their child acceptance and tolerance at home.
Seth, please DEMAND your job back and continue to EDUCATE!
Posted by: Shawn S | Oct 3, 2010 8:58:05 AM
here's the link to their contact us website:http://www.beavton.k12.or.us/home/district/contact-us/
Posted by: Eric & El | Oct 3, 2010 9:18:00 AM
If the story is true the way it's reported here, it's an absolultely reasonable thing to question whether the parents may have coached their the child.
Posted by: shanesoho | Oct 3, 2010 9:19:48 AM
@ANDREW,
what does the locution, "graduate teaching student" mean? and, how does that relate to a "student teacher" at an elementary school? try again:
"Seth Stambaugh, a 23-year-old Lewis and Clark graduate student in education, claims discrimination in his dismissal from his practicum as a student-teacher (?) at an elementary school in the Beaverton, Oregon Student District.
(new paragraph)
a parent had complained about the way Stambaugh was dressed. according to Oregon Live(.com?), he was wearing, "pressed pants, an oxford shirt, a tie and a cardigan. Stambaugh [also] has a light Van Dyke and pulls his hair back into a pony tail."
see how succinctness helps? i find wordiness tiresome. do not make your reader jump through hoops to get to the gist. you lose him/her after the first couple of sentences.
Posted by: nic | Oct 3, 2010 10:22:25 AM
Thanks to a Lewis & Clark student and Ms. B for the information.
I would be interested in knowing the age or grade level of the students in this scenario.
I'm also curious about the b&w photo posted here. It doesn't seem to fit the text description.
Seth is courageous, and I wish him the best.
Posted by: A.G. | Oct 3, 2010 10:23:31 AM
When I was a teacher, every once in a while some kid who thought he was a hot shot would ask me the "Are you married?" question, knowing full well I wasn't and probably already aware I was gay (kids aren't stupid). My stock answer? "No, are you interested?". Shut them up every time.
Posted by: gaylib | Oct 3, 2010 10:23:37 AM