Iain Dale led off this morning on the case of a teacher who was sacked/suspended (as Subrosa points out, not clear as yet) for offering to pray for a student. Tom Harris tended to agree that it was an over-reaction, before apologising as he hadn't read Bob Piper's blog.
The original story is here, but a swift rundown would go something like this.
Christian teacher offers to pray for the sick child she was employed to teach. Complaint sent to council leading to sacking/suspension and/or investigation.
Dale was annoyed, Harris was perplexed as to why lefties wouldn't condemn. Bob Piper says it's a storm in a teacup.
Nick Yates, a spokesman for North Somerset Council, said: ‘Olive Jones has worked as a supply teacher, working with the North Somerset Tuition service. A complaint has been made by a parent regarding Olive. This complaint is being investigated.
‘To complete the investigation we need to speak to Olive and we have offered her a number of dates so this can happen. At the moment we are waiting for her to let us know which date is convenient for her.’
I see. So the real scandal here is that an employer has received a complaint from a parent about a teacher... and, disgrace upon disgrace... the employer wants to investigate the complaint, and would like to talk to the teacher concerned.
Well, far be it for me to defend the (Conservative controlled) Council in question from an outburst by one of their own party attack dogs... but that doesn't seem to be entirely unreasonable.
No, no, no. It is bloody unreasonable. For the simple fact that the complaint itself is frivolous and should not be afforded the merest whiff of contemplation.
The real outrage is that we now live in a society whereby a family can be so spineless as to feel 'bullied' by an offer of prayer. That they are incapable of just shrugging it off, ignoring the offer, and carrying on regardless. And, moreover, that they should go out of their way to file an official complaint to the council, on such a trivial matter, towards a person with whom they had previously been friendly enough to allow into their home.
Lastly, that the council, whether they had previously sacked the teacher or not, should be taking such mealy-mouthed, self-important and vindictive people seriously enough to launch an investigation.
Just tell them to grow up and stop being so very pathetic.
Bob Piper is a Labour councillor, so it's perhaps not surprising that his stance is to side with the council (even if it is Tory) in creating a load of paperwork and pointless meetings where none should be required. He reckons that because the woman wasn't sacked, well, that's all right then. It isn't.
It's not bullying. There is nothing threatening here. Just a family, emboldened by the hideous society Labour have created, who can't understand that there are others in this world who live differently to them. So they bleat, and moan, and try to wreck someone else's meagre career. We used to, correctly, ignore such nonsense, but now those who are the most selfish in life are given every outlet for their anti-social, and quite staggering, spite.
If they are strong enough to file a complaint to the council, they are strong enough to firmly tell the teacher that her prayers aren't welcome. Just because the teacher hasn't actually been sacked, yet, does not make it 'all right'.
