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More Details On Last Year's New Jersey School Proselytization Case Revealed

By Howard M. Friedman

Last year, the Kearny, New Jersey, Board of Education settled a threatened lawsuit by the parents of high schooler Matthew LaClair. The LaClairs complained about in-class proselytizing by Matthew's history teacher, David Paszkiewicz. Matthew had recorded his teacher saying that students who do not accept Jesus belong in Hell, that the "Big Bang" theory is unscientific and that dinosaurs were on Noah's Ark. (See prior posting.)

Today's Worcester (MA) Telegram reports new details on the incident as Matthew spoke at the annual summer outing of the Greater Worcester Humanists. He told of a tense meeting with the school principal, the teacher and the head of the school's history department which LaClairs parents were not allowed to attend. The teacher denied charges and said much Matthew's quotes took what he said out of context. Paszkiewicz also said he needed his teaching job because he had four children, one of whom had kindey disease. According to LaClair: "It was almost like he was saying that I?d be killing the kid, if I continued to push forward with my complaint."

Full post as published by Religion Clause on July 13, 2008 (boomark / email).