The U.S. public education system has come under fire frequently in recent years for promoting far-left social ideals. In many cases, teachers have faced termination or decided to quit when they expressed opposition to radical policies related to gender and other hot-button issues.
A report from the United Kingdom proves that educators in other countries are facing similar pressures.
According to Joshua Sutcliffe, who until recently taught math at a school in Oxford, he was fired and indefinitely prohibited from teaching elsewhere after an incident in which he supposedly “misgendered” a student.
A biological female in Sutcliffe’s class identified as a male, but the teacher reportedly referred to a group that included the student as “girls.” Although he apologized for what he insisted was an accident, the case nevertheless went before the U.K.’s Teaching Regulation Authority, which decided that he did not treat the student with “dignity and respect” and subsequently banned him from working in his chosen profession.
Not only did regulators determine that Sutcliffe “failed to safeguard Pupil A’s wellbeing,” but they further concluded that “it was more probable than not that Mr. Sutcliffe had failed to use Pupil A’s preferred pronoun in the classroom during teaching on one or more occasions.”
The Christian Legal Centre has taken up the former teacher’s case and he is vowing to appeal the panel’s decision.
“Based on this ruling, every teacher is at risk if they share their beliefs and views in the classroom,” he said.
This is outrageous.
Joshua Sutcliffe, teacher who 'misgendered' pupil, is banned from profession https://t.co/v4cyQzBza4
— Nile Gardiner (@NileGardiner) May 23, 2023
Sutcliffe also received a reprimand for expressing his personal views about gay marriage in response to a student’s question, though the panel did not determine that doing so created an unsafe environment. Another student complained that he played a video produced by the conservative group PragerU and, although he denied doing so, regulators determined that he did.
As a result, the panel found that Sutcliffe “failed to provide a balanced view or an opportunity for pupils to discuss any alternative views.”
In the end, the former teacher believes he was singled out for punishment due to his faith.
“Mathematics has always been a great joy of mine; my teaching record is exemplary, and I was always respectful to everyone,” Sutcliffe concluded. “From the beginning, however, this case has not been about my ability to teach but about me being a Christian and believing in the gospel and the Lordship of Jesus Christ.”
