Doug Bartlett, a veteran teacher with an upstanding record of 17 years, has filed a lawsuit against the school district of Chicago for suspending him without pay after giving a lesson on gardening tools to his second grade students.
The incident took place on August 8, 2011 at Washington Irving Elementary School.
Mr. Bartlett recently filed suit on April 17, 2013 saying that he suffered humiliation and embarrassment as a result of his reprimand.
The “hazardous” tools in question were pliers, screwdrivers and wrenches that only the teacher handled. The tools were kept in a locked toolbox high on a shelf out of reach before and after the gardening lesson.
The district says that Mr. Bartlett exhibited negligence in supervising the children and for “possessing, carrying, storing, or using a weapon”. Â He was subsequently suspended without pay for 4 days.
Mr. Bartlett’s lawsuit claims the suspension violated his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process as he asserts that there was never a full hearing on the incident. Â Further, he was disciplined without ever having the opportunity to plead his case.
According to the Rutherford Institute which is representing him, Mr. Bartlett is seeking damages and requesting the suspension be expunged from his teaching record.
It is important to have electronic records in order as the charge of possessing a “weapon”, in this case gardening tools, has the potential to prevent Mr. Bartlett from seeking employment elsewhere.
The incident is yet another example of an over the top reaction by school officials demonstrating poor judgment and a gross lack of common sense.
A related story occurred in the Fall of 2012 when the Vice Principal of a California school suspended a boy for bringing kombucha in his lunchbox.  With no parent or guardian present at any time, the boy was interrogated in the school office by school administration and a police officer and was ultimately suspended for 5 days for “violating” the school’s drug and alcohol policy. No tests were ever performed on the beverage which is able to be legally purchased by minors at local stores.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Teacher Who Showed Garden Tools to Second Grade Students is Suspended Without Pay
WHAT THE HELL
We CANT have our children learning about gardening…thats what Monsanto is for…SIGH!
Yeah, they (Monsanto) are trying to kill us all!
I don’t have a problem with the tools being used for instruction, but I’m not clear on how they relate to gardening. And the early August date seems a strange time for school to be in session…
I would like to know if there is more to this story than what’s presented….
My son started school as early as August 3rd before. You must not garden much if you have never needed a screwdriver, wrench or pliers. All useful in watering systems. Ridiculous that he would be suspended for that while in New York a middle school gets district support for a tolerance class that made the children kiss someone of the same sex without parental consent. Crazy.
my question exactly- did the teacher say they were gardening tools or is the author of the blog saying they are gardening tools? because maybe I am not in the know, but I don’t think pliers, screwdrivers, wrenches are used in the garden …
Sumpin’ ’bout hoes.. and spades?
screwdriver. make hole for seeds easy. fix your tools too.
He probably showed them how you could stab someone to death with a miniature garden trowel, if you crept up on them really quietly. The Pliers can be used to extract finger nails and terrorist information (he was not allowed to bring water and bags into the classroom). “Spanners”, well spanners can be used on “nuts” and that is not PC allowed.
I am assuming shop class has been outlawed by now also? I remember using saws, screwdrivers and power tools in class
Numerous young Calis are yelling things at the screen right now. This case would be hilarious if it wasn’t evidence of such a ridiculous and outrageous loss of sense.
Oh gosh how in sane is that come on they need to consitrate more on the gun, the drugs the evil the hate and GOD BACK IN OUR SCHOOLS
It is quite evident that we do not need God in our schools, but education. For example spelling and punctuation.
Oh gosh! How insane is that. Come on, they need to concentrate more on the gun, the drugs, the evil, the hate and God, back in our schools.
I am sorry, but there is no way that I can make sense out of the last sentence.
It appears that you want the teachers to concentrate on a specific gun, drugs, a specific evil, a specific “hate” and a specific God.
The word “back’ is superfluous, or incorrect in this context.
Why not concentrate on Reading, Writing and Arithmetic?
Ridiculous!
where has common sense gone?
riDICULOUS!
What in the world were those officials thinking! All of those children probably have the same tools @ home somewhere – WOW!