Cathy Samford ... volleyball coach and science teacher
Posted on 04/11/2012 9:44:41 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd
ROCKWALL — Cathy Samford, a volleyball coach and science teacher, was fired from Heritage Christian Academy for getting pregnant and not being married, the school acknowledged.
"I looked it up and thought, 'They can't do this,'" said Samford, 29.
For almost three years, she coached volleyball at the private school. Samford was named "Coach of the Year" and recently began teaching science.
But when she got pregnant last fall, the school fired her because she was not married.
"We all have different views and interpretations," Samford said. "It's not necessarily the Christian thing to do to throw somebody aside because of those."
"You can't discriminate against someone who's pregnant or has a pregnancy-related medical condition," said Colin Walsh, her attorney. "That is both state and federal law."
But Heritage Christian said this case is not so simple.
"I understand some people that would say 'It's a heartless thing to do,'" said the school's headmaster, Dr. Ron Taylor. "It wasn't easy to do."
Taylor acknowledged that Samford could not get fired for an out-of-wedlock pregnancy in a public school. But HCA is a private, religious campus, and Taylor said the school considers teachers to be ministers, since they're allowed to share their beliefs in the classroom.
"The Supreme Court, as a matter of fact in the last month, has ruled 9-to-0 that a Christian school does have that right, because this is a ministry, so we have the right to have standards of conduct," Taylor added.
Taylor said Samford violated the morals clause in her contract and was not a "Christian role model" to her students.
"How's it going to look to a little fourth grade girl that sees she's pregnant and she's not married?" Taylor asked.
Mediation did not result in a resolution between the two parties. The school said it also refused to settle the case.
Taylor said HCA was contacted by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regarding the firing.
Samford and Walsh said they're now considering legal action. The fired teacher and expectant mother said she did nothing wrong, and faces financial problems now, including giving birth without insurance.
>>Christians beat their chest about abortion and contraception and then ostracize women who become pregnant out of wedlock.<<
Please explain what one thing has to do with the other. You can make your own decision about premarital sex, but the church (and this school) has made it pretty clear that its not a good example of Christian behavior. If you’re going to work for such a church or school, you follow their teaching.
There’s no ostracism. This was an employment contract where one party breached their duty of performance.
“Hey now. Just because Tsgt made an ignorant reply is no reason for you do do the same.”
I take the lesson of the woman taken in adultery to heart.
I see Catholics doing a better job handling this kind of problem than most denominations, offering spiritual council and support, prenatal care and often adoption assistance. That is the proper mix, IMO. Correction, example and support. Otherwise we are just Moslems who eat bacon.
There’s a difference between ostracizing someone and declining to use her as a moral example for one’s children.
As a matter of fact, these things do influence our children. When my daughter was 8 her teacher got pregnant and had a baby out of wedlock. Everyone in the public school was “supportive” and “nonjudgmental.” Trouble is, the children in her class then got the idea that it was fine and normal for women to have babies without a husband. Yes, they do notice, they do look up to their teachers, they do get impressed, they are influenced. And that daily message—that it’s okay to get pregnant and have a baby without a husband—outweighs the disapproving messages their parents try to give them after school.
>>So much for loving the mother and child...<
This is nothing but a STUPID comment. If she failed to show up for work or stole from the school and was fired, would you make this comment? What if she threw an eraser and hit your child?
She’s unloved because she was fired for one thing only? Please.
Which she may anyway. Why make the school pay and make them bend their rules?
Since I love sarcasm, I love your reply.
But since this is a private Christian school, your remarks about the government provding free contraception do not apply.
It clearly is the repsonsibility of the Christian School to provide the condoms.
What I propose is this: Once a month the children must bring condoms to school to benefit those teachers who are having unmarried sex.
My daughter was teaching Kindergarten in an inner city Houston school in the 1980s when she was suddenly called into the Principal’s office during school hours. Her BF was there with a ring and a large bouquet of roses. He proposed and she accepted.
Back to class, her kindergarteners wanted to know why she left. “I’m engaged to be married,” she answered and showed them the ring. “Iz yuh gohnto hava BABY?” was the response from one and all.
These kids had never heard of anyone getting married who wasn’t pregnant. And one boy (who was particularly large for his age) was really bummed. He claimed that she’d promised to marry HIM.
Too late. I already pointed that out as well. I guess you know this woman personally and are with her 24 hours a day?
Firing this woman is the same as spitting in God’s eye as far as I’m concerned. Haven’t you hypocrits learned anything from what Jesus taught you?
I didn’t address the rights of the school. I responded to a statement about who will pay for the decision.
Cathy Samford ... volleyball coach and science teacher
I can see two of the three sides of the argument. The side I cannot accept is to keep her hired and move on like nothing happened. Like it or not, she is a big role model of Christian beliefs and behaviours. These do not include celebrating “conduct unbecoming a role model.”
While not a Christian leader, a friend of mine was in this situation a couple years ago. He was engaged and they married earlier than planned. They got up before the church and told the congregation about their sin and asked their forgiveness, which they received.
On the other hand, I knew a minister who had an affair. It was not revealed until about a year later at which point, he was relieved of his duties immediately. In my opinion, by breaking his marriage vows, he lost his Biblical authority as a teacher and pastor. In his case, the church helped out with some family costs for a while.
The Bible is pretty clear that Christian teachers and ministers are held to a very high standard. There is a cost if they break that standard. So in that case, she is paying the cost of her sin.
As a Christian Standardbearer, she knew what the cost may be.
See my post #39. Ever check your yellow pages to see the number of listings under "Abortion Alternatives"? There are scores of good Christian organizations who will arrange a confidential adoption to a loving family who pay all expenses.
There is a long waiting list with such families. The birth mother won't have to pay a dime out of pocket. My sister and bil listed with a half dozen such agencies and waited four years before they got a call. They would have waited even longer had they insisted on a child of the same race.
The next single woman teacher that gets pregnant (and it will happen) will now face this choice:
1) Keep the child and lose their job
2) Quietly have an abortion and keep their job
The unintended consequence of the school’s action is, sometime in the future, a child will be aborted that otherwise would have lived.
That is not inconsistent with my observation.
Correction: I’m a "Christian" and I don’t believe this is right.
You need to brush up on Scripture and stop omitting those quotation marks, MikeWUSAF.
Maybe she should sue the owner of the penis she was playing with.
Maybe she should sue the owner of the penis she was playing with.
I see Catholics doing a better job handling this kind of problem than most denominations, offering spiritual council and support, prenatal care and often adoption assistance...
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Really? And how do you see Catholics handling the kind of problem they have with pedo priests?
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