-
Sep 5, 2007 10:38 pm US/Central
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
Teacher: Vegan Views Got Me Kicked Out Of Class
by Rafael Romo
FOX RIVER GROVE (CBS) ―
A teacher gets a lesson that's hard to swallow. CBS 2's Rafael Romo reports that a teacher in Fox River Grove claims he was kicked out of class for telling students why he's a vegan.
Dave Warwak says he's always been an animal lover. Ten months ago he stopped eating meat and other animal products.
He says it's his way of showing respect for all life.
"If you are so respectful that you won't hurt a squirrel or an ant or a mosquito, there's no way you're going to go off and fight and kill people," said Warwak. "Certainly, if you're invaded you kill, but you don't go to foreign lands and kill."
But his beliefs may cost him his job as an art teacher at Fox River Grove Middle School.
The principal ordered him to leave the classroom this morning after he refused to stop teaching students about animal cruelty.
"It was never said that you have to take this and be like this. It was nothing like that. It was just hey here's some information if you're interested," Warwak said.
Some students at Fox River Grove Middle School say Warwak is one of their favorite teachers, but very few were informed about today's situation.
A poster created by Warwak last year was banned from the school and he admits to have shown the students pictures of animal cruelty from a book on vegetarianism.
When asked what he might say to parents who would say he should leave the teaching of morals up to them, Warwak said, "Well it's hard to teach art and get them to appreciate art. You have to get them to appreciate themselves and life first," Warwak said.
Several calls to officials at Fox River Grove School District 3 went unanswered Wednesday night, but Warwak says he believes they're planning to have him fired.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)