Song that got a teacher fired in Nashville TN.

Teresa · September 18, 2010, 10:32:25 AM

Yes, my county – Williamson County fired a teacher for a song he wrote and sang. Brian Glover, a teacher and football coach wrote an anti-Obama song and then email the link to the song using his personal email while on his personal off school time.

Coach Says He Was Fired Because of Conservative Song:::

The song is called, "When You're Holding A Hammer, Everything Looks Like A Nail." It is a reference to Glover's frustrations with the current administration and President Obama. Glover co-wrote the tune with a parent on the Grassland Middle School football team. He never thought sending it out to friends, family and player's parents could put the hammer on the nail of his job with the school.
"Here we are a week before the season starts and they call and say I am no longer with the staff. It's devastating for me," said Glover.
It all stems from an email Glover sent through his personal Yahoo account.
"I sent it 99 percent of the people in my inbox– all the way from my mom to people I haven't spoken to in years," said Glover.
But the email, with a link to his new song, went out to a hand full of parents of kids on the Grassland Football Team.
Within hours, parents called the school to complain of the politically charged lyrics and Glover said the principal at Grassland Middle School told the head football coach to release Glover from his position with the team.

Isn't it funny that a school will finally fire a teacher at the snap of it's fingers and it's for a song a parent thinks is offensive yet there isn't one 4 letter word used in the song. This isn't a teacher who is having an affair with an underage student, this isn't a teacher on drugs or alcohol, this isn't a poor performance firing but a firing for a political song. I wonder if this would've happened if it was an anti-Bush song? Just saying.....

http://bearcreekledger.com/tag/brian-glover/

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2010/08/23/coach_says_he_was_fired_because_of_anti-obama_song.html

Janet Harrington · September 19, 2010, 03:00:04 AM

I think this teacher should quit being a teacher and become a country music star. He was a wonderful singer and I certainly agreed with the song.

twirldoggy · September 20, 2010, 10:43:30 AM

So many weird and illegal things are going on in our schools, firing this man is uncalled for. They should give him a warning and write him up. That way the complaining parents would be satisfied. There may have been other things happening ( he may have displeased the school administration) and they used this event as a way to get rid of him.

Diane Amberg · September 20, 2010, 12:38:32 PM

That was my first thought also. There must be something else going on too. Sending it to his players' parents might have been unwise but surely not a firing offense.

srkruzich · September 20, 2010, 01:47:17 PM

Quote from: Diane Amberg on September 20, 2010, 12:38:32 PM
That was my first thought also. There must be something else going on too. Sending it to his players' parents might have been unwise but surely not a firing offense.

the something else going on is the school system. Its so hosed up that they believe evil is good and good is evil.
Come on now, even in a small town like longton, we see how things are going to heck. Thats just a small town american school.

The whole system is screwed. Need to press the reset button and start over from scratch.

Diane Amberg · September 20, 2010, 03:24:38 PM

Sorry, can't agree. There may be some screws that need tightening and some areas, mostly in big cities that have some severe problems, but all schools in all systems do not need to be drowned and start over. People still come to this country from all over the world and send their kids to all kind of schools, public, private, religious, all kinds, even the internet. It is very fashionable right now to beat up on schools. So go ahead, you'll be right trendy if you do. But every year good students win awards for academic achievement in all areas, win scholarships, do great things in music and the arts and yes, even in sports but what do they hear? Put downs! No wonder kids get depressed. Parents who care have to shield their kids from all that negative talk. Kids can and do learn, but not alone. It takes a good balance and input from the kids, the parents and the teachers.A little positive reinforcement and some kind words sure do help even the slowest student.
I still can't get an answer to my age old question....What age should kids be when the teacher finally throws up her/his hands and quits trying to teach spelling and grammar? On the one hand people want the education bar raised, teach more, make it harder, expect MORE from the kids. On the other hand people will defend their kid's rights to be lazy students and grow up with terrible spelling, punctuation, grammar and writing skills. I wish people would make up their minds! There aren't many jobs anymore for anyone, let alone for the kids who quit school, and have poor skill sets. Those kids really will be losers in the total sense of the word. Even adults can improve their spelling if they would just try. People consistently missing first grade words? Good grief! There is no excuse for it. "They.Their There...they're not that hard! How about if some of the adults do a bit of self improvement before they (not thay) rip into the schools. Even a poor teacher can be overcome by a good student who makes an effort to learn what is presented, especially with a little help from home.
As an old teacher I feel very sad about what is happening in Longton but it has nothing to do with overall academics and the kids abilities.

mtcookson · September 21, 2010, 08:18:57 AM

Quote from: twirldoggy on September 20, 2010, 10:43:30 AM
So many weird and illegal things are going on in our schools, firing this man is uncalled for. They should give him a warning and write him up. That way the complaining parents would be satisfied. There may have been other things happening ( he may have displeased the school administration) and they used this event as a way to get rid of him.

I completely disagree. The principal should have told the parents to get over it or take their kids elsewhere if they have such a problem with it.

I would have had a few more words for the parents than that, but that's just me.

Teresa · September 21, 2010, 09:14:15 AM

A few comments....
What is weird and illegal about what THIS man did.. writing a country song in his free spare time? Had a political theme?? eeeeuuwwww~~~ scary stuff there....

AND~~ WHY do we have to "satisfy" the complaining parents.? They didn't have a leg to stand on in this case...

I agree with Mark.. Tell them to get over it..come up with a REAL complaint .. remove their children from the school.. or shut the hell up!

The main problem is.. no one has any "gonads " anymore.. Stand up for SOMETHING!! Quit letting the whiners rule the roost..

Wilma · September 21, 2010, 10:09:44 AM

You are so right, Teresa. It is time for the silent majority to start shouting, about everything. Instead of sitting back and letting the negativism take over. It is time to stop being nice and politically correct. Tell it like it is. Sometimes I wish Pam were still on here.

Lookatmeknow!! · September 22, 2010, 07:25:56 AM

I can't truly believe that he would get fired for doing this. I mean, unless he took it in his classroom and told his students, here you have to listen to this and like this and believe like I do. As a parent and also as a educator, I feel that we are very lucky here in West ELk America! We have tremendous teachers, paras, and staff that care about the children and what they learn and how they turn out in life. I am pleased with how my children do in school. I think that parents should be very active in their children's education, too. The ones that complained probably were not actually involved with their childs education. I would hope that our principle wouldn't have done this.