Gay teacher in Switzerland was fired for teaching (mandatory) sex education. Shocker: All the parents that complained were fundamentalist Christian or Muslim. School president belongs to political evangelical party. (Linked news article in German with automatic translation)
Gay teacher in Switzerland was fired for teaching (mandatory) sex education. Shocker: All the parents that complained were fundamentalist Christian or Muslim. School president belongs to political evangelical party. (Linked news article in German with automatic translation)
Sex education classes at primary school level have been compulsory in the canton of Zurich for six years. One teacher had to learn the hard way that not everyone likes this, as the Zürcher Oberländer / Zueriostuncovered.
Conservative parents did not give up until the Obermatt primary school in Pfäffikon ZH fired the homosexual teacher. Watson adopted the pseudonym Daniel Brunner for him.
But let’s start from the beginning:
Daniel Brunner* is starting the new school year with his 5th grade class. He and the 6th grade teacher are preparing sex education lessons. They had already taught a similar lesson three years ago, with the topics being friendship, love and sexuality. Sex education lessons consist of four lessons per week - the curriculum 21 prescribes specific basic skills, but how these are taught is left up to the teacher.
Brunner thinks it is important that things can be spoken about. The children should feel safe, no one should be laughed at or excluded. What is discussed should not be taken to the playground.
Before the autumn holidays, a couple of concerned parents with a strong conservative, free church background contacted him for the first time. Brunner invited them to a two-hour parent-teacher meeting and wanted to allay their fears. He had the impression that he had been understood - but that was not the case, as it soon turned out.
A homosexual primary school teacher in Pfäffikon is targeted by conservative parents. The school administration initially supports him, then forces him to leave. https://t.co/2DcUdguYyF — tagesanzeiger (@tagesanzeiger) April 18, 2024
November 16th
A sex education test is coming up. Brunner gives the students the learning objectives to take home, which cause outrage among several families. A few days later, three mothers stand in front of the classroom and demand that their children be expelled from class. All of them have a Christian worldview.
Daniel Brunner did not expect such a reaction and referred the mothers to the school administration. The following conversation is loud and heated, as the teacher learns. His homosexuality was also discussed. But that is only the beginning. In the following days, two similar incidents occur.
Brunner is confronted with the accusation of exceeding his authority and concealing the content of the sex education classes. He does not allow a mother to attend the lessons.
The accused teacher is always accompanied by a school assistant during the lesson in question and discloses to the school management what he has planned and what material he is using.
November 28th
The school management wrote a letter to parents, which was made available to the Tages-Anzeiger. In it, they rejected the accusations against Brunner and wrote that he had "implemented the lessons in an age-appropriate manner" and had "fully" fulfilled his educational task. The school management made it clear that certain statements made by the parents bordered on "defamation". They also reminded the children of compulsory school attendance.
The angry parents are not fazed by this. They join forces with three Muslim parents and write to the school board and the head of education. Daniel Brunner is allowed to take a look at the 13-page letter. In it, he is accused of, among other things, giving the children homework to masturbate at home. He is also said to have instructed them not to talk about the content of the lesson.
In the letter, the parents base their arguments on alleged statements made by children - including those made outside of class and from the previous year. Brunner defends himself against his superiors. He senses that it is no longer about the actual lesson, but about him personally.
December 7th
The school management wrote to the parents and informed them of a planned discussion between the school management, the head of education and the parents. The document is available to the "Tages-Anzeiger". They also write that Brunner will be represented by a PH student due to a training course in January.
The situation is a heavy burden on Brunner's psyche. However, he hopes for further support - in vain, as will soon become apparent.
January 29th
Two days before his planned return, Daniel Brunner has to attend a meeting with the school management and the head of education. They tell him that there have been further discussions with the concerned parents.
He is now accused of not showing enough appreciation for the children. The parents see him as a threat to their world view. He should work on a school administration project until the sports holidays and give up teaching for the time being.
The accused teacher realizes that he can no longer rely on his superiors. After the meeting, he goes to his classroom and cries.
January 31st
Daniel Brunner decides to take a break and takes two weeks off sick. He contacts the advice center of the Zurich Teachers' Association (ZLV). They put him in touch with a lawyer and offer to mediate in communication with the school.
The teaching staff at the primary school in Pfäffikon have not yet been officially informed about the events. However, it is being discussed internally.
February 5th
The vast majority of teachers sent a letter to the school administration, which was also made available to the Tages-Anzeiger. In it, they wrote that Brunner was being discriminated against because of his homosexuality . They were 100% on his side and demanded visible support for their colleague.
They close the letter with:
"Both Daniel and we as his colleagues need the security that you will protect him and make it clear to the outside world that such hostility and verbal attacks must not occur in Pfäffikon!"Regardless of the teachers' commitment, parents are now taking Brunner's side. They complain that their children have to do without a popular teacher and are now being taught by substitutes. Their children confirm that the allegations regarding the sex education classes are untrue.
February 6th
In a conversation with the school administration, a couple of parents expressed the suspicion that Daniel Brunner had come under the scrutiny of the conservative parents because of his homosexuality . This suspicion was confirmed during the conversation. The parents had the impression that the school administration was overwhelmed.
The parents also contacted the head of education. In a telephone conversation, they got the impression that his attitude was defensive. They later also wrote to the school president, Hanspeter Hugentobler, who is a cantonal councilor for the EVP.
February 12th
At 10:49 p.m., while Daniel Brunner was on sick leave, he received an email from the school administration. The Tages-Anzeiger also has access to this email. It states that "the basis for a trusting collaboration" no longer exists. The school is forced to terminate the employment relationship, preferably by mutual agreement.
The school administration writes:
"We notice that you are refusing to engage in dialogue with the parents and with us. This means that it is no longer possible for us to look for a viable solution."The teaching team will be informed verbally the following day and the parents will be informed in writing three days later.
The school administration is going ahead with this announcement, although Brunner was unable to comment on it. In another letter, she writes that the accused teacher would also be willing to come back after the sports holidays and resign at the end of the school year. This suggestion will be examined, but his teaching activities are viewed as critical in the stressful situation.
Daniel Brunner's lawyer intervenes. He sees various violations of law: defamation, denial of a fair hearing, violation of personnel law .
February 14th
The school administration informed the parents in another letter that Brunner's return was not realistic because he was not currently in dialogue with the school administration. It continued:
"The different perceptions and discussions surrounding the pedagogical quality of sex education classes have been extremely stressful for everyone involved. Until the situation is definitively clarified, we must rely on a vicariate solution to ensure that schools can continue to operate even after the sports holidays."Brunner now sees no future. He lets his lawyer negotiate the termination of the contract; the terms are advantageous for him. The dismissed teacher waives a lawsuit.
February 29th
The school administration informs the parents in a letter about the final separation. The content of the letter contradicts the previous internal communication:
"Unfortunately, we have to inform you that Mr. Brunner has decided to no longer teach at our school and that he is leaving the school with immediate effect. We regret this decision because we are losing a very dedicated teacher. [...] Even during his absence due to illness, he was always willing to engage in dialogue. We apologize to Mr. Brunner and to you if we have expressed ourselves in a misleading way in the past and our letters could have been understood differently."As part of its research, the Tages-Anzeiger confronted the school with a list of questions. However, the school administration did not want to comment for reasons of privacy protection, as school president Hanspeter Hugentobler wrote. They regret the situation.
The school also regrets that the communication was contradictory:
"We stand by what we wrote in the letter to parents on February 29. The teacher's sex education classes have never given rise to any complaints and he has always been willing to engage in dialogue, even during his absence due to illness. We regret having lost a dedicated teacher."But did the school protect the teacher sufficiently from the attacks of the parents? Hugentobler says:
"How much is enough is always a matter of opinion. It was certainly always our aim."
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