A Stuart Middle School teacher has been removed from the classroom after he burned two American flags in class during a lesson on freedom of speech.  Dan Holden, who teaches seventh-grade social studies, burned small flags in two different classes Friday and asked students to write an opinion paper about it.  Holden has been temporarily reassigned to non-instructional duties pending a district investigation.  Roberts said the flag burning did not appear to be politically motivated.

Kentucky has a statute last amended in 1992 making desecration of a national or state flag in a public place a misdemeanor, but the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that flag desecration is protected speech.  The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky said the federal ruling would trump the state statute.  Congress has tried unsuccessfully to prohibit flag burning with a constitutional amendment. The latest attempt failed in the Senate this year.

What this teacher did was appalling.  No one can argue with that.  I do however believe that this teacher should not be fired for what he did and should be allowed to resume teaching his class as soon as possible.  Under United States law, teacher Dan Holden did nothing illegal by burning this flag.  I do not agree with his teaching method on the issue of freedom of speech, but I don't feel he should lose his job over it.  He could have presented this topic in a little less graphic manner and still got his point across.  I am a firm believer in freedom of speech and also a firm believer in that a teacher should do whatever it takes to get through to his or her students.  This however is taking the matter a little too far only because of the danger he put his students in by lighting a fire inside a public building.  Other than that, I don't see anything illegal with what he did.