Teacher Fired for Extra Credit Assignment on Joe Rogan Interview With Dr. Robert Malone

On Friday, Dr. Robert Malone revealed that a New York teacher was fired from her position for assigning her students an extra credit assignment that included watching the mRNA technology inventor’s viral interview with Joe Rogan.

“Crazy times… A teacher in NY was fired for having students listen to my interview with Rogan in an extra credit assignment. Commissioner of education demanded reinstatement with back pay, and evidently the district refuses to follow the order,” Malone wrote.

Crazy times… A teacher in NY was fired for having students listen to my interview with Rogan in an extra credit assignment. Commissioner of education demanded reinstatement with back pay, and evidently the district refuses to follow the order. https://t.co/oLCzkrUUo1

— Robert W Malone, MD (@RWMaloneMD) December 30, 2022

Malone shared the appeal from the New York State Education Department’s website.

In the assignment at issue, petitioner informed her students that they could obtain extra credit[4] if they listened to an interview with a physician and submitted written responses to several discussion questions.  The interviewee, Dr. Robert Malone, is a critic of COVID vaccinations.  The discussion questions included the following:

• Explain [the physician’s] credibility/experience.
• What are his reason(s) for speaking out?
• Why was he banned from Twitter?
• How did Sweden respond to COVID?  What were the results?
• List … hospital[s’] incentives to diagnose patients [] with COVID.
• Do you think our Constitutional rights are being upheld or violated[?] [E]xplain[.]
• What do you think of this podcast?
• Has it changed any of your views?

Respondent’s notice of discontinuance claims that this assignment “had no valid curricular purpose” and was the result of petitioner’s “misuse[]” of her position as a teacher.  Respondent further argues on appeal that the assignment contained “leading questions … designed to push students into believing … misinformation.”  The record, however, supports a finding that petitioner’s assignment had academic value.  Petitioner explains that the intent of the assignment was to encourage students “to think critically” by exploring the following concepts:

thinking outside the box; putting [students] in others[’] shoes before placing judgment; comparing countries; studying nonverbal communications to ascertain truth versus lies; to ascertain motive for speech, which denies or affords reliability of the source; [and the] implementation and evolution of laws and their definitions as … applie[d] to technological and scientific advancements ….

Petitioner’s explanation is supported by the open-ended nature of several of the questions; e.g., whether students felt their “Constitutional rights [we]re being upheld or violated” and asking what they thought of the podcast.  To be sure, petitioner’s assignment was not flawless.  For example, petitioner characterized the podcast as “great,” which could be interpreted as an endorsement of the interviewee’s views.  However, there is no evidence in the record that any student or parent interpreted the assignment as petitioner “misus[ing]” her position to promote misinformation.

The Blaze reported:

The respondent argued that Rickson’s assignment “had no valid curricular purpose” and claimed that it was a “misuse” of her position. The respondent further contended that the assignment included “leading questions … designed to push students into believing … misinformation.”

Rickson claimed that the intent of the assignment was to encourage her students “to think critically.”

The teacher’s appeal noted that over 200 people, including students, signed a petition in her support.

One student stated, “Mrs. Rickson was the most amazing teacher I had … she motivated me and helped me be a better version of myself and … totally turned my life around.”

Another said, “Mrs. Rickson is a motivational educator in a field that is in need of caring, competent individuals like her. She inspires her students to do their best … She is an asset and BOCES is lucky to have her as a teacher there.”