New Documentary Explores N.J. Classroom Conflict Over Teacher/Preacher
David Paszkiewicz told students, “If you reject [Jesus’] gift of salvation, then you know where you belong” and “[Jesus] did everything in his power to make sure that you could go to heaven, so much so that he took your sins on his own body, suffered your pains for you, and he’s saying, `Please, accept me, believe.’ If you reject that, you belong in hell.”
Paszkiewicz had also promoted creationism in class, telling students that there were dinosaurs on Noah’s Ark.
A student in the classroom, Matthew LaClair, knew this was inappropriate. He also suspected that school officials would not believe him without evidence, so LaClair began recording portions of the classes. Soon he had solid evidence of Paszkiewicz’s in-class proselytizing.
In short order, a media firestorm engulfed the town. The school board’s first reaction to the matter was curious: They quickly passed a new policy - barring students from recording teachers in class. (I should note that LaClair’s actions broke no New Jersey laws.)
Filmmaker Vic Losick has just produced a new documentary, In God We Teach, examining the Kearny incident. The documentary, which runs about an hour, features several quotes by Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn. You can watch it here and here.
Losick scored something of a coup: He persuaded Paszkiewicz to sit down for a lengthy on-camera interview. As far as I know, this is the first time Paszkiewicz has discussed the issue publicly (outside of fundamentalist churches, that is).