Teacher fired after probe into ‘racist’ tweets
Richmond Hill educator dismissed from high school after comments about Islam
A Richmond Hill teacher has been fired following a 10-week investigation into “racist” comments critical of Islam that he is alleged to have posted online.
Michael Marshall was dismissed following a meeting of the York Region District School Board (YRDSB) on Tuesday, said board spokesperson Licinio Miguelo.
Miguelo said no one at the school or the board would be available to comment further.
Marshall could not be reached on Tuesday or Wednesday for comment.
The investigation began after students at Richmond Green Secondary School discovered a Twitter account, @firstatheist, which featured a pro- file picture of Marshall and numerous tweets mentioning pupils’ names.
At the time, the @YRDSB Twitter account said the board takes “concerns about racist tweets very seriously and are investigating.”
The @firstatheist account tweeted more than 4,500 times, including messages that said:
“I get sad when girls I teach decide to wear the hijab. I feel like a failure,” “Hijabs make me sad.” “Just have a trailer full of guns roll down the street and arm the ghetto. Oh wait that’s black ppl.”
“Kinda have this perverse urge to wear a hijab for a day and twerk in the street.”
“There is an absolute s***-ton of Muslims at Ikea tonight. Any special occasion?”
“I’m sorry but sharia law is incompatible with my democratic secular nation. You can have it, but keep it over there in backward land.”
“Decided that I am way too racist to be a teacher #theycantbrea the”
The @firstatheist account has remained inactive since June 25.
Students also discovered the Twitter account linked to a blog post on Weebly.com dated Aug. 25, 2014, where the author self-identified as a 30-something teacher in Toronto who runs a gay-straight alliance group.
Marshall supervised a GSA club, as well as a slam-poetry society, at Richmond Green school.
The Weebly blog included a post mentioning a trip to the “Bible belt of the American south.” The Star verified that Marshall visited the area with one of his acquaintances.
Someone claiming to be a former student wrote on the blog after the news first broke: “With all the negativity on Twitter and the uncertainty that’s clouded everyone’s judgment, I’m not sure if I’ll see you next year.
“Whether that’s the case or not, I’d like to thank you for all your thoughtprovoking lessons and your willing- ness to overextend yourself to help a student improve.”
Another wrote: “I can’t thank you enough for spreading this idea of free thought all throughout the semester.”
On Twitter, Marshall self-identifies as the author of another account, @marshallisa boss. No tweets have come from that account since the allegations were made.
That account only mentions Muslims once, quoting an article saying that Valentine’s Day is a threat to Muslim values, to which he responds “really? No rose for you . . . do we agree with this?”
In 2010, a teacher at Woodbridge College named Mike Marshall was given an “Unsung Hero” award by the Educational Services Committee of District 16.
Marshall was a teacher at the school at that time, where his score on the website ratemyteachers.com was an impressive 4.7 out of 5 stars.
More than 30 reviews on the site rate Marshall positively at Richmond Green, with students appearing to claim he is an “amazing teacher” who is “very understanding” and goes “that extra mile.”
One review on the site from May 11 reads: “He is also very opinionated about controversial topics such as religion and often comes across as insensitive to others beliefs inappropriate for a classroom.”
Speaking to the Star in June, YRDSB co-ordinating superintendent Cecil Roach said he knew the teacher personally and the allegations would be “very disturbing” if true, because “one of the lead poets in the slam group is a hijab-wearing girl.”