US teacher resigns after Allen Ginsberg poem controversy

An award-winning English teacher in Connecticut has resigned amid controversy, after reading Allen Ginsberg’s poem ‘Please Master’ to his class of students.

David Olio, a high school Advanced Placement English teacher, read the poem to South Windsor High School on February 25. He had reportedly asked students for suggestions, with one student naming ‘Please Master’, The Daily Beast said.

Alan Ginsberg

Despite reviewing it twice, and allegedly facing objections from some students, he went ahead with the reading.

Olio is now on paid leave, with his resignation effective at the end of the school year. A statement from South Windsor Public Schools said that the move would “resolve the recent dispute that has divided the community”.

“Mr. Olio and the other parties have reached this agreement because they do not want to further distract parents, students or staff from their important work of teaching and learning,” the statement added.

The school Superintendent Kate Carter described the reading as “inappropriate”, adding that “some students reported being emotionally upset” by the poem.

The issue divided the local community, with some feeling that the move would force teachers to censor themselves.

Olio’s termination letter stated that he had “violated the trust placed by the Board of Education in you as a teacher, you brought discredit upon the South Windsor Public Schools, you undermined public confidence and parent trust in you as a teacher, and you put the emotional health of some students at risk.”

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