Teacher & Bus Driver Inspired by DeChristopher Fired

Tim DeChristopher has inspired a ton of people since his big oil and gas drilling monkey wrenching in 2008 (and I imagine before that as well).

I’ve seen a couple of really interesting stories on people inspired by him who got fired from their jobs as a result and think they’re worth sharing with you.

You can see in the video below the story of a teacher who had great plans for how to ignite more action around climate change and how her plans were opposed by the school but due to the enthusiasm of her students and her sense of duty she went forward with the plans and was subsequently fired.

In a similar story, a school-bus driver in Salt Lake City who had also been a teacher for 4 years, Ryan Pleune, was taking some students back to school from a play and decided it would be a good idea to take them by the federal courthouse where Tim DeChristopher was on trial and there was a large protest outside in order to show them democracy in action. He didn’t have them get out of the bus and actually got permission from the transportation yard to take a detour. However, when the school district found out what he did so for, it fired him.

Pleune is a volunteer for DeChristophers organization Peaceful Uprising and said, “as an educator, I wanted to share some relevant learning and some real life experiences to the students. I wanted to show them that peaceful demonstration is a right in our democracy.”

So much for a little creativity and spontaneous, real-world education. I’m sure, though, like the teacher above, he doesn’t regret the decision at all.