BEAVERTON, Ore. -- A student teacher who was fired at a Beaverton school after letting students know he was gay told KGW in an exclusive interview that the district discriminated against him.
Seth Stambaugh, 23, wanted to be a teacher his entire life.
"It's the energy I get when I walk into a classroom. It's joyous beyond belief," said Stambaugh.
He grew up in New Mexico, where he was bullied and felt sheer terror by the notion of "coming out."
"When I came out at 16, I felt like it was a huge relief," he recalled.
He visited Portland and felt the city was very welcoming of gays and lesbians. He couldn't wait to move here.
The Lewis and Clark grad student felt compelled to teach students through a program for teaching education. But he never thought that he would be tossed out of a school after he said he just told a student the truth.
It was September 10th, when a fourth grader asked him the question.
"The student asked me if I was married, I responded 'no.' He asked 'why?' I said it was illegal for me to get married. I said 'it's because I want to marry a man.'"
Days later, Stambaugh was fired and he said no one told him exactly why.
He told KGW he suspected that it was because of his conversation with that 4th grader.
"I felt extremely hurt and discriminated against. Everyone in the school is free to talk about their marital status as long as they are heterosexual," he said.
In a statement, the Beaverton School District wrote, "We understand this action has resulted in the student teacher alleging discrimination. The concerns were about professional judgment and age appropriateness. While the details of this issue remain confidential, the district's policy and practice is non-discrimination."
So what do parents say?
"He or she should not be fired," said parent Paul Chen.
"I don't think anybody should be fired for giving a well though-out articulate answer to a kids' question, " said parent Mike Speer.
But some parents wonder why Seth would reveal his gay marital status to a 4th grader?
"I think that 4th graders know that gays exist, they hear it on the playgrounds," Stambaugh said. "To say this guy, meaning me, came out and should disappear sends a negative [message] to a gay child who could be questioning their own sexuality."
The superintendent was reviewing whether to reinstate Stambaugh. In the meantime, he's student teaching at a Portland Public School.
