Why Did The Florida Department of Education Rule That Collin O’Neal Could Go Back To Teaching?

An education commission in Orlando says he can reapply to be a teacher, but he’ll be on probation for two years. What kind of probation? No gay porn for two years? Remember, Collin O’Neal was working in porn, stripping in gay bars, and fighting with gay porn bloggers all while he was supposedly “retired” from the industry. But I don’t want to talk about Collin O’Neal. I’m interested in the Florida Department of Education.

What compelled them to believe that putting O’Neal in a classroom wouldn’t be a distraction to students? Maybe they understand that he would be a distraction, but that that distraction would be “worth it” because Collin O’Neal is such a great guy and such an amazing teacher! But, why bother? Aren’t there other people without the baggage who want to be teachers? Is Collin O’Neal that good of a teacher? (And remember, he was a substitute teacher, not even a full time teacher with his own class.)

To be clear, I think it’s good that someone with a porn past is being given a “second chance,” but I’d like to know how the FDOE can justify this specific ruling with regard to a very famous and very prolific gay porn star like Collin O’Neal. I’d like the FDOE to convince me how someone who has appeared in–and actively sought the attention of–mainstream media to discuss his work as a gay porn star and whose gay porn name and gay porn image is still being used to market and sell hardcore gay porn won’t be a distraction to internet-savvy children who are supposed to be coming to school to learn about history and math and literature, not the highly publicized and troubled past of their infamous teacher. At what point would the FDOE say, “Uhh, sorry, but this is all a bit much”? What would Collin O’Neal had to have done for the FDOE to have denied his request?

O’Neal even went so far to tell one local news outlet that he wanted to “guide students away from making the same mistakes he made.” So, now doing gay porn was a “mistake”? OK. And which curriculum would that sort of lesson fall under? This is why children are going to school now, to learn about their teachers’ mistakes?

 

 

 

 

 

22 thoughts on “Why Did The Florida Department of Education Rule That Collin O’Neal Could Go Back To Teaching?”

  1. Lekisha Mclawhorn

    The Stockman argument is better made in Jonathan Rauch’s book; Why Washington Doesn’t Work.

  2. Oh, and that second part of your poll is rather “cute”…but I couldn’t vote on it because you forgot to include the one that says, “He’ll probably be forced to return, because the ‘holier than thou, my shit don’t smell’ folks don’t believe in second chances for anyone.”

  3. I would agree that teaching elementary through high school students might not be the best position for him. Not because of him or his past, but because it WOULD be a distraction to juvenile minds, and his ability to teach them would be compromised. But there are teaching positions in other areas, dealing with adults, that should not be a problem. And if adult students would become distracted by this man’s past, then I’d have to say they are not mature enough to be pursuing higher education in the first place.
    There isn’t a one of us who can honestly say “There’s nothing in MY past that can come back to haunt me.” I think it’s great that this guy is trying to move in a new direction in his life, too bad there are some who would never give a person the chance to do so.

  4. Thanks for posting this because there is a BIG misconception about this story. Collin got his teacher’s certificate back which allows him to legally teach in Florida. They had tried to take it away and never allow him to teach. Just because he is allowed to teach in Florida, no school is going to hire him. The school board that fired him already went on the record stating “just because someone has a teaching certificate does not mean they will get hired.”
    I know of no school, police dept, fire dept, or other public job that hires outed porno stars. I wish it was not true but I dont think Collin will be teaching anywhere soon at least not in Florida.

  5. Of all the career choices, why a teacher? Is this guy doing this for publicity? It’s not like being a substitute teacher is a lucrative career choice. His motives are suspect. The teachers that I know and admire are those who have had life experiences and a life perspective that they feel that they can share with children. A perspective comprised mostly of “not making the same mistakes I made” does not make a good leader or role model. I enjoy porn and I respect certain porn actors very much, but I would not want someone in the porn industry to have an impactful role in raising my child (if I had one.)

  6. Past is the past and everything is forgotten? Not likely. The past is the longest of all tenses: immovable, unchanging, unforgiving. Everyone deserves a second chance once we own to our mistakes and atone for them. Also, we have to know which is the feasible way to move forward, whilst being aware of the impacts our course of action might cause. Now he says it was a mistake after allegedly cashing in when he sold his company?

  7. Wasn’t his “mistakes of the past” like a few months ago? I mean he was still producing content during the time he was a sub and after he was let go from being a substitute teacher. This more or less sounds like another Colin O’Neal bullshit story. BTW if he discussed those “mistakes” with a middle aged school kid he would be thrown out on his ass. Also, considering Florida has around a 10% unemployment rate and a out of control foreclosure rate, I imagine that those temporary substitute jobs are in high demand right now and could be filled with people that don’t have his baggage or drama.

    1. Not only that Estelle. I seriously doubt he really has the drive and the passion, no pun intended, to teach. And teach what, exactly? I haven’t read yet what was he teaching in the first place.

  8. You forgot to add that he was also drunk or fucked up a few times on Cam4 as little as a month or so before this story broke!

  9. I don’t think porn stars should be allowed to teach. Students should never know what their teachers dick or pussy looks like…unless they are fuck buddies.

  10. If my teacher was Colin, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate except on anything but on the idea of us fucking. And I’m not even attracted to him!

    1. I was thinking the same thing. He’s not even a teacher, he was a substitute teacher that was removed from the classroom. He doesn’t have a degree in education nor does he have any kind of teaching certification or credentials. In other words he can be in the substitute teacher pool but like you said it doesn’t mean they will hire him.

      1. Great point Estelle. I do have a question though: How can he be hired as a substitute teacher if he has no credentials? Is that not required? I’m confused.

        1. You don’t have to have teaching credentials to be a substitute teacher if you are filling in for a day or two which is what he was doing. A lot of college students and retired people substitute to bring in extra cash. They follow the lesson plan and do the minimum to keep the class in order. Only when long term absence issues come up does a school use someone with education credentials (they have to).

      1. A lot. Students will immediately look into his body of work and it will instantaneously become a distraction. From experience, I can tell you this is the case. My class made the bare minimum of effort immediately after finding information about our teacher. This situation is unnecessary. Many friends, who are both gay and teachers,concur.

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