Arlington Substitute Teacher Suspended Over Comments On Ukraine

ARLINGTON, VA — An Arlington substitute teacher was suspended after encouraging his students to read multiple news sources, including Sputnik News, about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Arlington Public Schools suspended John Stanton, 65, who made the comments during an eighth-grade Spanish class last Friday at Swanson Middle School.

After Stanton's Friday lesson, a parent of a student in the class wrote to Arlington Public Schools complaining about what he said in the class.

Stanton, who also works as a journalist, said he offered opposing viewpoints on Russia’s invasion for the first 10 minutes of a 90-minute class. He encouraged the students to read articles published by Sputnik News, a Russian news agency, and other sources.

He also told the students that he could understand the logic behind the Russian invasion of Ukraine, pointing to NATO encroachment on Russia and the revolution in 2014 that resulted in the ouster of elected President Viktor Yanukovych.

In another Spanish class on Friday, Stanton said he also spent the first 10 minutes discussing Ukraine, but did not receive any complaints from parents of children in that class.

Stanton, who lives in Arlington, has worked as a full-time substitute teacher at Swanson Middle School for more than two years. He teaches Spanish and other subjects, depending on what is needed on a given day. Prior to working at Swanson, he served as a roving substitute teacher in the Arlington school system.

The principal at Swanson Middle School called Stanton into her office on Monday, Stanton said, and told him that teachers must remain neutral on political issues. Stanton said he apologized and promised not to express his views again.

Stanton then received a letter on Tuesday from the human resources department at Arlington Public Schools telling him that he was suspended.

"This suspension of assignment is a result of Human Resources receiving a 'Request to Not Assign' from Swanson Middle School for the job you worked on Friday 02/25/2022 subbing for a World Language class," the letter said. "This request is regarding an allegation of comments made to students during instructional hours regarding sensitive world events with Russia and Ukraine."

The school officials said Stanton could petition for reinstatement within five days. Stanton told the school system that he does not plan to seek reinstatement.

"It is pointless to petition," Stanton said in the email he sent to Arlington Public Schools that he provided to Patch. "We live in a time of war propaganda from both sides, which brings with it censorship of opinions deviating from the core message. It is at a fever pitch now. As an expert in information warfare and the author of many pieces on the subject, I speak with some authority."

Arlington Public Schools had not responded to a request for comment on Stanton's suspension at the time this article was published.

On Monday, the Arlington County Board presented a resolution to the community in support of its Ukrainian sister city, Ivano-Frankivsk.

Arlington County also redecorated the Ballston pedestrian bridge to display the traditional Ukrainian flag colors of blue and yellow. “We are against any sovereign nation being invaded and attacked, but this situation hits Arlington close to home,” Arlington County Board Chair Katie Cristol said in a statement Thursday. “We’ve hosted government officials, students, and others from Ukraine, and we cannot sit by and do nothing.”

From 2016 to 2018, Stanton worked as a reporter for Sputnik News in D.C., covering the Pentagon. He also has written for the online version of Pravda, once the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, but now a privately owned news site with international editions published in Russian, English, French and Portuguese.

He also previously taught a high school seminar on national security policy from 2006 to 2016 at St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School in Alexandria, where he discussed the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq and other issues.

"I was trying to make the point to the students [at Swanson Middle School] that they should read all sources, including propaganda sites like Sputnik, as one must get out of the comfort lane and read what may, in fact, be propaganda," Stanton told Patch. "How else to learn to form an opinion?"

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