Fired Teacher Holds Class, but His Case Isn’t on the Agenda

The bottom line Saturday in Paul Pflueger’s class was that you couldn’t talk about The Case. No legal semantics. Nothing in the margins. Just U.S. history with some economics as only the colorful and controversial Pflueger can deliver it.

“I rented the room with the promise that I wouldn’t discuss my case,” said the 55-year-old teacher in a lecture hall with 22 people, including parents who came to see and judge for themselves.

Pflueger was fired from his high school teaching job in the Capistrano Unified School District on Feb. 8. The district contended that over a four-year period the 20-year veteran used offensive language with students and teachers, did not assist slow learners, graded arbitrarily and failed to adopt any of the improvements suggested to him.

The teacher, who remains on paid leave, has appealed the school board’s decision and filed a request for an evidentiary hearing that will involve a three-person panel reviewing the case.

Since leaving his job at Capistrano Valley High, Pflueger said, students have complained to him that they are not learning as much from their substitute. In response, Pflueger paid $100 to rent a classroom at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo to help any students who showed up prepare for the upcoming advanced placement exams.

“If I pass the AP test, it means I can do college-level work,” said Trevor Flynn, a 17-year-old junior.

Flynn said he had been “studying hard” with Pflueger before the firing and had no problems with the teacher’s style.

“He’s really not there to baby the students,” said Flynn. But “I can see how people might think he’s intimidating.”

Some Pflueger supporters brought video cameras, and a paralegal who said she was from the law firm that represents the district quietly took notes. Despite the distractions, Pflueger plugged away.

With sleeves rolled up, he stood behind the podium and gave a highly animated 90-minute lecture that covered everything from presidential politics to economic theory. The talk was sprinkled with college-level ideas and words, such as “nadir,” “apex” and “consumer optimism.”

“When my students don’t know the meaning of a word, I want them to raise their hands and ask,” said Pflueger. “But if I were in my regular classroom, I would tell the students to look the word up in their dictionary.”

He offers a similarly tough-minded account of what homework means to him: “I know some teachers’ homework is more meaningful than others’. In my class, homework is laying groundwork. Some students regard homework as busy work, and then typically ask, ‘So where’s my A?’ That’s not what I wanted to do in my class.”

After the session, Jaryn Jannard, 17, a junior, said Pflueger’s lecturing flair made him a standout teacher, despite the school board’s decision.

“I really like him as a teacher and the way he teaches,” said Jannard, who attended partly to support Pflueger. “The same way he got really excited today is the way he talks to us in class. But that’s the way he teaches. With him you know you won’t fall asleep in class.”

Courtney Auther, also 17, said students know he exaggerates in class to make a point. “That’s his style,” she said.

“It’s all role-playing and the students know it,” Jannard said. “He’s interested in teaching us because we’re interested in learning.”

Flynn said students who chronically failed to do Pflueger’s tough homework assignments often ended up complaining about the teacher.

Richard Couturier, who accompanied his 15-year-old daughter Kate, said he believed that Pflueger was adept at teaching his young charges “life’s lessons.”

“These kids should consider what happens after they leave school. What if you have a tough boss? Man, if they’re not exposed to that now, how are they going to deal with life?”