As a former parent of this school, I've posted this same message all night since this story evolved. Having said that, the school acted in the appropriate manner, in my opinion. They have a moral obligation to their students, parents, and to this teacher to investigate this before they can go public. We do not know what the whole story is from either the investigator who dug up this story, and quite possibly, ruined a man’s life, nor do we know what is, or has, taken place within the school. I have seen way too many good teachers lives turned upside down for firings that were not warranted, I will withhold judgment on this teacher until I know the facts. However I would also not depend on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to investigate this. Quite frankly, it will never happen.

I was very uncomfortable with the video that Fox aired, and what concerned me the most is that the younger kids from the school will hear about this, and they will, and will then look for their favorite teacher’s clips online. Fox went too far, and gave way too much information. Totally inappropriate! And no, not because it was gay porn! If it was a straight couple in the Fox clip, it would have made me uncomfortable! My son had a few gay teachers at this school and they were awesome teachers! As an officiant who marries same-sex couples, I do not give a damn if this teacher is gay or straight! That is not the point.

I feel like its completely unfair to judge a man on his past, nevermind to tear his life apart because of it. Its not like he was broadcasting his pornography in the classroom. He was doing his job as a teacher and who cares what he did in the past? There's a cliche story about girls stripping their way through law school, it shouldn't matter what you have done in the past if you're not using it currently to offend or hurt others. He is said to be a great teacher, and now thanks to fox he probably wont teach again whether he is fired from mystic valley or not. I'm glad this site is asking for the students opinion. Obviously parents were upset by this, but only because of the facts they were presented with. They don't sit in class daily with this man, they don't see the impact he has on students or the good he is doing. I think that a mans past is his past and that as long as he kept his personal life to himself that him being a porn star isn't a big deal. The teachers and board of mystic valley and fox news should put themselves in his shoes, because we all have secrets, and I'm sure if they were him they wouldn't want their lives to be torn apart or their teaching career to be thrown away due to their secrets.

Of course he shouldn't be fired, this is America.

You are most welcome Chris. RE: If the allegations turned out to be true, how would I feel about him staying in the position?

If, and only if, he is still in his "evening" profession at this time, I would want him fired. I need more information about how Fox 25 obtained this story. Something is just not right. A reporter just doesn't pull a strange person's name out of a hat and dig up his/her personal life. Something had to have triggered this. Either this teacher is still doing this on his own time, or something happened at this school to warrent this investigation. Am I wrong?

I am a parent of MVRCS kids, one of whom is now in college and wishes to teach high school English. I preach to them constantly that their tweets, Facebook posts and the like are all potential reasons for an employer, especially one as sensitive to ridicule as a school committee or board, to consider you unworthy for a position. The line for what adults participate in and what kids are exposed to is becoming increasing blurred, much to our detriment as a society. When I spoke of this incident with my daughter, who is a teenager, she laughed and went on to the next 10 second 200 character story that has become what passes for thoughtful conversation with Generation Z. We might get revved up about this as a group of adults who are trying to make our way through this ever changing world but to the kids, it is just another day at the office.

I respect your response Chris. I would not want you to speculate. I would be disappointed if you did.

How this story evolved is in question indeed. It is all very strange. Let us hope that this is not another Penn State story, which I doubt that it is. I may not have a relationship with the person who runs this school, however, I firmly believe that he would never allow this to happen.

I suspect that someone exposed him to Fox News. I am mad at Fox, not the school.

As a student of Mr.Hogan I considered him to be a great guy. He was very strict with making sure everyone was taught and knew exactly what he was talking about before quickly moving onto other materials. Mr.Hogan was always there to answer any questions regarding your grades as well as providing extra help. Personally I think that what happened in the past shouldn't matter. It happened BEFORE his life at Mystic Valley, for anyone knows it could have been in a total different country. What matters is he NEVER did anything to harm ANY student in Any way. He never broke ANY laws. Firing Mr.Hogan because something done in his past is completely unnecessary. If it weren't for Fox news publicly harassing the poor man and exposing his "tapes" if you will, ON TELEVISION nobody would know about this scandal. Giving the names of the movies he supposedly was in, is only going to result in the whole entire high school google-ing them and looking them up. This is not an elementary school, its a High school filled with hundreds of curious teens... Even if Mystic Valley was to investigate (which I'm sure they will) and offer Hogan back his job, I'll be surprised if he takes it, knowing probably everybody has seen him at least semi naked. THATS EMBARRASSING, put yourself in his shoes. FOX 25 NEWS showed to be unprofessional in many ways. Showing clips and revealing his nick name on live television for billions of kids to see is absurd There were plenty of other ways to address the situation.

This teacher was paid to have sex on camera. Its undeniable, the film exists and money for sex sounds like prostitution to me. Since when is that type of behavior, including stripping as was mentioned above, acceptable "to pay college bills" or anything else for that matter?! Are you kidding me? If Mr. Hogan's life is "ruined" as some suggest it may be, then he has no one to blame but himself! To suggest that the investigative reporter who brought this story to light ruined his life is absurd. The kids that attend this fine school are intelligent, polite young men and women. Teachers have enormous influence on their students so lets hope that Mr. Hogan's actions don't influence any of them to make a similarly idiotic mistake with their lives. The aforementioned minefield of facebook and twitter are enough for any parent to monitor but this is ridiculous.

As long as the teacher was doing his job and not harming the kids in any way, which it sounds like was the case from the student's comment above, its a crying shame that Fox would deprive the community of someone who sounds like a great teacher. Are there clips of these same people blaming "bad teachers" for our children's low test scores? We want our children to be taught by good teachers, but we also want our children to be taught by people who have the same "moral" compass as we do. People claim that people in debt are irresponsible for not working hard enough, but when they take LEGAL jobs that we disapprove of, we think they should be disqualified from taking on good jobs that they were in school to train for. It is too bad this happened the way it did. He can probably be fired for leaving a job off his resume, and if it was him in the videos, I'm sure half the school has seen him naked by now, which totally undermines his role as a teacher. We need great teachers. People called him a great teacher. This is America. Even if you don't agree with people's legal decisions to make pornography or strip, I don't see how it can legitimately be called a news story, since nothing illegal happened.

He left it off of his application for a reason. Would that reason be that even he thinks he should not have a teachers job because of his past employment record? Yes he should be removed for that lying on his application.

Besides the obvious, a part of this that bothers me is that the "news commentators" are commenting and adding their "opinions" extensively without any considerations that this case is under review. They are very unprofessional as that the case has not been decided and they are not balancing the editorials. This is so characteristic of FOX news: raving before the facts are proven. Another curiosity is that there are more comments on this story than I have seen on Patch!

I want to know if their next news story will be "How to explain what Pornography is to a 7 Year old" Because, that will be what I am faced with next. It is unfair that Mike Beaudet crucified this man for his own personal gain. Fox news is nothing but a glorified TMZ.

Why did FOX news need to unearth this non-story and ruin a man's career? Acting in a porn movie may be regrettable, and obviously it's not something you put on your resume. However, it's not illegal, if only consenting adults are involved, and this was obviously something done in the past. (It might be a different issue if he was currently making money on the side with these movies...) This really shows a lack of integrity on the part of the news organization.

AnnieOMalden, I wonder who you are. Do you live in that big glass house? 'He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone' John 8:7

Erik: No, I don't but the Kinnon klan sure does! It's ok for them if it's not "illegal" so what about this poor guy? The students, teachers and parents have to live by the code of civility and are held to very high standards yet the admin can do as they please. Teachers have been fired for much less than this yet they allow the "friends and famiy" to run the place! Puh-lease!!

This is utterly stupid. YOU ALL WATCH PORN, and if you don't you want to and have some serious inner turmoil.

Rick, I believe you have misinterpreted my comment. My quotation, although from the bible, was not aimed at the teacher, the school system or the public at large nor was it meant as a biblical justification for anyone's actions. It was aimed at an individual who hides behind a nom de guerre in order to crap all over a group of people, whether they support a school, a political candidate, etc.

PS: I live in a city, not a town.

Wow. Guess things aren't getting dull after all. Makes me want to tune back in to the news again.

The teacher has been place on leave while they look into it, which is what the school should do because I am sure if they did nothing then this article would generate allot more comments.

There's the old story about the first grader whose teacher asked what his father did for a living. The child said "he's a piano player in a brothel". The teacher called in the father who said, "actually, I'm a lawyer, but how do you explain that to a six year-old?" In other words, many of our jobs have a seamier side, and do we have to explain that to everyone?

As a former student of Mystic Valley,an aspiring future teacher, and an older brother of two current Mystic Valley students, this entire situation leaves me with a bad feeling. I completely disagree with the way that FOX News handled the information they came across. This just shows how much of a high pressure position teaching at a prestigious school such as MV is. I have a feeling that if people dug deep enough into pasts of faculty members at all schools they would find something that is somewhat controversial. Personally, I would rather see a good teacher with a shady past teach our children than a bad teacher with a squeaky clean past. I hope that some good can come from what has happened, because there are lessons to be learned from all of this.

@Amanda, to answer your question. Luckily my oldest was not in school today and my youngest is hopefully too young to even hear about it. I'm not sure, because I know what I knew at that age, but I'm not sure my kid knows about that kind of stuff yet. So I think I would just leave it that he had a job that a lot of adults don't agree with. I am very open with my kids about real life, they are both under 10 yrs and we've had talks about drugs, alcohol, smoking, gay, strait, black, white. But I would like to keep them innocent about sex for at least a few more years. With social media kids are growing up way too quick, and jerk wads like this reporter only make this more difficult. He too is a parent, I wonder if that even plays into his thought process when he decided whether or not to do this story.

Pornography is dehumanizing.

I am glad to see my oldest son, Evan Dolber, chime in on this story. He called me from college earlier and we discussed the issue ag length. Fox handled the story in a grotesque manner and it is now on a number of websites. I'm left explaining many things I'd rather not with my 9and and 13Evan's year old who are at the school. Like Tee Joseph, we have had what I thought were the important conversations with our kids.

Someone on Facebook set up a page called "Fire Mike Beaudet". I agree. He should be fired. If this man cannot share with all of us just how he came about his witch hunt to detroy this teacher's life, then he should be fired.

https://www.facebook.com/firemikebeaudet?sk=info#!/firemikebeaudet?sk=wall

Wow, Ms. Merletti, that page is impressive!

Must be the school's Character Education classes paying off!!

Fox 25...complete media rats. The man did nothing illegal and he's probably changed from his "pornographic" past. But now you got Mike Beaudat...Beaudet, whatever his last name is, coming in and destroying his teaching career. Never mind his teaching career, his WHOLE career and reputation. Fox 25 should have confronted the school and kept this..."situation" private. It's already bad enough that he's on paid administrative leave (most likely to be fired), but now you got Fox 25 news releasing all the information of Hogan's past "tapes". They even showed a little preview of the "tapes" on the news. That's just cruel, atrocious, etc.

Mr.Hogan did nothing to ruin his career, Fox 25 is the victim to be blamed. If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have known about Mr.Hogan's past. As a student of MVRCS, he is a great guy. I personally don't have him as a teacher, but from what i've heard from other students, he's probably one of the best teachers Mystic Valley has ever hired.

But long story short... DOWN WITH MIKE BEAUDET.

Beaudet admits that someone tipped them off about the school teacher. I wonder who. You put stuff like that online. It's bound to come out somewhere in this age of Facebook.
http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/undercover/public-school-teacher-appeared-in-pornographic-films-20111130

As a student of MVRCS, I can say that Mr. Hogan was a great guy. Though I did not have him as a teacher, I heard from all the students that he has taught in these past two months, that he was an excellent teacher. What he did was not illegal, and his own business. The news ruined his reputation, how that reporter confronted him was not right! He should not have attacked him that way. The story should have been between the school and Mr. Hogan, and should not have been put all over the news which was not only seen in Boston, but all around the Country. Mr. Hogan did not deserve any of this, what he did was in the past. We learned not to judge people. Everybody makes mistakes, its a part of life! He is loved at our school, and I do not believe there is a reason for him to lose his job. So tell me Mike was it worth it to make this news report that would ruin this guys life?

I don't know what everyone's problem is. Everyone has past. And the past is the past for a reason. He's a really good teacher. And what he did obviously doesnt affect his teaching ability. Nobody has the right to judge him.

My name is Joe Dailey, and I am a sophomore at Mystic Valley. While I did not personally have Mr. Hogan for a teacher, all of my friends have had nothing but positive things to say about the man. I personally don't understand the problem here. The man was a good person, trying to make a living by teaching teenagers. Numerous people on the other side of this debate say "It's inappropriate to expose our kids to this, we can't have a man like that teaching our children." Nobody was "exposed" to anything besides English.

Where is the problem? Is it because he was a pornstar? There are plenty of celebrities and famous people who have been in revealing scenes, films, or tapes, and they are revered by Americans. Is the problem that he was gay? That's an incredibly unintelligent and ignorant belief to have, and it's not even worth arguing with people who think as such.

I would like to end by thanking all the people who support Mr. Hogan. It's important to us students at Mystic Valley.

As a student at Mystic Valley, I think that this whole situation is ridiculous. Fox 25 shouldn’t have brought this to the public eye for any reason. This is a situation that should have been dealt with privately between the school and Mr. Hogan. Mike Beaudet had no right in embarrassing him like this. I sure know Mike wouldn’t appreciate it if we just started broadcasting about his personal life. Just making a news segment on this was bad enough. There was no reason to release his nickname or the titles of his “tapes.” Also, why just show the videos of the 3 parents who support Beaudet? We all know you interviewed a good majority of people who support Mr. Hogan. Aren’t we taught to just let go of the past and move on? That’s all he was trying to do, but that’s now merely impossible. A pointless scandal has ruined his life and possibly career.

I didn’t have him as a teacher, but I do know that Mr. Hogan was an amazing teacher and really cared for his students' education. He was also an outstanding addition to the crew team. All I can say is Mr. Hogan will be highly respected by all of the students at Mystic Valley if he is allowed to teach again.

As stated by plenty of people and Newsweekly itself, MVRCS is a prestigious school with the best teachers around.... best teachers around, meaning TEACHERS. "Intelligent, people willing to wake up early every single one of the 200 MV days to commute to the school and spread their educational knowledge among students hoping for the best of every single one of them." No teacher of MV would want to harm any student, for example Mr.Hogan, my english teacher. The man is good at his job for he takes it very seriously. All his students love him. Mr.Hogan having his teaching career ruined What does it matter to you? You’re not the one being taught by him. You’re only going to wake up the next morning drink your coffee and move on with your life. Although Mr.Hogan just cant normally move on with his. Even more so why does his personal life matter to you at all? No students were searching “Kevin Hogan Gay Porn movies” UNTIL Fox News basically told them to...........

.........The personal life of Mr.Hogan matters nothing to students... Who are you to judge? Better yet who is Fox News to spread personal details/video clips/pictures about this man? You may have seen the video... they’re interviewing parents in front of school, handing out papers with printed pictures of Hogan topless. THATS A SHAME. FOX NEWS has taken things completely out of hand. If it were up to me I would have a lawsuit against them for public harassment. The man is a teacher, ALL he was TRYING to do was probably start a new life in the right direction and help students succeed in a positive way. Moral of the story is that if it weren't for FOX news completely bashing Mr.Hogan publicly no student would have found out about this. There are plenty of other ways they could have gone about privately in order to solve this problem.

(and stop pointing out the fact it was GAY porn... you’re being sexist!)

I just graduated from mystic valley in may. I agree with Krystiana about the fact that he would continue to be respected if he returns and I think that's a great point to make. At mv, you go through a lot of teachers, any student could vouch for that. So when we find a teacher that we love, we want them to stay, we want to go to their class and participate. And for some students, its that one teacher who can change their whole outlook on education. To me that is why we need teachers like Mr.Hogan. If the students are saying he was a great teacher and that they enjoy him as a person and he's making a positive impact, trust me that is something to listen to. I hope the school and the parents can understand how important this man is and how much he will be missed if they make the mistake of letting him go.

I get a chuckle out of all posters who think this shouldn't be a story when both the volume of posts and their own postings indicate it very much is. Is this some type of cognitive dissonance at work?

I'm also amused at those who claim to be non-judgmental and in doing so criticize those who are. Judgements are a part of every day life. Do students at MVRCS get exams graded, and thereby judged, or do they all get a gratuitous A? Are any values taught at MVRCS or, in the non-judgmental fashion, are all values equal? Is having a porn star past no different than a past of serving in your country's armed forces? Was a judgment made when Mr. Hogan was hired and other applicants for the job rejected? Horrors! What are MVRCS students going to do when they have to make tough decisions in life? Curl up in the corner and cry?

This school is our family! Hogan is part of our school Therefore leave him alone!

Chris,

From the postings of the students and quite a few others, they're suggesting that one's past, including a porn star past, is largely irrelevant - as long as nothing illegal has occurred. Do you see any sense of values in such a comment?

One can debate what level of consideration one's personal life, if known, should have in a hiring process, but let's not pretend all pasts are irrelevant and that judgments should not be placed on our former actions.

Allan Bloom, a former professor at the U. of Chicago and now deceased, wrote a classic called "The Closing of the American Mind." He summarized that relativism is the great virtue of students today. In the face of various claims of truth and right and wrong, relativism throws its hands in the air, cowers from the dirty job of sorting it all out, and essentially gives the infamous Pontius Pilate response, "Truth? What is truth?"

Sorry, I'm not impressed with such thinking or lack thereof, and that is much of what I observe in the posts above.

Evan and Joe,

I share in the disdain for the way Fox handled the situation. I also don't find it a surprise as this seems to be the new norm for the media, regardless from which side of the spectrum they're reporting. If you're any type of public figure, at all, they'll bring anything to light.

Ken, do you have any affiliation with MV? If not, you're basing your negative stereotypical opinions of the students that attend this school from some comments on an internet blog, just because you don't agree with their views on this particular situation. As said many times above, everybody has different opinions. Is arguing with a few high school students and downgrading them by saying cruel statements really worth it? Who's to say I havnt been offended by your poor choice of words describing my school, my fellow classmates, and myself? Nobody from MV is pulling you out from the crowd making acurization's about you just because you dont agree with our opinions. Thats nonsense. It's 2011 people. Does accepting the fact that not everyone in life is going to agree with you not exist anymore?

Chris,

Yes, when one attempts to justify a porn star lifestyle on the basis of it being legal, it's obvious a value is held.

It's called relativism.

It also works for a host of other actions. Adultery is also legal. As long as the wives of all the neighbors on my street consent, who is anyone to cast judgment, including the respective husbands?

Convenient thinking.

Eh, sorry, but there are plenty of other reasons someone may disagree with you on this one besides being a valueless relativist. I think that word gets thrown around too much.

Joe,

Again, I am not commenting to his abilities as a teacher and I said above, it appears he is a good one.

That aside, surely you aren't using what falls within the free will of humans and what is also legal as the fundamental criteria for what is good?

Granted, many, if not most, actions satisfying those criteria are indeed good. But no small number of actions in that realm are not good. In fact, you and I just agreed on one.......the actions of the Fox reporter who did what was legal and what was also falling within his free will.

Im not sure what you actually are criticizing though because nobody is trying to "whitewash" his past, for its not something to be completely ashamed of. If it wasn't for Fox News nobody would have any clue to what Mr.Hogan was doing a year ago in another country, and if his hair was died blonde or not. It is acceptable that we all can agree on that. Although shooting pornographic movies and interviews is something he had done in the past, therefore it shouldn't be anyones business to hold against him weather you agree with pornography or not. Point blank. Nobody here is trying to wash away the fact he shot tapes and movies. We all understand that 110% .... The point of many students is that it shouldn't matter...

For example, look at Kim Kardashian ... The only reason she basically is famous is because of her Sex Tape with Ray J. She has plenty of shows today being aired and is plenty successful. People aren't downgrading her and her family still because of something in her past which she may or may not consider a mistake.

I think it time for the students to protest in front of the school with signs and make a statement in support of this teacher... It's a witch hunt by FOX NEWS.

So the argument is that what he did was morally wrong and that children should not be exposed to such material, Right? Did Mr. Hogan show clips from one of his three films during a study hall? Did he show polaroids of himself and others in compromising positions to students? Did he give detailed instructions on how exactly multiple toys can fit in places I wouldn't even think they could? No, No he did Not. For the record it was Mike Beaudet who identified each title of the films and the fact that they could be located at your neighborhood porn shop or with a simple click of the mouse. As far as I know, each of these sites requires a person to acknowledge they are of the required age of viewing pornography before viewing any material. If a student chooses to break the law by falsely acknowleging, then that is for their parent to be responsible for. Everyone has a different opinion of what is morally correct a few examples would be that some teachers leave on their breaks to smoke a cigarette,(oh No!) many of the teachers go out on weekends to party it up at a bar(How dare they),Some have gone to a club to watch some people dance and take off their clothes(how could they) some have even had sex before they were married.(Say it ain't so). My point is that none of this is discussed in the classrooms, because they are smart enough to know that sometimes it's ok for adults to live their life outside of their jobs.

A lot of circular arguments. Teacher Hogan should keep his job. Reporter Beaudet should keep his job.
The reporter did not break any laws. The teacher did not break any laws.
The reporter doing his job to pay his bills. Teacher Beaudet took work between assignments to pay his bills.
Both men like being in front of the camera and looking good.
People wanting to have the teacher stay on at the school should organize a very formal and organized appeal to the board of directors. Just going out and complaining on Facebook and message boards to demand retribution from reporters for simply reporting a news tip isn't going to solve very much.
The more the complaints escalate against the reporter, the larger the story becomes.
The larger this story gets, the more chance that this teacher will get fired.
The people wanting this teacher to keep his job need to seriously hope that this story dies down over the weekend.

What a disgrace. Being good at his job is irrelevant. This is a man who has shown poor judgement skills in choosing a side profession. Remember, he's done this as recently as a year ago...not just in college. He's shown poor judgement, low character, poor impulse control, and shaky decision making skills yet he's someone you want molding your kids? If doing porn is okay since it's not illegal, then who among you would partake of the same? When your kids reach the age of 18, are you all okay with seeing them doing pornographic movies? I mean, it's legal and it would be among consenting adults?

I won't get into the argument of the porn industry itself and the victimization it causes, the increase in violence it causes, etc. That's a whole difference debate. The saddest and most basic part of this whole story is that these parents that are defending this have lowered their standards for their children. This is no longer a value driven, moral society who knows right from wrong. Everyone needs a law to tell them what they can and can't do and no one can make a judgement call. It's not illegal to pass judgement you know. For all those hiding behind "don't judge", the definition of "judge" is "to form an opinion". It's not such a bad thing to judge. And this "teacher" should be judged as someone with poor character and poor control and he shouldn't be around children.

Erik Royds: Just so we are clear as to what is illegal and tolerated at MV.

http://www.mass.gov/obcbbo/bd07-102.htm

I'm trying to stay out of the moral end of this debate. People may despise lawyers, politicians, tax collectors, porn stars and even reporters. But demanding that any of these people be fired for engaging in "legal" activity is a stretch.
The Charter School board of directors should make an informed decision. If students and parents really want this teacher to stay, they need to convince the board members to put him back in the classroom and ignore the noise.

Chris: My point is that the school has people already on staff who have done things that are illegal so this teacher who did nothing illegal should stay if that is what parents and students want.

Erik: Maybe I am from a different mindset, but I think it is wrong for a school which sets such high standards for students, teachers and parents goes ahead and hires a KNOWN, disgraced public official for a top position in the school they are not qualified for simply because they are one of the "friends and family". It is a blemish on the fine reputation the school enjoys due to the hard work of the students, teachers and parents. It shows a lack of integrity on the part of the admin who would support someone in this position. So many wonderful teachers have left this school because of the double-standards continually on display there. Does Gately deserve a life and a job? Yes, but not at a school whose reputation is based on integrity and character virtues drilled into the students, teachers and parents.

My money is on Hogan resigning to allow the board to save face. Things will die down and the school will move on. Again, without an English teacher/chair. My kids went through several every year. Nothing has changed there.

Forgive me for a chuckle with your comment about bringing the discussion back to the side of decency when we are discussing a teacher who moonlights as a porn actor! If it's ok with the parents and students, it's ok with me. He's not done anything illegal, right?

Annie, A lot to respond to there. While I agree that the school sets high standards for students and teachers, I know it doesn't for parents or I would have been asked to pull my kids years ago. I agree that they hired a known disgraced lawyer. They knew in advance of his actions. I am not in the know but I assume it wasn't hidden. I don't believe he holds a top position, which I would equate to be Headmaster or the like. Agree that many fine teachers have left for either union positions or gone on to continue their education. Many students have left as well due to the aggressive curriculum, the chance to enter private or preparatory schools or the parents inability to deal their children's actions. As for your chuckle, laugh away. You don't get the joke. I will now be deleting this thread since it is going nowhere.

Chris, thank you for being ringmaster of this circus.

I am currently a student at MV, but i did not have Mr.Hogan as an English teacher. Fox 25 News ruined this man's life and keeps coming to our school to interview the students. First of all, that is inappropriate to show parts of the porn videos on the news. For all you know, 5 years olds could of been watching the news at that moment! Second of all, even if Fox 25 keeps coming to our school, we're all going to praise Mr.Hogan and never say anything bad about him, because he is NOT a bad person. The porn videos must of been video taped a while back, and i don't even think it was in the USA, but don't go by me. What if Mr.Hogan didn't know they were released? At MV, we learn to treat others the way you want to be treated and we have Character Education EVERY morning -since kindergarten. Mr.Hogan treats our school greatly, so we all should treat him the same!

Jag, my apologies. I should've known you were a student by the tone of your comments. It's ironic that you're defending your English teacher with such poor spelling and grammar but when you grow up you'll have a different perspective and hopefully better sense.

Who is the pickup truck guy that you keep talking about?

John, I think you misunderstood me, I take no issue with mr hogan, I think from what I hear from the students, is a great teachr. My point is that there are other flawed teachers and admin at the school, but I don't think any of them would not want to look out for the best interest of the kids. By the way, a man does not need to be gay to make videos like these, straight porn does not pay anywhere near what gay porn does, so many guys go where the money is.

"Many guys go where the money is". Really? I'm pretty sure I can find at least 10 other jobs. I did read this correctly right? We're talking about PORN right? Because everyone seems to have a laisez faire attitude about it. Unbelievable.

If it would allow me to provide a better life for my children, and my wife approved, then there would be no job I wouldn't consider. Hell, I'd bathe in a bathtub of vomit and roaches if it would pay off my mortgage. There Is no job that I would reject, if it afforded me a better life for my kids. Aaron, I can only assume that you also feel that being gay is a sin and the bible tells you that those types of people are not normal, right? Either that, or you are so worried that someone may uncover your own truth that you bash everyone to supress your dismay of your own self. I feel bad for you, as soon as you learn to be honest with yourself a whole world of good will open up for you.

Ohhh so now I'm either a gay bashing homophobe or I'm in the closet. Of course. Nothing intelligent to say so you decide to make sweeping generalizations and put words in my mouth. Then you decide to bully. Class. Go bathe in vomit. I'm done.

Chris, I think it's time to close the comments on this thread. While everyone has made some good points, some with vibrant emotion, it's now become one big schoolyard
brawl.

Closing the thread on a national news story like this seems heavy handed. News stories die a natural death, when interest wanes.
It'll be interesting to see if the Patch staff becomes like another news outlet in this town and blocks "all" comments on this particular story, instead of moderating the comments, like they usually do.
I hope the route of suppression isn't taken.

Hey Joe and Lynette. My instincts are more along the lines of what Joe described. I try to foster discussion, but if anything crosses the line, I try to intervene.

Everyone is lawyered up for a big fight now. Seems the MV board is sending signals, through its lawyers, about what it has decided. Whatever happens, I hope teacher Hogan wins and comes away with some dignity. Whether you agree with his choice of side job or not, the current contract terms seem overly harsh on someone in need of a job.

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/malden/2011/12/mystic_valley_teachers_contrac.html

Why is it the "Business Manager" of MV is making all the statements and sending all the correspondence to parents when they have a full time Public Relations Director on staff? Hmmm...just what would a Public Relations Director do if not speak on behalf of the school?

Honestly, while I have my own opinions and thoughts regarding the Hogan/MVRCS fiasco, they are irrelevant as the story is just a symptom of a much bigger issue (in my opinion).
After reading through all the comments, just some thoughts:
1. Was this story leaked to the media out of concern for the students of MVRCS and their contact with the individual or was it leaked out of vengeance to the school administration? Few would argue with the fact that the school administration and board (specifically Kinnon and his clan) have made many enemies and have operated by their own standards for many years. It should not be ignored that the school DID hire Gately, who at the time was a publically disgraced, disbarred attorney and political figure, knowing full well of his (lack of) moral integrity. Whether the school knew or not (and I'm not sure they didn't), how can they justify hiring Gately and not this individual, after all, one actually committed crimes and the other didn't. At the same time, those who are familiar with the happenings of the school know that they have very double standards and expectations for their staff. Hogan may possibly be a victim of the past acts of Kinnon and/or the Board/Administration.

6. While I don’t typically pass judgment on student’s individual abilities, does anyone else find the comment regarding the poor grammar and spelling of their students ironic given that they are supposedly providing a superior education? It should be noted that the ‘awards’ that they have received from ‘Newsweek’ are not based on the academic ability or successes of their students but is based simply on the percentage of their students who sat for the IB tests. It does not take into account their performance on such tests, just how many sat for it. It should also be noted that the school requires all of their students to sit for these exams regardless of their desire, ability, or interest. Additionally, the school paid to be included in the analysis. Sort of takes the air out of the balloon, doesn’t it?

7. MVRCS has been accused of breaking or bending many of the laws that govern them as has the Chairman of the Board, Neil Kinnon. They have repeatedly refused to follow directives that they have received from the DESE (re: transportation issues, changing of the board members, questionable lottery practices and re-entry of certain individuals, SPED dealings, open meeting/executive session requirements of publishing minutes, etc) and have done as they please for far too long. While their actions have been overlooked or ignored in the past, could this possibly be the incident that begins to process of holding them accountable?

Joe - interesting that as a student of MV that you were able to read and write such a lengthy tengthy response during your school day. Hmmm, student? Highly doubtful but nice try Marty

Also, next time you are attempting to impersonate a student, you may want to include yourself in your statement (I.e. a small percentage of our students). Oh the web you TRY to weave.....

Joe,

You've heard Hogan is free to return at anytime? You're a funny guy. You did indeed provide humor.

With what the school knows now, it has to consider the legal ramifications of allowing Hogan to continue to teach in the event he missteps. If he is allowed to return at all, he'll be kept on a short leash and, I predict, prevented from having contact with students outside the classroom (i.e., his coaching at MV is history).

Also, are you the judge as to what is appropriate for comment as to the original title of the article? The original article said nothing about Hogan being gay. Yet why have so many of the defenders interjected his being gay if not to engender sympathy and attempt to portray victimhood?

Joe-
You passed out at school from a concussion from a few weeks ago and your parents didn't take you to the hospital? Sorry, not buying that you are a student regardless of what name you attempt to use.