New York — During an English class at The Bronx School of Law and Finance popular English teacher Greg Van Voorhis gave students studying for the Regents Exam the graphic and sexually explicit short story “Guts” written by one of my favorite authors, Chuck Palahniuk. Fans of Palahniuk are very aware of the short story as it is engraved in our brains forever and ever. For those of you who have not read it, you can do so here – but be warned – it is delightfully sickening. Anyway, when the Department of Education found out about this, they removed Van Voorhis from the classroom and re-assigned him to an administrative office, pending the outcome of an investigation. His students, as well as other teachers, are now trying to save his job.
Reading the news reports on this, Van Voorhis seems like a pretty cool guy, and not just because I wholeheartedly agree with him handing out Palahniuk material to read. But for an English teacher to get these kind of comments:
“I don’t feel there was nothing bad about it. It was just a story. We read it outside of class, so why can’t we read it inside class?” Lauren Henriquez said. “He’s a really, really good teacher,” she said. “He understands. You can speak to him about anything.”
“I’ve known him all my life, and I know he had the best of intentions,” friend and fellow English teacher Alec Nightengale said. “And he only wants what’s best for the kids.”
“He understands students more than other teachers. He’s a more relaxed, understanding teacher. I think the environment in his class helped us learn more,” Jay Stuart said.
Of course I am just cherry-picking some good comments made about the guy, I am sure there are some old-fashioned folk out there who feel Mr. Voorhis was way out of line and should quit relating to the students and stick to the lesson plan.
Students have rallied around the teacher and have created a Facebook Group titled Save Mr. V. If you guys reading this would like to show support for a teacher that seems to actually connect with his students, please join up. I mean come on – these were friggin’ 11th graders for God’s sake. The story centers around masturbation…something most 11th grade males are well versed on and attempt to do every hour. Besides, if you read “Guts” then you can see how Voorhis may have just saved someone’s life. 
Tags: Chuck Palahniuk, Education, Greg Van Voorhis, Guts, New York City, Short Story, teacher
Drink the Kool-Aid