Advertisement Students wage online battle for teacher removed for reading poem Greg Fish placed on leave from Easley High School Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Thousands of former and current students of an Upstate high school literature and English teacher have taken to social media to try to get him reinstated.Teacher Greg Fish was placed on administrative leave last week. To see the poem Fish wrote and shared with students, click here. (Note: all images provided of the poem were unreadable at the top of the sheet.)A senior at Easley High School told WYFF News 4 that he was at the Starving Artist Café in Easley when an advanced placement literature class met there on Feb. 18 and 19. The student said Fish read a poem that contained the “F word.”The student said one of the other students reported the incident, and the school district took action.Parents of Easley students called News 4 and said that the poem does not just use inappropriate language, it describes a sexual encounter between an older man and a young girl in a pornographic way. But Sarah Price, the student who started the petition said, “To me, it didn't offend me. It's about a couple. It's not specifically directed. I've seen that it's been said that it's about an older man and younger woman and that's clearly not the case in the poem. So it did not affect me as these parents are describing it should affect their children.A release Monday afternoon from the Pickens County School District said: “On February 26, the school district accepted the resignation of Mr. Greg Fish, an English teacher at Easley High School. Mr. Fish will assist the teachers who will instruct his classes for the remainder of the year, although he will not be returning to the school or the classroom.“On Tuesday, students will be expected to attend their classes and comport themselves in a respectful manner. We are aware that some students may be planning a “sit-in” in response to this issue. The administration will handle any disruptions caused by a sit-in through normal procedures and policies. “The primary focus at Easley High will continue to be the education and welfare of their students. The administration and our 150 faculty and staff members at Easley High will continue do everything necessary to make sure students have the academic support that is needed for the remainder of the school year. One of the core beliefs at Easley High School is that we will "build character, then scholarship, in the pursuit of individual excellence.” We want to thank our parents and community for working with us as we continue that pursuit.”Fish told News 4 that he could not comment on the poem until his attorney gave him more advice on what he should say."The voices of my students are way more important than mine every could be," Fish said.Students started an online petition that had more than 2,670 signatures as of Monday morning.The petition says: “The students of Easley High School have been greatly impacted by Mr. Fish leaving. He teaches AP literature and the students in this class will struggle without him to prepare for the AP exam. Not only his AP literature students are suffering, but also his yearbook classes, without him there is no way to finish the yearbook without great cost penalties.“This will greatly affect the yearbook staff since it is a self-sustaining organization. On top of those four classes, he also teaches English Three classes that are the basis for literature analysis that without him, will miss fundamentals of literature interpretation.“Mr. Fish was not only a teacher to his students, but also a mentor. He has positively influenced every student he has come across in the past 15 years of teaching at Easley High School. The students need Mr. Fish to come back and teach. Without him, many classes and organizations will fail.”Students said they were planning a sit-in Tuesday morning at the high school, but they canceled it at the request of Fish's wife.A Fight For Fish Facebook page had nearly 500 followers Monday morning, and the hashtag #fightforfish was gaining traction on Twitter.The Facebook page "about" section says: “Support page for Mr. Fish. Censorship causes blindness.”