
Last year, a teacher was fired for telling her students that Santa Claus isn't real. This year, a college professor asked students to interpret the Book of Genesis as allegory rather than literal history, and
was fired for it. The article linked above quotes professor Steve Bitterman as saying:
"I'm just a little bit shocked myself that a college in good standing would back up students who insist that people who have been through college and have a master's degree, a couple actually, have to teach that there were such things as talking snakes or lose their job."
This is so seriously discouraging.