A decision to fire an elementary school teacher from Georgia has been upheld, after she read a children’s book on gender identity to her fifth-grade class earlier this year.
The Cobb County School Board of Education voted 4-3 along party lines to uphold Katie Rinderle’s termination, overruling a tribunal that had said she should not be fired. “The district is pleased that this difficult issue has concluded; we are very serious about keeping our classrooms focused on teaching, learning, and opportunities for success for students,” the board of education said in a statement Friday.
Rinderle worked at Due West Elementary School, in Marietta, Ga., and read the storybook “My Shadow Is Purple” by Australian author Scott Stuart to her class in March.
The picture-book is about a child who reflects on his mother’s shadow being “as pink as a blossoming cherry” and his father’s shadow that’s “blue as a berry,” and says their shadow is purple. Some parents complained, although Rinderle said others had also expressed their support for the lesson.
Rinderle, a teacher with 10 years’ experience, was removed from her classroom and the Cobb County School District accused her of violating the district’s policies on teaching controversial issues, and urged her to resign or face termination of employment. She was issued an official notice of termination on June 6.
Rinderle sought to overturn her firing, and a tribunal of retired educators, appointed by the Cobb County Board of Education, determined following a hearing that although she had violated district policies, she should not be fired.
However, on Thursday the Cobb County School Board of Education voted along partisan lines to reject the tribunal’s decision, with three Democrats opposing the decision to fire her and four Republican lawmakers upholding it.
School district lawyer Sherry Culves, speaking earlier this month at the hearing, argued that “the Cobb County School District is very serious about the classroom being a neutral place for students to learn. A one-sided viewpoint on political, religious or social beliefs does not belong in our classrooms.”
It exists and kids have a gender identity whether you hide it from them or not.
It’s the same broken logic that somehow sex education is somehow causing kids to have sex. Most guys don’t even realize how women pee, sex education has been so broken.
Republicans fucking love an ignorant populace.
The loony right is mad they’re losing their monopoly on teaching kids about sex and gender, which they absolutely do just badly and wrongly
Conservatism’s view of school “appropriate” gender norms:
“When you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything … Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”
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This book does nothing of the sort, just says it’s ok to feel like you’re not one thing or the other. It’s not telling kids to go get surgery, ffs.
I’m not even touching the hot mess that is the rest of your comment.
@stopthatgirl7 @jeffw @Blamemeta @Kittengineer
My gawd. The idjits just crawl out of the woodwork whenever gender is mentioned.
My block button is working overtime today.
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…Tf are you on about?
You haven’t read a single bit of the book in question, have you?
Quick, without using Google, do you even know the name of the book?
My Shadow is Purple. Unfortunately, I read the post.
Okay great! Now let’s take it one step further. Here’s the full book read aloud. What part of this sounds like self harm to you?
Thanks for letting everyone know you’re full of shit.
You think trans kids are taught to be trans? With that shitty logic, we should be able to teach kids to be straight and cis… except wait, that doesn’t work either! Doh!
Ugh, go spread your filth on Truth Social.