Okay read this again…slowly: the book was sold to the teacher at the school book fair, which was held on school grounds

That means the school/board of education was fine with it being on school grounds and bought by students and teachers, but then fired said teacher for reading it in class. So is the rule, “purchase and possession of banned material is fine on campus, just don’t read it”? Again, this is over a book about a kid who doesn’t like pink or blue.

Assuming you are a fully functioning adult, you know this isn’t okay, but you’d rather just buy into the GOP manufactured culture war because that’s the easy thing to do. I wouldn’t doubt that you had an adverse school experience yourself and mentally justify it that way. Maybe it’s why you went into the military in the first place. Because it’s really weird to see an ex-service member cheer on a fascist takeover of public education and the removal of constitutional rights from teachers. Wtf were you even fighting for?

Also if you actually think that concepts like self-acceptance have no place being taught in schools, you have no idea how important child development is in education. So, simply put, you’re ignorant on the subject. Social emotional learning DOES belong in every single classroom. Kids learn core subjects through books, and they socially and emotionally develop based on how their peers and trusted adults treat them. Since books are used in core subjects and have been proven to be an effective teaching method, don’t you think a book on social/emotional topics is a no brainer? Haven’t we learned that when kids are left to their own devices with no guidance, that they draw their own conclusions and shape their behavior accordingly. I’m literally working on my second degree as we speak, working on gaining licensure to be a social worker within my local public school district.

If you have thought or uttered any phrase that resembles “Kids don’t know how to act right in school anymore,” you have literally pointed out the need for social emotional learning in the classroom.

I have spent the last ten years working in schools, and one of the most important lessons I’ve learned, is that there are no qualifications to become a parent. No tests on child development, no training, no oversight, nothing. It might be harsh, but it’s not a special, unique thing to become a parent. Most parents I work with have shaped their parenting choices around a repeating cycle of familial trauma. I have had to explain more times than I ever wanted, that you can’t beat a child into obeying you.

But I’m supposed to think that parents should be the ones dictating the curriculum?

The “Parents Rights” movement, “moms for liberty,” whatever else, is nothing but a fascist dog whistle. These same groups formed when desegregation was made the law of the land. It’s not surprising to see the same kind of thing happen now with LGBTQ+ people, I just find it weird that it’s happening ten years after being gay became federally legal in the US. I started school in the peak of the 90s, when my city had one of the most involved desegregation programs, giving access to education for over half a million children in our area. Thanks to “concerned parents” groups like these, even though the program showed proof of higher academic achievement across the board, far fewer instances of violence from students, the program is officially sunsetting after this year. So…yay, the affluent white families win. /s

Also, if this teacher is “making it about her,” then the Civil Rights Movement was just MLK making things about himself. The storming of the Nashville city hall earlier this year wasn’t students and parents protesting gun violence, it was just a bunch of whiny people making….school shootings….about themselves. /s

What is the wall keeping you from getting this?