Teacher pledges to gay flag
One 2019 survey from The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization, found that queer youth with at least one accepting adult in their life have a 40 percent lower risk of attempting suicide. One-quarter of LGBTQ students were physically harassed, including being pushed or shoved, based on their sexual orientation, and about one-fifth based on their gender identity, the report found.Īdvocates have also found that supportive environments, including at school, can make a difference in the mental health of LGBTQ youth. California teacher Kristin Pitzen was removed from teaching in her classroom as an investigation begins. More than two-thirds, or 68.7 percent, of LGBTQ students experienced verbal harassment, including being called names or threatened, at school based on their sexual orientation, and more than half based on their gender identity, according to a 2019 report from GLSEN, which advocates for LGBTQ students. Teacher removed from class after suggesting student pledge allegiance to LGBTQ Pride flag. However, in recent years, advocates have called on educators to make an effort to be more openly supportive of LGBTQ people - whether that's by including prominent LGBTQ figures in lessons or by displaying a Pride flag in the classroom. "In the meantime, I tell this kid, 'We do have a flag in the class that you can pledge your allegiance to.' And he like looks around and goes, 'Oh, that one?'" she said, pointing to the rainbow Pride flag and laughing. "But, my kid today goes, 'Hey, it's kind of weird that we just stand and we say it to nothing,'" Pitzen said, adding that she told the student she is working on finding it. She said she packed it away and hasn't found it yet. Pitzen pointed to where the American flag used to be in her classroom, but said she took it down during the Covid-19 pandemic "because it made me uncomfortable," she whispered. Except for the fact that my room does not have a flag." You don't have to say the words.' So my class decided to stand but not say the words. "I always tell my class, 'Stand if you feel like it, don't stand if you feel like it, say the words if you want. Totally fine."OK, so during third period, we do announcements and they do the Pledge of Allegiance," Pitzen said in the video shared to her TikTok account, which has been deleted. "So my class decided to stand, but not say the words. "I always tell my class, stand if you feel like it, don't stand if you feel like it, say the words if you want, you don't have to say the words," Pitzen said in the viral video. In a video shared to Twitter on Friday, Pitzen described how her students have the option to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in her English class. A California school district is investigating a teacher after she posted a video admitting that she encouraged her students to pledge allegiance to a gay pride flag after she removed the American. We follow due process and our investigation continues."Īlthough the district has refrained from identifying the teacher, reports have named her as Kristin Pitzen. She continued, "The teacher is no longer in the classroom. A teacher in California, on the west coast of the United States, has caused controversy after she replaced the national flag with an LGTBQI pride flag in. Showing respect for our nation's flag is an important value that we instill in our students and an expectation of our employees," district spokeswoman Annette Franco wrote in an email. "We are aware that one of our teachers posted a video on their personal social media that caused alarm and concern related to saluting the American flag. The Newport-Mesa Unified School District confirmed to Newsweek the teacher is no longer instructing classes while the district continues to investigate the incident. flag, which had been missing from the classroom. A California teacher has been "removed from the classroom" after posts on social media showed she encouraged students to pledge allegiance to a gay pride banner instead of a U.S.