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Florida teacher resigns after his photos of MLK and Harriet Tubman were deemed 'age inappropriate'

Not saying that you're wrong, but where did you read the Pledge of Allegiance was taken down as well?
It’s in the Pensacola article link in Raw Story article.


Above the pictures of the Black leaders, a copy of the Pledge of Allegiance was pasted in the bulletin board's upper right hand corner, James said.

"Am I to believe Escambia County Schools employs those that dislike African Americans and are against swearing allegiance to these United States of America? Is there a dislike in anything that states 'One Nation Under God' in it?" James wrote, in his letter to the governor and superintendent.
 
Holy hell...this is exactly why no one believes your bullshit.
No, you don't understand the nature of how things work in Florida related to partisan politics.

Because of the partisan primary system, if a county has a large majority registered to one party, whoever wins the primary for local and regional elections will win the general election. Until a few years ago, that essentially disenfranchised people registered as independents, libertarians, and in the panhandle, Democrats. (It was the opposite until the early 80's). So now, if your party doesn't field a candidate, you can crossover vote in primaries. Most people understand this and are smart enough to register as Republicans in my county. Since I'm Libertarian, and there are never any Libertarians in primaries, I get to cross over. Dems rarely get that option.

You don't have to believe me though. You can scour the election results for Santa Rosa County and Okaloosa County Florida since about 1990 and see if you can find a Democrat who has won a local of regional election. If you do find someone, they will have undoubtedly held office since before the Reagan era.

As a teacher, maybe you should give some things a little thought before jumping to conclusions and casting dispersions.
 
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Can you imagine pictures of prominent African Americans being described as "age inappropriate" and removed, by anyone, prior to Desantis' "Parental Rights in Education" bill?
Yup, but I grew up in Escambia County. The words may be there, but the motivation undoubtedly existed well before DeSantis became governor.

The person who did it is responsible.
 
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It’s in the Pensacola article link in Raw Story article.


Above the pictures of the Black leaders, a copy of the Pledge of Allegiance was pasted in the bulletin board's upper right hand corner, James said.

"Am I to believe Escambia County Schools employs those that dislike African Americans and are against swearing allegiance to these United States of America? Is there a dislike in anything that states 'One Nation Under God' in it?" James wrote, in his letter to the governor and superintendent.
But it doesn't say the Pledge of Allegiance was taken down, it says it was above the pictures.
 
But it doesn't say the Pledge of Allegiance was taken down, it says it was above the pictures.
The quote in his letter does. Why would he question a school districts dislike for the pledge of allegiance in the same manner as he did the pictures of African-Americans if it wasn’t taken down as well?
 
No, you don't understand the nature of how things work in Florida related to partisan politics.

Because of the partisan primary system, if a county has a large majority registered to one party, whoever wins the primary for local and regional elections will win the general election. Until a few years ago, that essentially disenfranchised people registered as independents, libertarians, and in the panhandle, Democrats. (It was the opposite until the early 80's). So now, if your party doesn't field a candidate, you can crossover vote in primaries. Most people understand this and are smart enough to register as Republicans in my county. Since I'm Libertarian, and there are never any Libertarians in primaries, I get to cross over. Dems rarely get that option.

You don't have to believe me though. You can scour the election results for Santa Rosa County and Okaloosa County Florida since about 1990 and see if you can find a Democrat who has won a local of regional election. If you do find someone, they will have undoubtedly held office since before the Reagan era.

As a teacher, maybe you should give some things a little thought before jumping to conclusions and casting dispersions.
LOL...then it doesn't make any difference at all who is running as a Dem. They could run Jesus, himself, and couldn't get him elected. To think that prevents your "large majority registered to one party" from electing a lunatic is laughable. A "large majority registered to one party" chose Donald Trump over far more moderate Republicans and they'd do it again.
 
No, you don't understand the nature of how things work in Florida related to partisan politics.

Because of the partisan primary system, if a county has a large majority registered to one party, whoever wins the primary for local and regional elections will win the general election. Until a few years ago, that essentially disenfranchised people registered as independents, libertarians, and in the panhandle, Democrats. (It was the opposite until the early 80's). So now, if your party doesn't field a candidate, you can crossover vote in primaries. Most people understand this and are smart enough to register as Republicans in my county. Since I'm Libertarian, and there are never any Libertarians in primaries, I get to cross over. Dems rarely get that option.

You don't have to believe me though. You can scour the election results for Santa Rosa County and Okaloosa County Florida since about 1990 and see if you can find a Democrat who has won a local of regional election. If you do find someone, they will have undoubtedly held office since before the Reagan era.

As a teacher, maybe you should give some things a little thought before jumping to conclusions and casting dispersions.
Why do you guys CONSTANTLY have to bring educator’s jobs into it. Your advice there could be used for everyone, in any job, including yourself.
 
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The quote in his letter does. Why would he question a school districts dislike for the pledge of allegiance in the same manner as he did the pictures of African-Americans if it wasn’t taken down as well?
The teacher's quoted wording in the letter is odd, but I think if the Pledge had been taken down they would clearly have said so in the article. I wish they would have included the full resignation letter. I read a couple of other articles and none of them state the Pledge was removed from the board.

According to PNJ, James identified the employee who took down the photos as a board certified behavior analyst for the district. The report says the employee came into James’ classroom on Monday to help him set up for the upcoming school year and, at some point, started taking the pictures down.

James told PNJ when he asked the employee what they were doing, they said the pictures were “age inappropriate.” James said the employee also took a picture of Barack Obama off his desk.

James resigned shortly after the incident, saying he couldn’t work for a district that would “condone such behavior,” a report said.



James said the behavior analyst and another behavior coach came into his classroom to help set up on Monday.


"That is kind of unusual, but that's OK," James told the paper. "They came in, and we started moving tables around and swapping some out, and I had made the bulletin board a couple of days earlier."

He said as he was tending to another task he looked up to see the woman taking something down off the bulletin board, which was also decorated with a copy of the Pledge of Allegiance.


When he asked her what she was doing, "she said something along the lines of it wasn't age appropriate. Something like that," James remembered.


He told the paper that while he does not remember her mentioning race at the time, he noted that she also grabbed the photo of Obama that was on his desk as it did not fit up on the board.

"She picked it up and said, 'You don't need to put this up either,'" he recalled to the paper. "She said — I can't remember exactly what she said — but she said, 'the kids are too young' or something like that. It floored me. I thought, 'This is the first Black president.'"


He said at first he let it go and was not sure how to proceed though after giving it more thought he got more upset.


"I could have just sent it to the principal," he said. "But things need to get done. A lot of times people can just sweep things under the rug."

 
The teacher's quoted wording in the letter is odd, but I think if the Pledge had been taken down they would clearly have said so in the article. I wish they would have included the full resignation letter. I read a couple of other articles and none of them state the Pledge was removed from the board.

According to PNJ, James identified the employee who took down the photos as a board certified behavior analyst for the district. The report says the employee came into James’ classroom on Monday to help him set up for the upcoming school year and, at some point, started taking the pictures down.

James told PNJ when he asked the employee what they were doing, they said the pictures were “age inappropriate.” James said the employee also took a picture of Barack Obama off his desk.

James resigned shortly after the incident, saying he couldn’t work for a district that would “condone such behavior,” a report said.



James said the behavior analyst and another behavior coach came into his classroom to help set up on Monday.


"That is kind of unusual, but that's OK," James told the paper. "They came in, and we started moving tables around and swapping some out, and I had made the bulletin board a couple of days earlier."

He said as he was tending to another task he looked up to see the woman taking something down off the bulletin board, which was also decorated with a copy of the Pledge of Allegiance.


When he asked her what she was doing, "she said something along the lines of it wasn't age appropriate. Something like that," James remembered.


He told the paper that while he does not remember her mentioning race at the time, he noted that she also grabbed the photo of Obama that was on his desk as it did not fit up on the board.

"She picked it up and said, 'You don't need to put this up either,'" he recalled to the paper. "She said — I can't remember exactly what she said — but she said, 'the kids are too young' or something like that. It floored me. I thought, 'This is the first Black president.'"


He said at first he let it go and was not sure how to proceed though after giving it more thought he got more upset.


"I could have just sent it to the principal," he said. "But things need to get done. A lot of times people can just sweep things under the rug."

The articles you linked are citing the original story. They aren’t going to have any extra quotes or anything. I do appreciate your effort in looking around though.

It seems pretty cut and dry on what he was saying. I guess it wouldn’t be a story if the paper came out and said it was the pledge of allegiance too.

This is in no way defending her actions. If it’s true, I hope she is fired or reprimanded. Would be interesting if other teachers in that district come forward with similar stories.
 
LOL...then it doesn't make any difference at all who is running as a Dem. They could run Jesus, himself, and couldn't get him elected. To think that prevents your "large majority registered to one party" from electing a lunatic is laughable. A "large majority registered to one party" chose Donald Trump over far more moderate Republicans and they'd do it again.
You are right about Jesus not being able to be elected as a Dem.

I'm really glad I had a good civics teacher in high school to explain how this works in Florida.

You misinterpreted what I posted. I didn't say it would keep a lunatic from being elected. Clearly that's not true. To rephrase it so so won't misunderstand again, anyone who thinks they can win a local or regional race in the general election as a Dem in my area isn't very intelligent or is crazy. It's not going to happen. Whoever wins the GOP primary is going to win the general election. So the GOP ends up with crazy people with a wide spectrum of philosophies. The only people who register as a Dem in my area are transplants who haven't figured out the system, or ideologues who want to voluntarily be disenfranchised.
 
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Because of the partisan primary system, at least 3/4 of the people in my county are registered GOP. Whoever wins the GOP primary is going to win the general election.

I can promise you I won't vote for Trump or Gaetz. Other than that, it's going to be based on the best person in each race, regardless of party. Unfortunately, most Dems running for local office are poor candidates because most of the sane candidates run as GOP, even if they aren't truly conservative.
And you end up with a legislature that rubber stamps a law forcing teachers to declare their political positions before they can be employed. There are no "sane Republicans" in Florida. If there were, laws like that would never see the light of day. But here we are. If you vote for Republicans, especially in Florida, you are voting for fascists. You may not like the Democratic candidate, but I can guarantee you they are not fascists. Or, maybe participate in some of the Democratic primaries so the wingnuts are less likely to rise to the nomination. If literally anyone other than Gillum were the nominee last time, you wouldn't have been stuck with DeSantis. There are no moderate Republicans anymore. If you want to say you are not fascist, then you can't be voting for them.
 
The articles you linked are citing the original story. They aren’t going to have any extra quotes or anything. I do appreciate your effort in looking around though.

It seems pretty cut and dry on what he was saying. I guess it wouldn’t be a story if the paper came out and said it was the pledge of allegiance too.

This is in no way defending her actions. If it’s true, I hope she is fired or reprimanded. Would be interesting if other teachers in that district come forward with similar stories.
I think if the Pledge was taken down as well it would be an even bigger story for conservative media outlets. We'll have to agree to disagree. Hopefully more information will come out that clears up what actually happened and why it happened.
 
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I think if the Pledge was taken down as well it would be an even bigger story for conservative media outlets. We'll have to agree to disagree. Hopefully more information will come out that clears up what actually happened and why it happened.
Not sure conservative media is going to latch onto a letter written to DeSantis. But yes, plenty more to see here.
 
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Here's a response from the School District.

Escambia County Public Schools spokesperson Cody Strother provided the News Journal with an official statement on behalf of the school district.

"Our office was made aware of this employee's resignation and his stated reasons for resigning very early this morning, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022," the statement read. "Around the same time, we were copied on an email written by this individual and released to the Governor's Office and various media outlets before we had any opportunity to investigate. We are now in the process of conducting a full investigation. If these allegations are deemed factual, we will certainly take corrective action, as it is our aim that all of our teachers feel valued and supported."


The district has yet to confirm the identity of the district employee who James alleged removed the pictures from his classroom walls, but in his letter James stated the employee worked as a board certified behavior analyst for the school district.

The teacher (James) teaches special education.
 
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Not Florida but still fitting since the GOP has pandered and emboldened these nutjobs to force their worldview on school districts.


Yeah it’s not in FL. but I guess I’d wonder why school libraries NEED books on sex (aside from the health curriculum texts) or LGBTQ+ books which can certainly be found at a public library or purchased online ?

IF this is truly about photos of historically significant Americans being removed then I’m sure it will be handled by the principal, unless there’s video evidence of the Governor sneaking in after hours to take them down himself?
I mean zero chance this isn’t a stunt, right?
 
So glad you found this.
And it just slimes the dimwits on this board.
So many jerks. So little time.

This guy was a veteran teacher. He’s obviously more obsessed with trying for 5 minutes of political fame than he is with being effective with his students.
Funny he lives in the Panhandle...it’s sort of wasted. Would have gotten more mileage in SoFla.
 
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So glad you found this.
And it just slimes the dimwits on this board.
So many jerks. So little time.

This guy was a veteran teacher. He’s obviously more obsessed with trying for 5 minutes of political fame than he is with being effective with his students.
Funny he lives in the Panhandle...it’s sort of wasted. Would have gotten more mileage in SoFla.
He actually lives in Daphne, AL and commutes. Pensacola is overrun by people from Baldwin County, AL on a daily basis.
 
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He actually lives in Daphne, AL and commutes. Pensacola is overrun by people from Baldwin County, AL on a daily basis.
I think the pay scale in FL is probably a little better.
Meh. Maybe he can get a job with Baldwin County schools. They’re pretty decently ranked for Alabama. But his reputation may precede him. They won’t put up with his actions over there.
 
Because of the partisan primary system, at least 3/4 of the people in my county are registered GOP. Whoever wins the GOP primary is going to win the general election.

I can promise you I won't vote for Trump or Gaetz. Other than that, it's going to be based on the best person in each race, regardless of party. Unfortunately, most Dems running for local office are poor candidates because most of the sane candidates run as GOP, even if they aren't truly conservative.
Seems like a good standard.
 
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And you end up with a legislature that rubber stamps a law forcing teachers to declare their political positions before they can be employed. There are no "sane Republicans" in Florida. If there were, laws like that would never see the light of day. But here we are. If you vote for Republicans, especially in Florida, you are voting for fascists. You may not like the Democratic candidate, but I can guarantee you they are not fascists. Or, maybe participate in some of the Democratic primaries so the wingnuts are less likely to rise to the nomination. If literally anyone other than Gillum were the nominee last time, you wouldn't have been stuck with DeSantis. There are no moderate Republicans anymore. If you want to say you are not fascist, then you can't be voting for them.
You are correct, Dems are not fascists, they are communists.
 
You really believe DeSantis is responsible?
Yes, it's definitely tied into DeSantis attack on the nonexistant Critical Race Theory being taught in elementary school. It isn't, but his constant attacks and claims without any real guidance as to what that is is leading to many to err on the side of caution or risk being sued. And that was exactly his goal.
 
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Yes, it's definitely tied into DeSantis attack on the nonexistant Critical Race Theory being taught in elementary school. It isn't, but his constant attacks and claims without any real guidance as to what that is is leading to many to err on the side of caution or risk being sued. And that was exactly his goal.
And that has what to do with educators putting direct learning material in the line of sight of students? Hint- the story in the op was completely wrong.
 
Because of the partisan primary system, at least 3/4 of the people in my county are registered GOP. Whoever wins the GOP primary is going to win the general election.

I can promise you I won't vote for Trump or Gaetz. Other than that, it's going to be based on the best person in each race, regardless of party. Unfortunately, most Dems running for local office are poor candidates because most of the sane candidates run as GOP, even if they aren't truly conservative.
There have been a few decent democrats that run here, but it's a waste of time because there's no chance of winning. The Republican could literally murder babies, but if you have a D next to your name you're not getting elected.

I was approached a few years ago by the Democratic Party here to try and get me to run for a local office here. I laughed. As much as I'd love to, it's a fools errand. I could be Jesus and still lose with a D next to my name.
 
There have been a few decent democrats that run here, but it's a waste of time because there's no chance of winning. The Republican could literally murder babies, but if you have a D next to your name you're not getting elected.

I was approached a few years ago by the Democratic Party here to try and get me to run for a local office here. I laughed. As much as I'd love to, it's a fools errand. I could be Jesus and still lose with a D next to my name.
And prior to that no Republican could get elected in the Panhandle. Dempsey Barron ring a bell or maybe Mallory Horne or are you too young?
 
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There have been a few decent democrats that run here, but it's a waste of time because there's no chance of winning. The Republican could literally murder babies, but if you have a D next to your name you're not getting elected.

I was approached a few years ago by the Democratic Party here to try and get me to run for a local office here. I laughed. As much as I'd love to, it's a fools errand. I could be Jesus and still lose with a D next to my name.
Two things to add, you certainly aren't Jesus, and if you were, you definitely wouldn't run as a democrat.
 
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