But if I had said that the American flag was a trigger to me, I would be treated like a terrorist.” Their defense was that the Pride flag may be a trigger for certain students. “It’s a way of subtly just getting rid of it. “It’s obviously just banning the Pride flag altogether unless you want those little mini ones,” said sophomore Eve Barajas, who is president of the school’s Equity Club. The chain of events was alarming, concerning and disappointing for some students and teachers at Paso High. And so we continue to believe that this is a very reasonable compromise solution that allows rainbows, but within reason.” Paso Robles students and teachers react to incident In an interview with The Tribune, Dubost said, “We don’t want to turn it into a politicized issue where a student enters a classroom and looks up, ‘Oh, there’s a rainbow flag here, or there’s a blue lives matter flag here - that determines what the partisanship is of my teacher.’ We think that that’s a real slippery slope.
Students in protected classes are often among the most vulnerable and susceptible to bullying and discrimination.”ĭubost’s letter then announced a new district policy: no flags bigger than 2 feet by 2 feet may be displayed in classrooms, and no flags that are “alterations of the American flag” may be displayed in classrooms. We have a duty as a school district to ensure that hate speech and bullying conduct does not create an unsafe campus environment. A safe, caring learning environment is essential if students are to achieve their academic potential. “All students deserve protection against bullying and harassment. According to a Pew Research survey in 2018, roughly 50% of respondents said they think knowing the pledge of allegiance makes someone a good citizen.“I want to start by reiterating my statement from last year that rainbow flags mean different things to different people but to many are a symbol of safety, inclusion and equity,” the letter continued. The practice became more common following the 2020 civil rights protests that lasted months after the murder of George Floyd.ĭespite the pledge being a custom in every American classroom, students are not legally required to recite it because it goes against their First Amendment rights. Many athletes across the league and in other sports followed suit but were largely condemned by fans and others in the country. Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick started kneeling during the national anthem before games in 2016 and later told reporters it was a silent protest against systemic racism and police brutality. Saying the pledge and standing for the national anthem at events has become a polarizing topic in the U.S. Respecting our flag is a value we instill in students and is an expectation of our staff,” the statement continued.Īccording to Newport-Mesa’s school policies, the district does not require all students and staff to participate in its daily “patriotic exercises” and can opt-out for “personal reasons.” “A personal post by a teacher about the American flag is causing alarm/concern. The Newport-Mesa Unified School District posted a statement on Twitter saying they were “investigating and addressing” the situation. it’s a piece of fabric americans are honestly not all there,” another person said. Stop piling on this random teacher,” one commenter said. Others defended the teacher and said the video didn’t deserve the criticism it was receiving. “And looks around and goes, ‘oh, that one?’” As Pitzen points to a Pride flag hanging on the opposite wall. Pitzen said she had to find the American flag, but told the student, “in the meantime, we do have a flag in the class that you can pledge your allegiance to,” she said, using air quotes. Pitzen continued and said one of her students asked where they should be looking when they stand for the pledge of allegiance since there is no flag.
“I packed it away and I don’t know where and I haven’t found it yet.” “I took it down during COVID because it made me uncomfortable,” Pitzen said in the video. She then pointed to an area in the room where an American flag would typically hang but said that she took it down. Except for the fact that my room does not have a flag,” Pitzen said in the video.
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. Kristin Pitzen, who reportedly teaches at Newport-Mesa Unified School District in Southern California, recently posted a since-deleted TikTok video about her students standing up to say the pledge every day - a common tradition in U.S. A teacher is facing criticism and being investigated by her employer after she made a video jokingly suggesting that her students say the pledge of allegiance to a Pride flag.