A California teacher was placed on administrative leave after jokingly telling students to say the pledge of allegiance to the pride flag she had in her classroom after she removed the American flag because it made her uncomfortable.
“During third period we have announcements and they do the Pledge of Allegiance. 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 so, my class decided to stand but not say the words, totally fine,” Kristan Pitzen said.
Pitzen then explained that she removed the American flag in the classroom because it made her “uncomfortable.” When a student told Pitzen it was weird to to not have the flag to say the pledge allegiance to, she said they could say the pledge to the flag they did have in the classroom which was a pride flag.
The school district said in a statement:
“We are aware that one of our teachers posted a video on her personal social media that caused alarm and concern related to saluting the American flag.
“We assure you that we take matters like this seriously.
“Showing respect for our nation’s flag is an important value that we instill in our students and an expectation of our employees.
“The teacher is no longer in the classroom and has been placed on administrative leave.
“As always, we follow due process requirements.”
“Just super disgusted,” parent Stephanie Cox said. “I just could not believe how ignorant she seemed to be.”
From NBC:
A spokesperson told NBC News that the district has a policy regarding flags, requiring each school to conduct daily “patriotic exercises.”
Those include reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and “may also include instruction that promotes understanding of the concepts of ‘pledge,’ ‘allegiance,’ ‘republic,’ and ‘indivisible’ and understanding of the importance of the pledge as an expression of patriotism, love of country, and pride in the United States.”
It adds that individuals may choose not to participate in the flag salute for personal reasons. A policy about displaying the American flag requires it to be flown “at the entrance or on the grounds of the school,” NBC News reported, but does not mention the flag’s display in individual classrooms.
Also tucked away among the American flags outside the school Monday were a handful of rainbow flags, and a sign saying “Liberty for all.”
One pride flag was initially covering one of the American flags, prompting parent Julieanne Papa to call the school, then remove the pride flag from the poster with Cox and place it nearby.
“I’m all in support of the pride community, but it doesn’t belong taped over the American flag so I just put it next to it,” said Cox.
“Yes, I think [the teacher] should be removed from classroom,” said Papa. “I think fired and removed from school district.”
“When I saw the video I was sad that an educator was doing that,” she added.
TEACHER MOCKS THE AMERICAN FLAG AND SUGGESTS TO STUDENTS THEY CAN SAY THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE PRIDE FLAG: PIC.TWITTER.COM/1QTS5XJPLN
— LIBS OF TIK TOK (@LIBSOFTIKTOK) AUGUST 27, 2021
SHE SHOWS OFF ALL THE PRIDE FLAGS IN HER CLASSROOM AND SAYS “I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE QUEERS” PIC.TWITTER.COM/EQXE1OFPOW
— LIBS OF TIK TOK (@LIBSOFTIKTOK) AUGUST 27, 2021
