The parent of a Charles City Middle School student said their child was not allowed to leave the room when they asked during a reading of “Catch, Pull, Drive,” a short story contained in the book “Fresh Ink.”
According to a parent, nearly two weeks ago an eighth-grade reading teacher called Alecia Feckers brought the book from home to read aloud to the class. Their child told them the story was about a transgender “guy” transitioning.
“They just talked about how it was really bad language and they felt really uncomfortable,” the parent said. “They asked the teacher if they could leave. They were told no, they could not leave. Then I think several other kids proceeded to ask her if they could leave the room and she wouldn’t allow anyone to leave.
“She taught eight classes that day and read the book to all eight classes.”
The parent said based on what they had been told, “several” students asked to leave but were not allowed.
“When I got home I called the principal and told him what my student had told me,” they said. “The principal had no idea what was going on. He seemed pretty shocked actually.”
The school called every single family that was affected, vowing to be “totally transparent,” according to the Charles City Press.
However, parents who have spoken to The Iowa Standard said there was no mention of the fact students were not allowed to leave the room when they asked during the reading.
The Charles City Press reports there will be a special board meeting Monday afternoon to discuss the matter. The district told The Charles City Press two teachers are on leave and being investigated.
One parent downloaded the story and listened to it.
“It’s pretty intense,” the parent said. “The language used was really bad. We’re talking like, you know, c-u-n-t. I don’t even like to repeat that word.”
Their child told them they felt they should have been able to leave the room.
“They didn’t feel like they wanted to listen to it,” the parent said. “They said they didn’t know that you could cut your boobs off if you didn’t want them. I was like, ‘what!'”
