An elementary school teacher in the Des Moines School District has gone viral after putting the following post on her Instagram account:
Sources told The Iowa Standard that the employee is has been placed on leave after sharing the post.
Ian Roberts, the district’s superintendent, apologized for the post, noting that schools and teachers are focused on providing a quality education, which doesn’t include encouraging or forcing any student to identify with any specific sexual orientation.
Congressman Zach Nunn said there “needs to be accountability for this incident now.”
“Regardless of politics, this is reprehensible behavior from someone responsible for educating the next generation of Americans,” Nunn said. “Parents should be able to trust that when they send their children to school, they’re being educated, not indoctrinated.”
The post was picked up by LibsofTikTok on Twitter. It has since been viewed more than 3.6 million times.
The Iowa legislature passed a law earlier this year to prohibit instruction related to sexual orientation and gender identity for students in grades K-6.
No matter what the law says, teachers have a captive audience, especially elementary children, who will often not push back, call the teacher out or even tell parents what a teacher said. Teachers can use languishing and asking questions, and “lead” the discussion wherever he/she wants it to go. For good or evil. Anyone that has been a teacher knows this.
Ian Roberts, the district’s superintendent, apologized for the post, noting that schools and teachers are focused on providing a quality education, which doesn’t include encouraging or forcing any student to identify with any specific sexual orientation.
In this case when the statement is directly from the teacher, I believe what Hanna Hoxie the teacher says to be the truth and what Ian Roberts the superintendent says to be a lie. The truth is starring him in the face and he denies it.