A middle school history teacher at Lewis and Clark Middle School in West Ada Idaho has been ordered to take a poster down that says "Everyone is Welcome Here"
In an interview with an Idaho local news station, the instructor said she was told to take the poster down because it was not "content neutral and conducive to a positive learning environment."
What the Hell?
How is having a poster that says "Everyone is Welcome Here" not conducive to a positive learning environment?
How is that message not content neutral?
Someone has to explain to the rest of the American People who have not had frontal lobotomies the logic of the people who told the teacher to take down the poster.
In the interview, the teacher, Sarah Ayama said the poster was not appropriate because it was her opinion that "Everyone was welcome."
She was also told to take down a poster that said "In this room, Everyone is Welcome, Important, Accepted, Respected, Encouraged, Valued, and Equal."
Ms. Ayama has had both posters hanging in her classroom for the last four years.
Why the change?
Does anyone really have to ponder on this?
According to the teacher, her building administrator and representative from the district told her "that becasue of today's political environment, they're (the posters) are considered a personal opinion."
Today's political environment. Transalation: Donald Trump coming back to power and moving to outlaw anything that promotes Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
When Ayama asked if anyone complained about her posters, her supervisors said no but "they wanted to protect her from that if that were to happen...I was told that Everyone is Welcome Here is not something that everybody believes so that's what makes it a personal opinion."
To her credit, after taking the posters down, Ayama put the posters back up and emailed her Principal, saying "i don't agree that this is a personal opinion. I feel like this is the basis of public edcuation."
When they asked her to take the poster down again, she refused and the district hierarchy noted that she was violating the district policy that "School property shall not be used for the advancement of individual beliefs."
The district representative also referred to Idaho code which states "District employee and students in public schools respect the dignity of others and acknowledge the rights of others to express differing opinions."
How do these posters disrespect the dignity of others?
In what reality should a classroom not be welcoming of everyone and expect all children to succeed?
Ayama and the reporter interviewing her pegged it right when they said the only people who would be offended by these posters are racists.
In that case, district personnel and the school principal should, instead of telling the teacher to take down the poster, should, in a very nice and professional way, tell those people who do not like them to go to Hell and take their chances expressing their disgusting views at a public school board meeting or court hearing.
As Ayama pointed out, the themes of her posters match the school wide posters that promote "respect, safety, kindness, and responsibility." Under kindness, it says "Welcome others and embrace diversity."
Just because these bigots and repulsive White Nationalist Christian zealots have an ally in the White House does not mean the majority of the country or even the people of Idaho or the parents who send their children to the school Ms. Ayama sides with their predjuiced views.
In all fairness, the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Horne, a fierce opponent of all things D.E.I. is probably not stupid enough, unlike the district personel in Idaho, to mandate the taking down of posters that says "Everyone is Welcome."
Probably.
It is time to stand up to these reactionary buffons and fight for keeping diversity, equity, and inclusivity in the classroom
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