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Parents complained about 'offensive' book, so the principal read it to the entire school

Apparently learning about the Civil Rights movement is "inappropriate."

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School responded to a parent's book complaint by reading it aloud to the entire student body

Schools often have to walk a fine line when it comes to parental complaints. Diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and preferences for what kids see and hear will always mean that schools can't please everyone all the time, so teachers and educators have to discern what's best for the whole, broad spectrum of kids in their care.

Sometimes, what's best is hard to discern. Sometimes it's absolutely not.

Such was the case when a parent at a St. Louis elementary school complained in a Facebook group about a book that was read to her 7-year-old. The parent wrote:

"Anyone else check out the read a loud book on Canvas for 2nd grade today? Ron's Big Mission was the book that was read out loud to my 7 year old. I caught this after she watched it bc I was working with my 3rd grader. I have called my daughters school. Parents, we have to preview what we are letting the kids see on there."

Fittingly, the Facebook group was titled "Concerned Parents of the Rockwood School District."

book bans, books, reading, elementary school, schools, education, racism, kids books, childrens books, parents, teachers Parents have always been concerned with what their kids are reading; but lately it's getting out of hand. Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

The book in question, Ron's Big Mission, highlights a true story from the childhood of Challenger astronaut Ron McNair, who had experienced discrimination as a child in South Carolina because he was Black. In 1959, when he was nine years old, McNair wanted to check out books at the library, but the librarian told him the library didn't loan books to "coloreds." McNair refused to leave the library until he was allowed to check out books. Rather than give him a library card, the librarian called the police, who ultimately convinced her to just let him check out books.

Seriously, what issue could this parent possibly take with such an inspiring story of a kid standing up to injustice and fighting for the right to educate himself?

This was a child who single-handedly changed a library's racial segregation policy and grew up to be an astronaut—a genuine, real-life hero. What is there to take issue with? The parent didn't specify, so we're left to conjecture, but bad reviews for the book on Goodreads and Amazon might give us a clue: Some readers have taken offense at the way the book portrays white people.

"I understand racial diversity is important but this is just awful. I don't think it's appropriate for kids because they don't live in a world where black kids can't rent books or do the same things white kids can do. It's a pretty level playing field now," one reviewer wrote on Goodreads.

"Children are supposed to learn how to love all cultures not hate all cultures," added another 1-star reviewer.

Cue up the tiny violins.

book bans, books, reading, elementary school, schools, education, racism, kids books, childrens books, parents, teachers The old "reverse racism" trope! Giphy

Rockwood Education Equity and Diversity Director Brittany Hogan told KMOX News Radio that after hearing of the complaint, other parents responded immediately in the book's defense.

"They were saying this is amazing that they were buying copies of the book," Hogan said. "One of our parents came out and said she was going to purchase a copy for every second-grader at the elementary school that her children attends."

Hogan called McNair a hero and said, "He deserves to be celebrated. His story deserves to be told to our children. It's important that we continue to move in a space that embeds diverse curriculum."

And the school responded in the best possible way—by announcing the book was going to be read aloud to the whole student body via Zoom. That's how you shut down a bigot. Boom.

Here's Pond Elementary Principal Carlos Diaz-Granados reading "Ron's Big Mission" to students via Zoom and sharing why he thinks it's an important book for kids:

- YouTube www.youtube.com

In the years since this incident, book bans have sadly become even more of an issue in many parts of America. During the 2023-2024 school year, over 10,000 books were banned in public schools; a rapidly accelerating number. It's too easy for special interest groups and politicians to hide behind the idea of "protecting kids" from inappropriate content, when in reality, any books written by or about people of color or the LQBTQ+ community are being overwhelmingly targeted just for existing.

Schools have a responsibility in this battle. While it's not their place to adopt a formal religious, racial, or political position, they are supposed to be environments where all are welcome. And it's their job to fight for their students' right to learn and access information. Kudos to the Pond Elementary Team for doing the right thing here.

This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated.

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Your kid's teacher will spend hundreds on their classroom. Here's what they have to buy.

The breakdown of what they're spending their own money on is eye-opening.

via Pexels

Teachers spend a lot to make their classrooms good learning environments.

With the United States having one of the best education systems in the world (yes, really), one might assume that American teachers get everything they need to do their jobs well. But that's simply not the case.

While teacher pay varies a lot by state, teaching is a famously underpaid profession when you calculate everything that goes into it. But on top of that, most teachers end up spending their own hard-earned money on their classrooms to make sure their students get a quality educational experience.

How much are teachers spending on classroom supplies and what are they buying? Here's how it breaks down.

A CouponBird survey of 2,500 teachers across the U.S. found that 93% of respondents spend their own money on their classrooms with average yearly spend of $915. (The teachers were split between the age groups they teach: 41% elementary school, 23% middle school and 36% high school.)

Where to teachers spend the most and the least? The highest spending states were Texas ($1,396), Pennsylvania ($1,387) and Arizona ($1,375) and the lowest spending states were Idaho ($490), Louisiana ($456) and Oklahoma ($447).

What's extra interesting is what these teachers say they spend their money on. Here's how those numbers broke down:

- Consumable School Supplies: 97%
- Classroom Decor: 76%
- Educational Aids (Books, Games, etc.): 67%
- Snacks: 44%
- Cleaning Supplies: 36%
- First Aid Supplies: 31%

If teachers want to spend their own money on extras, that's one thing, but none of those categories seem "extra," do they? School supplies shouldn't have to be purchased and paid for by individual teachers, but even cleaning supplies? Yikes.

Elementary school teacher Natalie Ringold asked her fellow teachers to share how much money they spend on their classrooms on average each year, and the responses were telling.

"Let’s just say I work another job in the weekends to pay for what I need for my students. The smiles on their faces and the full bellies in the classroom make it all worth it."

"😂😂 I dont keep track bc I don’t wanna know."

"😝🤣 We do not speak of that number."

"I'm mortified to say... but probably around $1500. Not defending myself, but still in the new teacher era... trying to set up my classroom so it's functional and comfortable lol."

"First year teacher… definitely past the 3k mark."

"$2000 as a 3rd grade teacher after it’s all said and done."

"Over $1,000 per year as an elementary music teacher."

"From the summer to the end of the year probably around $1,500 as a 1st grade teacher."

"This will be my first year teaching ! I’ve spent almost $1000 already on furniture/rug , classroom supplies etc. and I still need more ! But..hopefully it will be less next year as it will just need to be maintained. 🙌🏼"

"Probably around $500 these days. This is year 20 for me."

Some people might argue that there are other jobs where workers are expected to pay for some things out of their own pockets, but this is public education we're talking about. Something every society needs to function and advance. Something we've deemed important enough for the government to provide (though some disagree). It hardly seems logical that teachers should pay for any of their classroom supplies out of their own pocket.

To add insult to injury, teacher's aren't even able to write most of their out-of-pocket expenditures off on their taxes. In 2022, the IRS raised the limit of what teachers could deduct from $250 to $300. Seriously? We have teachers spending upwards of $1,000 a year of their own money on supplies for their job and they can't even write them all off?

To help bridge the gap, some teachers are making use of crowdfunding platforms to help spread out the burden a bit, offering people who value education and have the means to pitch in a chance to donate to their classrooms. If that's you, check out DonorsChoose and filter by location to find a teacher or classroom near you. Lots of people each giving a little goes a long way, so let's do what we can to help teachers get what they need for their students.

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Magician explains the incredible power of empathy using his best tricks

Empathy is magic.

via Nikolay Ivanov/Pexels and Liza Summer/Pexels

A magician does a card trick and two women embrace.

Ryan Modjeski, the Executive Director of Empatico, has found an interesting way of sharing the benefits of empathy — by using magic. Empatico is a video-meeting platform for educators that helps foster empathy among students through meaningful connections around the globe.

Although teaching people interpersonal skills through magic may seem strange, studies show that visual demonstrations help people remember and recall information.

In the video, he uses a card trick to explain how empathy makes us more resilientby fostering connections with others.

“With empathy, you build resilience,” Modjeski says in the video. “So, then, no matter how hard life is, no matter how shuffled up or jumbled up things are. No matter how much life pushes down on you. When you're empathetic and you're connected with yourself and with others. You always come on top.”

The Magic Of Empathy

In the second video, he uses a handkerchief trick and the mythical Green and Orange people's story to show how empathy breaks down barriers between different types of people. “How do we get Green people and Orange people to connect?” he asks. “The answer is with empathy. When we learn how to listen to each other, how to be kind, how to hear each other's stories.”

FInally, he uses four glasses of water to show the different types of empathy: cognitive, emotional, and behavioral. “Now, this might seem like a lot, but in fact, when you put in a little effort and you open up your heart, well you can do anything,” he concluded the video.

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The reason this teacher was suspended shows a painful reality for many LGBTQ people.

By all accounts, Stacy Bailey is an excellent teacher. After all, she was selected as her school's Teacher of the Year. Twice. Then she was suspended.

Considering how difficult it is to keep quality educators in classrooms that are often understaffed and lacking resources, you may already be scratching your head and wondering what horrible thing Bailey must have done to be taken out of her classroom for an entire year.

Bailey was suspended because she showed her elementary students a photograph of her future wife.

According to reports, the reason Bailey was suspended had everything to do with the fact that she acknowledged that she was in a relationship with a woman.

NBC News reports that Bailey is suing the Texas school district for discrimination. She was removed from the classroom for, as one parent reportedly complained, promoting a "homosexual agenda."

She didn't lead a class on homosexuality. She didn't spend an hour discussing painstaking details of her relationship and love life. Instead, during an event meant to introduce students and teachers, Bailey, who's been an educator for over a decade, showed her students pictures of her family and friends — which included Bailey's future wife.

"During her tenure with the district, there has never been an issue with her open sexual preferences until this year," the district wrote in a statement. "The issue at Charlotte Anderson Elementary School is whether Mrs. Bailey has followed district guidelines requiring that controversial subjects be taught in 'an impartial and objective manner.' Teachers shall not use the classroom to transmit personal beliefs regarding political or sectarian issues."

But that statement seems to be hanging a whole lot on Bailey showing a picture of her wife-to-be.

Bailey is fighting back because she knows this is about more than just a teaching job.

Bailey has been trying to incorporate better representation and protections into her school for a while. The Advocate reports that shortly before she was suspended, Bailey spoke to the school about adding LGBTQ-inclusive language to the school's anti-discrimination policies. A day before she was suspended, Bailey reached out to other schools to see whether they had gay-straight alliances (groups where students could come to learn about each other and fight for equality regardless of identification) and to see how those were handled and led.

Bailey is fighting to be reinstated at her school. In February, numerous people came to a school board meeting to show their support for her. But the school district seems to be standing firm on its position.

Representation matters everywhere — in classrooms too.

Teachers are people, and people come from all kinds of backgrounds and have all kinds of families and lives. Of course if you stop and think about it, teachers who don't identify as LGBTQ often speak about their partners without any kind of fuss. That's because being open about heterosexual relationships in both passing and more in-depth ways has always been accepted as the norm. But families and marriages can look a lot of different ways and it's important that both students and parents realize that when a teacher who identifies as gay mentions their partner, they're just trying to lives their lives like anyone else would.

It's unclear what the school district's exact concerns are, but the fear seems to be that children who learn about the sexual orientation of the trusted adults in their lives may somehow emulate that orientation. But there's no evidence that's true. You know what we do have evidence of? That teachers who are LGBTQ are afraid to speak out and be themselves at work. That students who see LGBTQ role models in their lives may feel more comfortable with themselves as they discover who they are. And, really, isn't that what we want for all children?

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