Wednesday, February 8, 2012

A Mother Responds in Teacher Bias Case

"I am the mother of the student in this situation. In speaking with the principal Monday, he did indeed state that he supported the teachers position simply because she stated that the topics were up to her discretion. I told him outright that I thought it was BS that she could give an assignment to choose a controversial issue and then refuse to grade it because she didn't like the topic. She told me she was against gay marriage, told the principal she was for it and then told my daughter she was against it. She is a complete liar and should in no way be trusted with our young minds. Last night I left a message with Congressman Boren regarding this situation and told him an investigation into this was necessary. I (we) have plans to take this as far as we can to see that the right thing is done. We are considering moving so that we don't have to continue living in such a bigoted community. All your support just reinforces her decision to take a failing grade not just on her report but for the quarter/semester. She would rather fail doing what she feels is right instead of bowing down to the system. Any suggestions on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated!"

That was left as a comment on the blog entry pertaining to the school's decision to stand by Gale Applegate's bias decision.  Khyrstal has decided to fight the system for what she believes in.  I, for one, applaud her.  She was very brave to choose the topic she chose to write about in the first place.  Now, in the face of adversity, she's opted to stick to her guns and fight when it would've been so much easier for her to buckle under the pressure and write about something more...pedestrian. 

In an unintended response to the mother's question of how to proceed in this battle, it was suggested that they take this to the ACLU.  Marvelous idea.  And, she's already contacted her Congressman.  Anyone who reads this and has legal knowledge and expertise in such matters, please feel free to advise her. 

This is a case of blatant, in-your-face bigotry and intolerance no matter how they try to dress it up.  If a student is only allowed to expand their thoughts to the limits of the box in which the teacher resides, (s)he eventually attain the same myopic views of the teacher.  And, the cycle is perpetuated.

There is truly power in numbers!  Emboldened by our enormous response to Khyrstal's plight, she and her family has chosen to fight for what's right.  In response, we need to continue to show them our unfailing support.  Our message must be very loud and unmistakably clear:  Eufaura High School's policy that allows for teacher, and apparently administrator bias and intolerance in fact will not be tolerated or accepted.  Zero tolerance means just that.

And, to the mother, as you read this, I strongly encourage you to click the comments link and read those, as well.  There will, quite possibly, be answers to your question there.  In addition to the comments left on this blog, you'll want to check a few facebook pages' comments to this story as well.  There has been many comments already posted.  Hopefully, in response to your plea for assistance, there will be many, many more. 

Pages where this article has been placed:

Wipeout Homophobia on Facebook 

STOP Teenage Suicide 

Bisexuality Is Real - It Exists

Support Gay Marriage Across America 

14 comments:

  1. I can't offer legal advice, but I just want to applaud you for you and your daughter's courage. Blessings to you both!

    ReplyDelete
  2. There is not enough info in this blog to form an opinion as to what is even taking place....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Really? Teacher makes assignment -- topic choice is up to the child. Child chooses topic. Teacher does not like the topic and refuses to GRADE it or AWARD a GRADE for the child's work. What are you confused about?

      Delete
    2. See the word 'Responds' in the title? Go back a few days and read the original post.

      Delete
  3. Good for you...I applaud you!!! One of my proudest moments as a mother was when my 14yr old daughter came home and told me she and a group of her friends were protesting Prop. 8 down at our Gov't Center. We got in our car, drove down to Michael's and spent the day making our T-Shirts & signs for the event. We are both straight, and I don't remember actually having had a conversation with her about my views before hand, but guess it had all rubbed off on her, and you just have no idea how that made me feel. The only way to wipe out bigotry is to stand up against it. Doing the right thing often takes a lot of guts and your daughter is learning so much more from you through this alone, than she could ever possibly learn from this fool of a teacher. She will carry this with her for the rest of her life...you are amazing! My hat's off to you!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Either the teacher should pick the topics herself or grade whatever the students give her.

    ReplyDelete
  5. My suggestion is Media, Media, and more Media........local attention all the way up to national. They may be bigots but they won't want to admit it to the cameras. U will see a different principal. I do applaud u and your daughter, that's how this country is going to change, one parent at a time. Keep it up and remember, keep going and get louder as it goes on.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I applaud your determination to stand up for what's right. At the same time, I would point out that this has quickly become about much more than the biased, bigoted views of one teacher and her administrative supporter. While you may continue to fight for your daughter's right to address the issue of her choice, I suggest that you set your sights higher. When it comes to a teacher, her principal, and the school district, your best bet is to go to the media and make the story public in your community. If you get nowhere with the school, at least you've exposed their biases and started an important public conversation. But I believe that your time and energy would be better used defending LGBT rights on a larger scale. The school issue will end and people will forget about that teacher. But you have to keep the conversation going after that. Doing so is much more important than endlessly fighting this particular battle. Your daughter's story and activism has raised her profile enough to be used for a much greater good. Don't let the teacher and the school keep her from moving on to bigger and better things in this arena. Think about it; starting a blog or forming a nonprofit to raise awareness about anti-LGBT bigotry in the public schools is another way of "winning" this battle. No matter what else happens, don't forget that bigotry never wins out, even if your daughter doesn't end up writing the paper she preferred. You should be emboldened by the fact that there are so many other ways to win in this case.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I think people should be able to live their lives the way they choose to and the world would be a better place, i'm from Nova Scotia Canada and my only child is gay and he just got married in June 2011 and it was a beautiful wedding, it shouldn't matter who you fall in love with and marry as long as your happy, all of this has got to stop there are to many young people taking their own lives because of the way so many act towards them and it's just not right, we are all God's children no matter what..

    ReplyDelete
  8. It doesn't matter where you live, you'll find bigots and close minded people in every community.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Khrystal is my niece- I was outraged when I first heard this story, and in my anger, I contacted the superintendent myself. She listened to what I had to say, but did not give any indication that she was going to do anything about it. It was at that point, that we decided to share this situation with the Facebook community. Thanks to the help of everyone who is supportive, and also to my best friend who I believe shared this story with you initially, the attention to this issue has grown. I am very appreciative of your desire to help bring awareness to this unfairness that my niece is suffering at the hands of those who wish to take away her voice. To anyone else reading this: Please share! We need as much support as we can get if we are able to bring more light to this situation. I agree: there is power in numbers! Let's take the power back!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Humbling. You are a wonderful parent.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Does her school have a school newspaper? If so, suggest that she write to them about the issue or that she submit the essay she wrote as an op/ed. You can also write to your town newspaper in order to expose the issue. Give it the publicity it deserves, especially within your community so that more pressure will be put directly on the school.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I find this story astounding, its time for people to stand up for the rights of others and that is exactly what this girl is doing. I applaud her and her family for going to the media, contacting the superintendent. This is how progress is made, we need more people like Khrystal!!! This is coming from a gay guy in Oklahoma and I stand behind you 100%! I had contacted the state representative here and got an appointment where I wished to bring up gay marriage. He did want to meet in a very public place, he was respectful to my opinions but mostly said nothing. Rock on! There are power in numbers!

    ReplyDelete