A Florida teacher has recently come under fire after making her middle school class take a quiz which called U.S. President Donald Trump an “idiot”, NBC News reported.
However, the unnamed computer applications teacher at Watson B. Duncan Middle School is facing far more than just parental scrutiny for her presidential jab, as she’s been removed from the classroom and an official investigation has been opened.
On September 24, students at the school sat down to take a multiple-choice quiz, and one of the questions definitely stood out.
It asked the students to identify who the 45th president of the United States is, and to help them determine the right answer, the teacher added several helpful facts. This president is a Republican, a real estate businessman, and an “idiot.”
The options were Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and Donald Trump.
One of the students snapped a photo of the question and sent it to their father who happens to be a strong Trump supporter.
The father, Cam Cary, then took the photo and posted it to Twitter, writing that he was “furious” and “going to raise some hell with the [principal]”.
“Indoctrination will not continue,” he said.
As of writing, the post has been retweeted nearly 6,000 times.
A series of follow-up tweets from Cary claim the teacher is going to be “disciplined through a school investigation.”
Duncan school Principal Philip D’Amico reportedly sent a note home to students’ parents, confirming that the teacher has been “reassigned” and is under investigation.
“The question was inappropriate and demonstrated an unacceptable lack of good judgment on the part of the teacher. An investigation is now underway, and the teacher has been reassigned during this process,” D’Amico wrote.
At least one other parent took issue with the quiz question and brought it up to the school.
“I don’t believe opinions belong in the classrooms whether it’s religion, politics, ethnic background or any of those things,” the unnamed parent told WPTV .
The quiz, which is still active, was administered through the mobile and web-based study application, Quizlet.
The program helps students study by using digital flashcards, as well as games and practice tests.
“Study sets on Quizlet are created by individual users, each of whom controls both the content of the study material itself, as well as who can view and edit study content they have created,” Quizlet told CNN in a statement.
Cary’s Twitter post has garnered plenty of comments, both from people supporting his outrage and those criticizing it.
“We have to stand up against the LEFT,” one user wrote. “I totally agree that we need them out of our schools! The hatred these people have for this country is sickening!”
Another added, “This is sad. Some teachers are crazy. Unbelievable.”
A few comments even went so far as to accuse the teacher of trying to “influence” the upcoming 2020 election.
However, as many were quick to point out, middle school children aren’t actually able to vote so there’s no real electoral influence being given here at all. Just one educator’s opinion.
Then there were those users speculating that this is just one of many cases of teachers attempting to push their political beliefs onto their students.
Cary responded to the above tweet, writing that most teachers do this verbally, rather than through a quiz, “so they don’t get caught.”
“Young minds absorb and we parents need to teach them to think freely so they can weed out the noise and call it to our attention,” he wrote. “Today they are afraid to die to gang bias.”
However, many users came to the defence of the teacher and her quiz in the comments.
“They left out ‘corrupt’ and ‘craven’ – is that why you’re upset?” one person inquired, while another added, “I don’t see what the problem is.”
As of right now, there have been no updates given on the state of the teacher’s investigation or any further disciplinary action taken against the educator.
The school district has told CNN that she remains employed with the district while the investigation continues, but has been reassigned to work in a place where she does not have contact with students.
