Minnesota high school at crossroad of Indigenous name change debate
Minnesota is one of a few states that have passed laws banning public schools from using any nicknames, logos or mascots tied to Indigenous people.
LEARN MOREPosted: 10:07 p.m. EDT Sep 20, 2023
A middle school teacher in Texas has been fired by a school district after using an illustrated book telling the story of Anne Frank's diary, to teach her students the story of what she said while hiding in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam.
The school district said it terminated the teacher's employment for showing what it called an unapproved graphic version of the story of Anne Frank’s diary to her eighth-grade students.
In an email to students reported on by Chron, the school district wrote, "The reading of that content will cease immediately. Your student’s teacher will communicate her apologies to you and your students soon, as she has expressed those apologies to us."
The teacher was fired soon after that message to parents.
The district said, "As you may be aware, following concerns regarding curricular selections in your student's reading class, a substitute teacher has been facilitating the class ... the district is currently in the process of posting the position to secure a high-quality, full-time teacher as quickly as possible."
Mike Canizales, the communications and community engagement coordinator for Hamshire-Fannett Independent School District, said, "During this period of transition, our administrators and curriculum team will provide heightened support and monitoring in the reading class to ensure continuity in instruction. We appreciate your trust and partnership as we all work towards the common goal of safeguarding your child's educational environment."
According to the Guardian, the students were reportedly allowed to see a part of the illustrated book where Frank writes about her genitals, and signals curiosity about a female friend's chest.
A high school in Florida banned the illustrated book after a group called Moms for Liberty objected to items of a somewhat sexual nature that are contained in the translation of Frank's diary. The book was also removed in other Texas schools, including by a Dallas school district.
Frank, born in 1929 in Frankfurt, Germany, later went into hiding in the Netherlands in 1942 trying to avoid the Nazis amid their occupation of that country. She later died in a concentration camp in 1945.
