Speaker 1: Not only does the government sometimes stick its nose into
Speaker 1: the classroom and try and inject things that are counterproductive
Speaker 1: to a child's education, like religion, for example, but sometimes
Speaker 1: they just flat out don't want to see people getting along,
Speaker 1: which is kind of strange, but in Idaho that seems
Speaker 1: to be the case, and my colleagues are here to
Speaker 1: take it away for us.
Speaker 2: A wes say To school district teacher was asked to
Speaker 2: remove classroom science promoting exclusivity, igniting controversy over free expression
Speaker 2: and the role of personal values and education. The sign,
Speaker 2: which emphasized messages of acceptance and diversity, reportedly conflicted with
Speaker 2: district policies, prompting pushback from both community members and advocacy groups.
Speaker 2: Supporters argue that such messages foster a safe and welcome
Speaker 2: environment for students, our credits claim they could be seen
Speaker 2: as political statements. The incidents fueled ongoing debates about teachers, right,
Speaker 2: school policies, and the boundaries of classroom expression. As sentience rise,
Speaker 2: the district faces increases scrutiny over how it bounces inclusivity
Speaker 2: maintaining a neutral educational space. And this story is brought
Speaker 2: to you by somebody that I don't remember, and I'm
Speaker 2: hoping AJ can help you with that.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Sure, it was the Idaho Education News by Idaho News
Speaker 3: on March thirteen, five.
Speaker 1: Well, I'm sure even though it was by Idaho News,
Speaker 1: a person somewaey I wrote it. But I'll tell you this,
Speaker 1: I forgot who was introducing this, so I just said
Speaker 1: my colleagues are here to take it away. AJ. I
Speaker 1: wasn't sure which one of you was grabbing that, so
Speaker 1: thanks for coming in, but I will tell you this.
Speaker 1: Let's see, I have the article here and it looks
Speaker 1: like it was written by a Sarah in Inama. So
Speaker 1: there we have come full circle. We've all helped each
Speaker 1: other and we've got the full story now. But yeah,
Speaker 1: you know there is a school.
Speaker 3: Go ahead, quick correction. I think that is actually the
Speaker 3: name of the teacher, right, you're.
Speaker 1: I think you're right. Oh you are right. Wow, we've
Speaker 1: got the teacher. We've got everything wrong tonight. Yeah, Carly
Speaker 1: Flandro Carly. You know, I'm gonna send Carly an email
Speaker 1: and be like, hey, I am so sorry that we
Speaker 1: butchered this article. But it was a great article and
Speaker 1: I hope you enjoy this. I hope you enjoy this
Speaker 1: show about it? Now? Can we move on?
Speaker 2: Please?
Speaker 1: Can we move on?
Speaker 2: Thank you?
Speaker 1: Look, this teacher is trying to create a positive environment.
Speaker 1: I think, you know, if we consider the article we
Speaker 1: talked about last night, right, that that had to do
Speaker 1: with children not receiving food, alluding to the idea that
Speaker 1: children actually learn better when they're more well fed, when
Speaker 1: they know where their next meal is coming from, where
Speaker 1: there's not food insecurity, where they're in an environment that
Speaker 1: is reliable to them. Well, we see a teacher doing
Speaker 1: the same thing, but trying to promote inclusivity in the classroom,
Speaker 1: showing posters that says everyone's welcome here, showing signs of
Speaker 1: different colored hands, different sizes, all coming together, right, promoting
Speaker 1: unity in a classroom. I don't think that there is
Speaker 1: anything wrong with that. That certainly does it detract from
Speaker 1: the learning environment, as the policy of the school district
Speaker 1: would have you believe. So I'm confused as to what
Speaker 1: the message is here. And aj I thought you might
Speaker 1: want to talk a little bit about the confusing messaging.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I was confused too, you know, like who knew
Speaker 3: that a little piece of paper on the wall and
Speaker 3: the classrooms somewhere in IDAHOL could cost such as stir.
Speaker 3: It even got the attention of national news outlets. But
Speaker 3: what I don't understand is the district's policy. It says that,
Speaker 3: you know, it encourages staff to display the American flag, banners, posters, signs,
Speaker 3: or photos, but they need to be quote content neutral
Speaker 3: and conducive to a positive learning environment, respect the dignity
Speaker 3: of others, acknowledged devices of others to express different opinions,
Speaker 3: and foster and defend intellectual honesty, freedom of inquiry and instruction,
Speaker 3: and freedom of speech and association. Now, the IDOHO Code
Speaker 3: also says that students should not be taught any sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color,
Speaker 3: or national origin is inherently superior or inferior, or that
Speaker 3: individuals should be treated adversely due to any of those qualities.
Speaker 3: But that part is what confuses me, because they are
Speaker 3: supposedly advocating for equality and inclusivity by saying that everyone
Speaker 3: should be treated equally, And isn't that exactly what the
Speaker 3: sign is saying. Design is saying everyone is welcome, So
Speaker 3: what is the problem. It fits with what they want.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's certainly no race or creed or culture being
Speaker 1: promoted as being better than the other. Right, So I
Speaker 1: do think that that would be conducive to a positive
Speaker 1: learning environment where somebody might not feel othered. For example,
Speaker 1: in states like Oklahoma and Louisiana who have mandated the
Speaker 1: Ten Commandments or the reading of the Bible being in
Speaker 1: every classroom. Right, would a Hindu student feel accepted there?
Speaker 1: Absolutely not? Would a Muslim? Would a Would a dark
Speaker 1: skinned person in this group of largely white students feel
Speaker 1: feel at home in an environment like this? I would
Speaker 1: say no. But over here in Idaho, we have a teacher,
Speaker 1: Sarah Inama, who makes it clear that everybody's welcome here,
Speaker 1: and I think that does create a conducive environment. But
Speaker 1: the school points to the guidelines, right, the rules, the
Speaker 1: the the policy that is in black and white. But
Speaker 1: what is really important here is what Sarah Enama is
Speaker 1: being told behind the scenes, and that is, quote unquote,
Speaker 1: everyone is welcome here is not something that everybody actually believes, right.
Speaker 1: I mean, the school district didn't reference that thought process,
Speaker 1: did they? And so infidel I wanted to go there.
Speaker 1: What are you thoughts on that everyone is welcome here
Speaker 1: being something you know that's not acceptable?
Speaker 2: Well, Jimmy, I I like both of you. I was
Speaker 2: a little puzzled on how everyone is welcome here as
Speaker 2: a controversial statements, and it did make me wonder if
Speaker 2: that is somehow an issue. Does that mean that they
Speaker 2: actually don't want everyone to feel well? And you know,
Speaker 2: taking those two polar opposites, you know, if they're both unacceptable,
Speaker 2: because I would surely hope that if it said everyone
Speaker 2: is not welcome here they object to that, because I
Speaker 2: could see that being a problem. But that sounds like
Speaker 2: they're doing there are good side people on both sides.
Speaker 2: Argument to me, but these aren't comparable. You know, if
Speaker 2: one side wants to exclude people and the other side says, hey,
Speaker 2: we can all work together, I think it should be
Speaker 2: rather simple to understand that this isn't a matter of well,
Speaker 2: we're just going to kind of meet in the middle. No,
Speaker 2: because in a school our environments like this, one's right
Speaker 2: and one's wrong. You know, someone reminds me of the
Speaker 2: question of what do you call nine people at a
Speaker 2: dinner party with a Nazi? You have a group of
Speaker 2: ten Nazis had a dinner party, And that's really what
Speaker 2: we're looking at here, because either you're saying the other
Speaker 2: side has a point, but no, excluding people. No, it's
Speaker 2: difficult or impossible for me to ever accept that the
Speaker 2: side that wants to exclude people has a point. And
Speaker 2: you know that's one of those hills I'm willing to
Speaker 2: die on. Absolutely.
Speaker 1: And you know, I think that there is a racist
Speaker 1: wave in this country that's reemerging. It's encouraging racists at
Speaker 1: all levels to follow suit. The racists in the school
Speaker 1: district that have been quiet for so long and just
Speaker 1: accepted that society is ready to move on. Well now
Speaker 1: they are, as we've heard so many times this past
Speaker 1: political season, saying the quiet parts out loud, and they're
Speaker 1: telling that to Sarah Nama, right, And they're saying it
Speaker 1: basically through their actions by taking down signs that promote
Speaker 1: the comfort and the overall health and well being of
Speaker 1: every student in the classroom. And I think that this
Speaker 1: teacher should be applauded. You know, Aj, I know that
Speaker 1: you have some thoughts on the kind of support that
Speaker 1: the teacher deserves, and I thought you might want to
Speaker 1: expand on that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I want to mention quickly that in twenty twenty one,
Speaker 3: the state actually banned critical race theory in public schools classrooms.
Speaker 3: So yeah, they're definitely they have some racist undertones there.
Speaker 3: But yeah, this teacher completely deserves the attention that she's getting,
Speaker 3: but in a good way because she hasn't backed down
Speaker 3: from her belief. She didn't allow the district to push
Speaker 3: her around. And the best part is that despite the
Speaker 3: district asking for design to be taken down, she has
Speaker 3: received a massive amount of support from you know, she's
Speaker 3: been getting emails with supported notes that local communities standing
Speaker 3: with her parents, are standing by her. Students at the
Speaker 3: Renaissance High School actually did a wldout protest in support
Speaker 3: of mister Cinema. They were holding signs with messages like
Speaker 3: loving is including equality is not political, And I think
Speaker 3: this is exactly how change is effected. You speak up,
Speaker 3: get out there, you stand up, the walkout, whatever you
Speaker 3: need to do, raise awareness of the issue, and you
Speaker 3: find people who are willing to do those things with
Speaker 3: you in order to benefit that to get you know,
Speaker 3: with that effort.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, when you cannot rely on the court or
Speaker 1: just sound law and order, you have to rely on
Speaker 1: the court of public opinion. And that again is being
Speaker 1: exemplified by all the support over seventy organizations have voiced
Speaker 1: their support, have shown the signs that the teacher is
Speaker 1: being asked to take down on their own media outlets,
Speaker 1: one being the Wasmuth Center for Human Rights. And you know,
Speaker 1: there's there's a whole lot of other organizations in there.
Speaker 1: Boise with Kids, full Swing, Boise, Guru, Babe Vote, not
Speaker 1: really sure who they are, Habitat for Humanity is supporting
Speaker 1: this teacher. So you know, I think she's doing good work.
Speaker 1: You have to you have to speak up, you know,
Speaker 1: especially when the quiet parts are being said out loud,
Speaker 1: you have to say the loud part louder, right. I mean,
Speaker 1: I don't know if that's a really good analogy, but
Speaker 1: I mean I think for me, the loud part is
Speaker 1: the obvious unity, the inclusivity, the healthy learning environment for
Speaker 1: the next generation of people who are going to take
Speaker 1: care of our species. And so you know, on that note,
Speaker 1: I think that you know, this is a really good,
Speaker 1: well written article there are.
Speaker 3: Ye So no, I was gonna say, I noticed the
Speaker 3: other sign that she had. I think that the reason
Speaker 3: they probably targeted that sign was because it was colored
Speaker 3: in rainbow colors, because the messaging was a something completely neutral.
Speaker 3: And I said in this room. Everyone is welcome, everyone's important,
Speaker 3: everyone's accepted, respected, encourage, valued.
Speaker 1: And equal.
Speaker 3: Like, how can anyone see that as a negative thing?
Speaker 3: I'm thinking that they just sound the rainbow and they're
Speaker 3: are like, oh, jermy qbobo.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, Well you can interpret anything for it to
Speaker 1: mean what you want. I mean, unfortunately, and this hurts,
Speaker 1: but the American flag is kind of seen as like
Speaker 1: a racist symbol for a lot of people, you know,
Speaker 1: but that is flown in this classroom, and I don't
Speaker 1: agree with that. But there are elements of racism in America,
Speaker 1: I mean, and some people look at the American flag
Speaker 1: and that's all they see. You know. There are many
Speaker 1: people that don't interpret the American flag that way. And
Speaker 1: so I think it just goes to show you that
Speaker 1: this blanket term content neutral, he doesn't really mean anything.
Speaker 1: I mean, infidel, What does content neutral mean?
Speaker 2: Well, you know, as far as what content neutral means
Speaker 2: in this context, sounds like it means let's enable the
Speaker 2: worst people in our society at the benefit at the
Speaker 2: cost of being inclusive, you know I and you know
Speaker 2: this is something I'm not proud of. But in my
Speaker 2: early twenties, you know, I was a delegate to two
Speaker 2: state conventions for a former clansman who was running for
Speaker 2: state office. I was involved in three of three campaigns,
Speaker 2: two very actively. So coming from that background and looking
Speaker 2: at what people get away with now, we would never
Speaker 2: have said many of these things then, and to think
Speaker 2: that now we've shifted so far, and I think part
Speaker 2: of this is simply through silence, and which is I
Speaker 2: think a very good point to your We need to
Speaker 2: push back and say it louder because because of our
Speaker 2: discomfort in addressing these things, we've allowed this problem to
Speaker 2: fester and grow to the point where just saying hey,
Speaker 2: it's cool, everyone's welcome here is problematic. And that is
Speaker 2: beyond problematic because that's how we get to the problems
Speaker 2: where the othering of people just continues to build and
Speaker 2: grow and become worse and worse. So as far as
Speaker 2: this current situation here, I think that all three of
Speaker 2: us have touched on the only solution that I know of.
Speaker 2: Don't give an inch, haul it out and push back.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think to AJ's point, you know where
Speaker 1: I was going is you look at different colors and
Speaker 1: you see a rainbow, and you automatically think something. But really,
Speaker 1: all that's saying is everybody's different, right, Those colors represent
Speaker 1: different things. We've been so programmed to think that a
Speaker 1: rainbow can only mean gay stuff, trance stuff, LGBTQ, which
Speaker 1: is fine. I mean I would have if I were
Speaker 1: a teacher, I'd have no problem with that in my classroom.
Speaker 1: But I'd also have no problem with just a rainbow,
Speaker 1: you know. And it looks like this content neutral term
Speaker 1: is just vague enough that people could just take it
Speaker 1: and use it as a weapon whenever they want to,
Speaker 1: when in reality, all we're trying to do is just
Speaker 1: get through our day with a little bit of happiness.
Speaker 3: Right now, maybe if they had a birthname black and
Speaker 3: white sign from the nineteen fifties, nobody want to complain.
Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah. Only let white kids and black
Speaker 1: kids use different water fountains. You know, that's neutral. We're
Speaker 1: neutral on water fountains, right. It's really sad. And you know,
Speaker 1: they say the pendulum swings back and forth, and I
Speaker 1: hope the pendulum swings in the other direction sooner than later.
Speaker 1: So that's going to do it for us this week, folks,
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for tuning in. Thank you to
Speaker 1: Infidel and aj for having a great week and four
Speaker 1: great episodes. I hope everybody goes back and checks out
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