A substitute teacher in Rutherford County is no longer allowed to work in the district because of inflammatory comments he made on social media about President Trump. He joins a growing list of educators across the country in trouble for engaging in or allowing inappropriate commentary about the recent election.
The local teacher is accused of writing on Facebook that “the only good Trump supporter is a dead Trump supporter,” according to WZTV Fox 17. David Colin is said to have made the comments in a post at 9:29 a.m. on Nov. 9.
Rutherford County Schools took action after receiving messages about Colin on Wednesday. The district contracts with Professional Educational Services Group (PESG) to provide substitute teachers. The district informed PESG that Colin is no longer permitted to be substitute in Rutherford County. PESG is conducting an internal investigation.
An art teacher in Dallas, Texas was placed on administrative leave in January for posting a video on social media depicting her in a classroom shooting a water gun at an image of President Trump and yelling “Die!” There is laughter in the background but it is unknown whether students were in the classroom at the time, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Also in Texas, two students and a teacher at a San Antonio high school were reprimanded in November after the students performed a skit called “The Assassination of Donald Trump” in their English class, according to the San Antonio Express-News. The teacher reportedly took steps to stop the skit but was accused of not acting quickly enough.
In Arizona, a a principal and athletic director were placed on paid leave in January after they performed a skit making fun of President Trump and his counselor Kellyanne Conway. The performance was for school staff but a leaked video angered many parents, according to local station KTVK 3TV.
In California, a San Francisco Bay Area teacher was placed on paid leave in November after comparing President Trump to Hitler, according to The Los Angeles Times. A student told the school newspaper that the history and special education teacher asked students to find racist quotes by President Trump and read them aloud.
In Florida last May, a high school law teacher did not have his contract renewed because of concerns about his curriculum, according to local ABC affiliate WPBF 25 News. One of his exam questions asked, “If a Donald Trump becomes president, we are:
1. Screwed
2. Screwed
3. Screwed
4. Screwed behind a really YUGE wall that Mexico pays for.
The exam was submitted for approval to administrators but was never given to students.
There also have been some cases of teachers getting into trouble for pro-Trump comments. A St. Paul, Minn., math teacher was suspended for 15 days without pay in December for telling students he voted for President Trump, for criticizing Hillary Clinton and for not encouraging a related classroom discussion. According to the Pioneer Press, his discipline letter also said that he told students he is afraid of African-Americans and is a pro-life Christian who believes marriage is between a man and woman. The teacher had been attempting to have conversations with students as part of the school’s restorative justice program that encourages teachers to build trust and respect with students. Besides losing pay, the teacher was told to complete diversity training.
99% of those protesting don’t know why, specifically, they are protesting. When asked why, the answers are riddled with low-info, or media embellished fake news… What is it? The only answer I could drill down on, was that none of the protesters were too thrilled about was having to do a real job to earn a living.