Parents at Lousiana's Delcambre Elementary School are furious after their children say a fourth grade teacher made derogatory comments about President Barack Obama.
Students tell KATC that the teacher arrived at school Wednesday wearing all black, "attending America's funeral" after Obama was reelected for a second term. She also reportedly said Obama would make the U.S. "the new China," and took hits at First Lady Michelle Obama's healthy school lunch initiative, which has triggered substantial student outcry.
Parent Lindsey Shello says she reached out to the teacher on Facebook regarding the incidents, but the educator denied the allegations and said the parent shouldn't believe everything her 9-year-old son tells her. Other students in the class, however, have told the same story.
"They want to believe everything their teacher says and if my kid hears the teacher says the sky is black, he's going to believe the sky is black because his teacher said it," parent Chassatey Jackson told KATC.
The parents add that teachers' personal opinions should stay outside the classroom, and they want an apology. School officials have not commented, pending further details on the case.
Over the years, particularly during election season, educators have repeatedly sparked controversy for bringing politics into the classroom. In 2009, a video surfaced of students from a Burlington, N.J. "singing the praises of President Obama." The song was reportedly part of a school project, and included lines like "Obama loves the little children," touting the president's "great plans" to "make this country's economy No. 1 again."
The principal reportedly received death threats as a result, and the state department of education launched an investigation into the incident.
In May, Spencer, N.C. teacher Tanya Dixon-Neely was placed on paid suspension after she was caught on tape telling a student that he could be arrested for saying negative things about the president. In the video that subsequently went viral on the Internet, the student says that Obama and Romney are "just men." The North Rowan High School social studies teacher disagreed.
"Listen, let me tell you something, you will not disrespect the president of the United States in this classroom," Dixon Neely is heard saying. "Do you realize that people were arrested for saying things bad about Bush? Do you realize you are not supposed to slander the president?"
And just last month, eighth grade science teacher Linda White came under fire for telling her students that Obama should not be re-elected because he's Muslim, adding that Mitt Romney should be elected to office because he's "a good Christian."
And earlier in October, Philadelphia high school sophomore Samantha Pawlucy made national headlines after geometry teacher Lynette Gaymon mocked the student for wearing a Mitt Romney T-shirt. The geometry teacher at Charles Carroll High reportedly told the teen to take her shirt off because she's in a "Democratic school," adding that wearing the pro-Romney shirt is analogous to the teacher, who is black, wearing a KKK shirt.
The educator received death threats following the incident and has since apologized for her remarks, but Samantha and her siblings are still transferring from Carroll High. Romney also made a personal phone call to the family, but Samantha missed the gesture.
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