Georgia Teacher Fired for Reading ‘Gender Binary’ Book to Fifth Graders
The Cobb County School Board in Georgia voted Thursday, four to three, to fire a fifth-grade teacher for reading a book about “moving past the gender binary” to her students.
Katie Rinderle, a veteran district teacher who taught for many years in the district, read “My Shadow is Purple”, a book to young students.
The firing occurred after a tribunal hearing where leaders decided whether she would keep her position as an instructor or lose it.
The report stated that the tribunal found that Rinderle had violated a part of Georgia’s divisive concept law. However, they recommended she keep her job. Rinderle also claimed that the book was appropriate for students, as its theme revolves around being true to yourself.
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Amazon describes the book as “a heartwarming, inspiring book by the author of My Shadow Is Pink about moving beyond gender binary and being true to oneself.”
A parent complained in March about the teacher’s reading of the book to children. Rinderle’s class was removed.
Jeff Hubbard is the president of Cobb County Association of Educators. According to him, this decision puts teachers on alert. He said, “If anything you do angers well connected parents. You can lose your job if an investigation is rushed, regardless of whether it was intentional.
Book Reviews by a Conservative Teacher highlighted the title recently, telling its readers that it “promotes a non-binary life style and no child should ever read this book.” I can’t even imagine how confusing and confusing this nonsense is for children.
One parent said to 11 Alive: “I do not want him indoctrinated by the teachers. I want parents to be parents, and teachers to teach. That’s it.”
Breitbart reported that in May 2022 a middle school art instructor from Florida who was “pansexual”, claimed to have been fired because she had discussed her sexual orientation with the students. The students made flags that represented their sexuality or gender identity.
The Lee County School District has told local media that she was terminated for not following the required curriculum.