The Florida teacher who got in trouble with parents for reading a gay bunny book to elementary schoolers was in the wrong, according to the school district.
Last month, two parents and a grandparent in Sanford, Florida complained after a teacher named Tyler Bond read “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents a Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo” to elementary students. The book is a satire copied after a book by Vice President Mike Pence’s daughter Charlotte. It explores the life and wedding of gay bunny.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, Bond got the idea to read the book to students after hearing a few talking about lesbian women who wanted to get married. The Pine Crest Elementary School teacher then brought the book to school.
After hearing of this development, two parents and a grandparent complained.
“I don’t think it’s fair they are not telling the other parents about what they read,” said one grandparent to Florida News source WFTV9. “Noah comes home one day and asks us if it’s OK for two male bunnies to get married. I said, ‘By our beliefs, no. But we do not judge nobody.’”
One student was even moved out of Bond’s class because his grandfather was upset about the “pornographic” book reading.
The parent of a gay son also shared, “It’s something that should be in an elementary school.”
At first, the Seminole County School District agreed to investigate the situation before deciding to act further and potentially punish Bond. Now, that decision investigation has completed.
The school district released a report that Bond, who has no prior discipline issues, should have asked before reading the book to students. This is because the book was never on the curriculum.
That said, the school district noted the praise and high reviews made about the book. The districted noted how reviews from Common Sense Media say that the book is a “cute, funny, and inclusive picture book” that “has a positive message about celebrating who you are and loving who you want.”
Bond apologized, according to the report, and says he was only trying to create a “positive teaching moment.”
h/t: Orlando Sentinel
Oh very bad news. Now I don’t
Oh very bad news. Now I don't want to read it.