For the pupils’ vow, a California teacher takes down the American flag and replaces it with the Pride flag.

A video of Kristin Pitzen, a teacher in California, telling her students to say the pledge of allegiance to a Progress Pride flag was shared on social media.

She was heard laughing, “All right, so during third period we do announcements and they do the Pledge of Allegiance,” on the video, which she has since removed. “Stand if you feel like it, don’t stand if you feel like it, and say the words if you want,” is what I usually advise my students. The words don’t have to be spoken. Thus, my class chose to stand without uttering the words. All right. Unless you count the absence of a flag in my room.
She added that she had taken down the American flag, put it somewhere, and was unable to locate it.

“Hey, it’s kind of weird that we just stand and say it to nothing,” my student said today. “We do have a flag in the class that you can pledge your allegiance to,” I remind the child in the interim. As she mimicked her pupil pointing to the Pride flag, she remarked, “And he like looks around and goes, ‘Oh, that one?’…”

 

It is said that she removed the Stars and Stripes because it caused her to feel “uncomfortable.”

The public reacted negatively to Pitzen’s video, as was to be expected.
The Newport-Mesa Unified School District announced in a statement that it has opened an investigation into Pitzen in connection with the video. She has been put on administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing.

According to the district’s statement, “we assure you that we take matters like this seriously.” “We instill in our students the importance of respecting our nation’s flag, and we expect our employees to do the same.”

A personal post by a teacher about the American flag is causing alarm/concern. Respecting our flag is a value we instill in students and is an expectation of our staff. We take this matter with extreme seriousness and are investigating and addressing it.

— Newport-Mesa USD (@nmusd) August 28, 2021

Pitzen “is an absolute disgrace to teachers,” according to one social media user, who also cautioned the educator against bringing her personal “views and political stances into the classroom.”

“I have nothing against the pride flag, but a few days ago, we lost 13 service members in Afghanistan because of that flag. Honor it! Someone else made a comment.

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