After the primary school teachers in Idaho caused commotion with their Halloween costumes, two opposite petitions appeared. A group of teachers in the Middleton School District dress up like a wall, and President Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again” is written on their fake brick costumes. Another group of teachers in the area wore stereotypes from Mexicans.
Several parents have offended the clothing photos, which are posted on the school district’s Facebook page. The photo was removed and the director Josh Middleton announced that the district was investigating the teacher’s “insensitive and inappropriate” clothing. KBOI, a subsidiary of CBS, reported that 14 staff members involved in these garments were taken on paid leave during the investigation.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 15,000 people have signed petitions to support these workers. The Change.org petition entitled “Save our Middleton employees, teachers and principals!!” was created three days ago.
The petition said, “Unfortunately, these photos are very controversial. However, we think that its proportion is very large.” “These men and women are an important part of our children’s lives, and their love and support should not be given to them. The things that happened were cast a shadow.”
Some supporters wrote down their reasons for signing the petition on the Chage.org page. “I am 100% supportive of our teachers, and knowing that they have not done this is racial hatred! They are a great person, and I am proud to let them teach my children!” one person wrote.
An anti-petition was created on MoveOn.org to support the Middleton School District “no racist efforts” with the goal of delivering to the superintendent. As of Tuesday afternoon, the “Middleton School District’s No Racialism” petition has received more than 12,000 signatures.
The founders of the petition suggested implementing a school-wide initiative to provide “systematic racist awareness and awareness” through culturally relevant courses, policy changes, recruitment practice reviews and regional training.
“Because of the disturbing image of the teachers from the Middleton School District, highlighting paranoid information and racist stereotypes on the regional social media pages, we invite the Middleton School District to reconnect with them why they first became educators. “The petition wrote. “We hope that you will sign this petition and ask for a proactive approach to ensure that students in the Middleton School District receive the education they deserve and trust the teachers and administrations responsible for their growth and learning.”
According to the Idaho Publishing House, the school will be dismissed earlier this Wednesday for staff training, including cultural awareness and sensitivity. Middleton told local publications that the training will continue into the future.
During the tense period in the region, the Middleton Police Department said they would conduct additional patrols around the school this week to ensure safety and peace.
