A technology teacher in Austin, Texas, has angered parents after reading a Dr. Seuss-style poem mocking “evangelicals” and those who have expressed concern over pornographic content in books.
The poem was read on Dec. 16 by Krista Tyler, an instructional technology specialist at Grisham Middle School in the Round Rock Independent School District (ISD).
Tyler spoke at the Leander ISD school board meeting, saying “Everyone in Leander liked reading a lot/ but some evangelicals in Leader did not”.
These kooks hated reading, the whole reading season./ Please don’t ask why, no one quite knows the reason./ It could be perhaps critical thinking causes fright./ It could be their heads aren’t screwed on just right./ But whatever the reason, their brains or their fright,/ they can’t follow policy in plain black and white.
Krista tyler
“These bigots don’t get to choose for us, that’s clear,” Tyler continued. One line of the poem says ‘We must stop this indoctrination from coming’, mocking parents who are concerned about critical race theory and what their children are being taught in school.
Tyler’s poem ends with “Bring back our books, maintain decorum, good grief./ Wouldn’t it be nice to have a meeting in peace?”
Earlier this month, Leander ISD had removed 11 books because of sexual content. Outraged by Tyler’s comments, parents in both Round Rock ISD and Leander ISD spoke out.
Dustin Clark, a father who was arrested for speaking up in a board meeting, told Fox News “I’m disgusted and disheartened that there are teachers in our school district who think it is OK to mock parents for their religious beliefs, and for demanding that children not have access to books in the library or classroom that have pornographic illustrations and graphic descriptions of sex acts”.
Orlando Salinas, a father of a child in Round Rock ISD, told the outlet that “Parents such as myself, are increasingly participating in school board meetings because we see firsthand the detrimental effects that ‘woke-ism’ has had on our schools and our children”.
Kieu Trang, a mother of four children in Round Rock ISD, said Tyler “shouldn’t be teaching”. “The fact that that statement came from a teacher who could be teaching my children at Round Rock ISD is very concerning”.