US teacher fired for reading book on gender identity in class
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The book My Shadow Is Purple was bought by the teacher, Ms Katherine Rinderle, at a district-approved book fair.
PHOTO: LARRIKIN HOUSE
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ATLANTA – A teacher in an Atlanta suburb has been fired for reading a book on gender identity to fifth-grade pupils, her lawyer said on Friday.
The book explores gender roles and identity through the eyes of a child, whose shadow is described as purple.
The Cobb County Board of Education voted 4-3 on Thursday to approve the recommendation by the superintendent, Mr Chris Ragsdale, to terminate the contract of the teacher, Ms Katherine Rinderle, according to a recording of the meeting.
“The district is pleased that this difficult issue has concluded; we are very serious about keeping our classrooms focused on teaching, learning and opportunities for success for students,” the Cobb County School District said in a statement on Friday.
“The board’s decision is reflective of that mission,” it said.
Ms Rinderle, 33, was a teacher at Due West Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia, which is north-west of Atlanta.
In February, she bought a copy of My Shadow Is Purple, by Australian author Scott Stuart, at a district-approved book fair, and read it to her class on March 8.
The book centres on a gender non-binary theme in which the colour of the child’s shadow is described as different from the child’s mother’s pink shadow and father’s blue shadow.
In an interview on Friday, Ms Rinderle said the pupils discussed the book, in which the child enjoys toys and sports commonly associated with either boys or girls. Then they were encouraged to write poems describing their own “shadows”.
“The book was a picture book about a child who had many different interests,” she said. “They were really able to relate to the importance of belonging.”
After she read the book, she received e-mails from some parents who complained, while others told her they appreciated its message affirming people’s differences.
“What the district has decided, unfortunately, is truly not representative of all parents’ viewpoints,” she said of the firing.
In June, Mr Ragsdale said in a letter to Ms Rinderle that the district intended to terminate her employment for “insubordination, wilful neglect of duties and any other good and sufficient cause”.
It said the “controversial” topic of gender identity and fluidity was “not an appropriate” one for 10- and 11-year-old pupils.
Ms Rinderle can appeal to the state education board or possibly take other legal action, said her lawyer, Mr Craig Goodmark. NYTIMES
