Hand In Hand

 First, the Waukesha School District decided to ban Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus's duet Rainbowland from the first grade concert at Heyer Elementary School. The district's  decision was made based on "whether it was appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students" and because of "social or personal impacts" on them. Then the kids' teacher spoke up about it. Then the School District put her on administrative leave. 

The song itself is pretty simple, with lyrics like "Wouldn't it be nice to live in paradise/Where we're free to be exactly who we are," and "Living in a Rainbowland/Where you and I go hand in hand/Oh, I'd be lying if I said this was fine." First graders tend to go hand in hand quite often, in my experience. And I suspect that the real trouble here is allowing children to believe that it's okay for them to be free to be anyone except what their uptight parents and government officials want them to be. 

This is Wisconsin, after all. The Dairy State is one of the few places where Republicans have allowed the discredited practice of "conversion therapy" to continue, and anti-trans bills proliferate. And now, with the school year coming to a close, Ms. Tempel's kids are going to have to finish out the year without their teacher. 

This comes just a few months after a principal in Florida was forced out of her job because she did not adequately prepare parents of sixth grade students who viewed Michelangelo's David. The statue wasn't the problem, since it had been viewed by sixth grade art history students in previous years, but the notification was not sent. According to Ms.Carrasquilla, three parents were upset, two parents said they wished they were notified about the lesson beforehand, while one parent complained more specifically about the nudity, equating it to pornographic material." And you know, Florida. 

So here I sit, on the edge of another year's end, pleased and relieved that I work in a district where the district and teachers seem to be on the same page when it comes to teaching kids about the planet which they will soon inherit. We may not always see eye to eye about compensation, but at least we can sing our little hearts out about being free to be whoever we want to be. Walking hand in hand.