A teacher at a private Christian school in California taught her preschool students a chant calling for Joe Biden to leave office. And despite the school asking parents not to share the video, hoping to sweep the whole incident under a rug, one parent chose not to play along.
Turning Point Christian School in Norco, affiliated with a megachurch of the same name (and not the right-wing Charlie Kirk group), still won’t answer questions about what happened, but here’s what we know thanks to the reporting of Rob McMillan of the local ABC affiliate:
The teacher posted the short video clip on the app Brightwheel, which many schools use to give parents insight into what’s happening during the school day. Three hours later, the video was taken down, but not before parent Christina McFadden saved a copy of it.
The video lasts only about eight seconds. You can hear a teacher asking the students, “Who’s our President.” The students then respond in unison, “Biden!” The teacher then asks the students “What do we want to do with him?” and the students respond twice, “We want him out!”
It’s the sort of indoctrination conservative Christians always claim (without evidence) happens the other way around at public schools. And yet here there are doing exactly the sort of thing they constantly accuse others of doing.
The unnamed teacher clearly knew what she was doing when posting it because she blurred out the kids’ faces.
But administrators must have recognized that wasn’t the biggest problem with the video because, once they realized what had happened, they moved quickly to take it down and ask parents not to say anything about it.
McFadden said the video was removed from the messaging app about three hours after it was first posted. In its place, a school administrator left a message for the families to whom the video was sent:
“We use Brightwheel as a parent communication app to share about your child’s day and activities. Earlier today a video was posted that has since been deleted as it did not share our school and church philosophy of honoring and respecting authority including those in government positions,” the message said.
The message continued, “We are sorry for any misunderstanding this could of (sic) created. With courtesy towards the families of our campus and the children in the classroom I am asking you to please not share with others or post the video on any social media platform.“
Oops.
If they actually believe the video goes against their school’s philosophy, you would think the school would be open and transparent about what the hell was being taught and what disciplinary actions the teacher will face.
Instead, they’re going the route of Don’t worry, we’re taking care of this, now please look away.
Eyewitness News reached out to Turning Point Christian School by phone and email and did not immediately receive a response. It’s unclear what, if any, disciplinary action was taken against the teacher…
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McFadden said the school did not tell her whether the teacher was disciplined, only saying she had been “repentant” and had learned from her mistake.
That repentance is meaningless without a more comprehensive apology that at least explains the purpose of this so-called “lesson,” what mistake the teacher thinks she made, and how she’ll make sure her politics never make their way into the classroom again. Keep in mind, too, that we only know this Biden example occurred because the teacher was dumb enough to share the video with parents. What else were the kids “taught” when the camera was off?
Remember that, as a private school, calls for the teacher to be fired won’t go anywhere. Which is why it’s especially important that McFadden shared the video; the public shaming and calls to hold the school accountable are the only realistic consequences anyone there will face.
If this was meant to be a history lesson, then it’s yet another reminder of why parents should never send their kids to a private Christian school that clearly doesn’t have quality standards in place. It’s nothing more than an indoctrination camp where students are expected to regurgitate information, not think for themselves. For a teacher to spread this sort of lunacy to preschool children suggests she’s not qualified to be in a classroom.
McFadden has since removed her daughter from that school. However, she says the school still won’t provide her with the day’s lesson and “refused my request for tuition reimbursement.”
I asked her last night why she chose that particular school. Didn’t she know what she was getting into? McFadden told me the reason wasn’t necessarily theological alignment. Her daughter simply didn’t meet the necessary age requirement to attend a local public school. Since a friend recommended Turning Point, and it was close to her workplace, it just seemed like a logical choice.
Here’s hoping her daughter can find a new classroom—preferably a secular one—with a better teacher and an administration that would never let right-wing propaganda seep into the syllabus.