Can we please stop encouraging kids to engage in political protest and give them time and space to be kids?
Wednesday, Hillary Clinton shared a video compiled by NowThis, a progressive social video sharing outfit. The video highlighted Mariana Taylor, an 11-year-old who was disciplined by her teacher for kneeling during the Pledge of Allegiance.
In the video, Taylor is featured speaking before the school board, defending her decision with court cases and asserting that the teacher’s intervention was more disruptive than her protest. Conjecture what you will about that.
Taylors parents and the ACLU got involved.
The school has a different version of events. From the Washington Post:
Baltimore County school officials say they can’t discuss the matter in detail because of their obligation to protect student privacy. But in a statement, they rebutted the claim that any student was punished for not joining in the pledge.“We know of no [Baltimore County Public Schools] student who has been reprimanded or punished for nonparticipation in patriotic observances,” they said. “We fully support students’ rights and encourage student voice as articulated in board policy.”
Kids are not political tools. They are not objects. They are persons.
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