IRSD FOLLOW UP: From Today’s Cape Gazette Letters page

I’m not block quoting it to make a easier to read.

Mother says daughter disputes incident

My daughter is a fifth-grader at Lord Baltimore Elementary School and is in fact in the classroom that has been the latest topic of discussion. Just a little background before I proceed – I have four daughters actually, ranging from first grade to second year of college, and I have only requested a teacher one time in my life and that was for this same teacher. My daughter had her in third grade and loved her. Her grades were better than ever; she loved school and truly excelled in every aspect, from social to academic. Last year, her grades dropped, she struggled, she hated school and was getting in with the wrong crowd. When I found out that this teacher was now teaching fifth grade, I wrote a letter begging to have my daughter placed in her class again. My request was granted and she is once again excelling. I volunteer in her classroom as well as my first-grader’s classroom and I am in the school a lot. This teacher is one of the best there is.
I remember one day my daughter came home and was talking about fasting; when I asked what she was talking about, she explained that Amani was fasting because of her religion and the teacher had her mother come in and explain it to the students so the other kids would understand more about her culture. I thought that was so neat because this way they would understand and be able to support her and her religion rather than think of her as different. There are very few teachers who would go that extra mile and do all they could to make each and every student feel so comfortable within the classroom. While volunteering in the classroom, I have spent time with all of the students including Amani, who is a beautiful, smart and popular student. But, back to the recent events.
I knew the children had been preparing for a mock election because they each had to bring in articles about the different politicians. They were holding a mock election within the classroom and they were forming their own student government in the classroom. The students were all campaigning for their own election during this time as well, and held their classroom election a week after Super Tuesday. Amani was actually elected as class president. When I was sitting at the bus stop waiting for my kids, I was reading the newspaper and saw the letter written by Amani’s sisters. I was completely shocked! I am a Hillary supporter and had been bumping heads with my daughter all week because she was all for Obama. He actually won the mock election in her class. Why would she and all her classmates vote for someone who the teacher had trashed like that? Not only that, but I could not see this teacher ever saying anything like that to begin with.
As soon as the kids got off the bus, I handed the paper to my daughter and told her to read it. I didn’t ask questions or anything, just told her to read. She got about halfway through the article, when she exclaimed, “This is a lie! Mrs. (name withheld) never said that. I am going to school tomorrow and telling Amani…” I stopped her there. I told her she was not allowed to go to school and cause any more drama, but I wanted to know what was said. She said the teacher was talking to one student about the article he had brought in, and how the article was nothing but slander and was explaining what slander was and how people make up untrue and mean things to make people dislike certain candidates and that some of the things they say are scary. This was a one-on-one conversation with one student, not even the whole class; my daughter just happened to sit close enough to overhear. As far as Obama, the teacher told the entire class that she was a Republican but may vote Democratic if O bama made it to the election this year because Obama had such good ideas and views on so many issues. My daughter was so angry that someone would write such a lie in the newspaper that she was nearly in tears. As soon as we got home, she called another student and read it to her…then they both were in an uproar because they both knew in their heart that it was untrue.
I don’t know why Amani would have gone home and said something like this or if her sisters just blew it out of proportion or what, but this is something that never happened. I have talked to a few different kids from the classroom and each and every one of them proclaims that it is all a lie. Before everyone keeps posting all these horrible judgments on the teacher, you should stop and think that maybe it was something taken out of context (slander is scary… not Obama) and twisted and turned until it is nothing but slander itself. I read the original letter as well as the replies to it; I could not continue to sit back and let this go any further without at least making an effort to get the truth out there. If she had said such things, the entire class would not have been so pro-Obama, and they would not have elected Amani as the class president knowing she too was Muslim. This whole thing is absurd and needs to be brought to an end. Not only do I feel sorry for the teacher involve d but also for Amani. She was always accepted and well liked; now there are students who read this who are angry because they know it was all a lie. Her religion was accepted and she was never treated any different but the lies themselves have made many of the kids mad.
Tanya Williams
Dagsboro