The fifth grader whose teacher told him he shouldnât be thankful for his two dads because homosexuality is a sin is speaking out for the very first time.
Last month, a substitute teacher from Deerfield Elementary, located about 45 minutes outside Salt Lake City, Utah, was fired after she told 11-year-old Daniel van Amstel that having two dads was ânothing to be thankful forâ then asked if he planned on being gay when he grew up.
The incident happened just before Thanksgiving. The teacher, whose name has not been released, had asked students what they were most thankful for this holiday season. When Daniel replied that he was thankful for that his dads would have their final hearing to officially adopt him in December, she looked back at him and said, âWhy on Earth would you be thankful about that?â before launching into a homophobic diatribe in front of the whole class.
Now, in an exclusive interview with âCBS This Morningâ, Daniel tells co-host Tony Dokoupil he âwent redâ when his teacher trashed his family like that.
âShe first said, âWhy would you be happy to be adopted by them?â And thatâs when one of the three kids, ones in my class, they stuck up for me and said letâs stop. But she kept going. And she said, âAre you going to be gay?'â Daniel explains.
When Dokoupil asks, âWhat was it like to hear the teacher say that thereâs something wrong with them?â Daniel responds, âHonestly, I went red. I didnât like what she said.â
He continues, âI was very mad. Because it isnât â itâs not right â nice to insult other families, even if you donât like them. If you donât have anything nice to say, donât say it.â
Asked what he would like to say to the teacher now, Daniel replied, âI would tell her, âYou should have made better choices in life.'â
Watch.
Related: Teacher spews homophobia to 5th grade class, kids get her fired
jayceecook
“You should have made better choices in life.”
I hope that former teacher can afford health care because that is a serious burn. From a fifth grade kid no less.
jultoe
?????????????????? You seem to be a well formed family. I’m sure your bonds will be fruitful! ?????In them are things sweet and nourishing! Thanks for sharing. Sharing is where family starts.
TomG
One thing I have learned is that MOST so-called “Christians” don’t seem to be able to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, “Live and let live”, and “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone”. That’s a real shame too, that they are “Christian” in name only and NOT practice.
Terrycloth
A teachers job is to uplift a child , to inspire them , not to demean ,criticize or bully.they get enough of that from other students and peer pressure , don’t need the teachers crap as well. The 2 girls were heroes knew the teacher was wrong and did the right things ..this boy is very smart ..I wish him and his dads all the very best .
jultoe
???
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
That âteacherâ and itâs vile fellow far right smcubag puddles of puke are going to burn in Hell for all eternity
That kid was destined to be in the foster system til he was 18 and then be thrown into the streets. Where he would probably wind up homeless selling himself to survive. Yet that is what the âreligiousâ rightous smcubags prefer.. Rather then being adopted into a loving stable family. These puddles of puke decry Gay adopting, yet how many of them are willing to do so? Better to let a child suffer. God looking down on these piglets in disgustâŚ
The kid is articulate, intelligent and wise beyond his years. The girls were awesome, and the kid said it best Karma at workâŚ
jultoe
????????????????Life is hard; life is beautiful. So are its lessons. Study hard, like the young man has. He is a teacher. We all are, some better than others. Practice makes perfect possible.
My2CentsWorth
Why in the heck do you put pigs down by comparing such disgusting folks as piglets?
People become weird when they are functioning while their minds are in neutral.
Steve9999
I’m not crying…YOU’RE CRYING!!! Bravo…to everyone in this video. Made my day.
fireman452
I think the father actually said “too late” but it made my day too
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Who’s been chopping onions???
Doug
I choked up too. What a great family, and a great kid.
Chipper
WE all agree, the teacher is in the wrong profession. Looks like this family is well adjusted. and Congratulations that the adoption was finalized yesterday. Guys you are doing a great job, and your son is so lucky to have you both.
gothvixen
Yes, I’m stopping myself from crying. I taught physics for 17 years, so I understand a little about young people. Daniel is a highly intelligent boy and obviously very happy to be with his parents. I will never understand what motivates anyone to be cruel to children, or to hold such abhorrent views. To then humiliate and hurt a child is beyond every sense of decency. I wish the very best to this lovely family, especially on their precious first Christmas together. The gender of your parents means nothing, their love means everything.
sillyme
gothvixen, amen to you there couldn’t have said it better myself like that. Daniel deserves some great credit for his friends and his Family and not be told that it’s wrong, sorry there is no wrong in parental love. I was raised almost like this boy in beliefs that do say something like that is so very wrong, I knew gay women as a young teen and men that were couples and I worked for them cleaning their house and they raised 2 kids of their own that were straight and adopted 2 that were gay and everyone was fine with it and they were the sweetest family you could know. I’m glad that I grew up back in the 70’s and didn’t have this crap heading out when I was young like it is today. Daniel I salute you and your dad’s for making a family.
Sister Bertha Bedderthanyu
This teacher sounds like a child herself. I can see that fool standing over that kid while he is sitting at his desk and pointing her finger in his face. She ended her own career because only a fool would hire a lawsuit-waiting-to-be-filed like her. No school district in that state will touch her.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Don’t be astonished if the school Karen Pence works for don’t lay out the welcome mat for that abhorrent repugnant crunt…
djmcgamester
Kid has probably been in the foster care system and finally found people who want to raise him as their own. Who’d be thankful for that?
Vince
Your comment makes no sense.
MISTERJETT
kids are so smart. too bad they have to grow up to become ignorant hateful adults.
jdr11201
Well someone is Not Getting Christmas, (Sub-Teacher). it is amazing still in 2019 teachers aill in the dark ages. As for Daniel good for sticking up for your dad’s.
Merry Christmas to all đ
GayEGO
Kudos to these hot looking dads and their son. My lifetime partner of 57 years, married 15 years in Massachusetts, the first state to pass marriage equality, talked about having kids back in the 1970s, but it was not acceptable back then. We have advanced and this so called teacher, who should not even be called a teacher, needs to learn and evolve to this century. I was born and raised in Idaho which borders Utah on the north so I remember how gays were thought of as deviants back in the 1950s.