A California middle school teacher has recently taken a mental health leave of absence after being harassed in and out of the classroom.
What did the kids have to harass Amy Estes about? They learned she is gay, a fact she hadn’t discussed with any of them.
The Spring View Middle School educator addressed the situation in a Facebook post, which attracted the attention of the local news.
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I have been an educator for 12 years, and I have loved it. Being a teacher is a core part of my identity, and the…
Posted by Amy Estes on Wednesday, June 6, 2018
In the post, she writes:
“At the start of the school year, some students found out that I am gay — a fact I had never shared with my students. They posted photos online and it became the talk of the campus. While it is dehumanizing and painful to be outed, my hope was that it would die down. Instead, it escalated to the point that I was being harassed in and out of the classroom. When I sought the help and support of my administration, I did not find it. The situation became so severe that I sought the support of the union, who hired me a lawyer to help me navigate this situation.”
She says some students started following her on YouTube, and she was surprised when she received a comment that read: “Don’t be stupid, be a smarty. You can join the Nazi Party. Now accepting dykes.”
A student, Averee Patton (above), also spoke up in class about “homos” in a presentation after learning Estes is gay, explaining that marriage is “Adam and Eve” not “Adam and Steve.”
The school has not done anything to publicly stand behind Estes, and says it can’t comment on the situation due to litigation.
Local ABC10 interviewed Averee and her parents.
Averee’s mother Lane said: “As far as we’re concerned, we back the school district 100 percent. She shouldn’t have her sexual preferences pushed on you and our religious views shouldn’t be pushed on anybody else.”
Parents whose daughter had the Rocklin teacher who went on mental health leave after being bullied by students when they learned she was gay are now sharing their side of the story. They say they support the district & believe LGBTQ issues should not be addressed in school @ABC10 pic.twitter.com/yRy9lzPT4q
— Liz Kreutz (@ABCLiz) June 13, 2018
Averee, meanwhile, defended her “no homo” presentation by saying it was just part of the assignment — to describe a utopian civilization.
“I made my rules no abortion, no racism and no gay marriage….She told me it was disrespectful and I should have reworded it differently. I had gone over it with my family and they said it was OK,” she said, adding “My parents have taught me all that I need to know and I don’t think the school needs to teach me anything.”
Good luck with that, Averee.
MaxTaste
That’s one mean young lady. I hope her parents are used to the inside of a courtroom. They will be seeing her there a lot, I suspect.
Float
And why is that? She has a different opinion, she was asked about it, and she answered truthfully. She is not harming anyone by saying it; exept the teacher who overreacted. She us not for a gay genocide, she simply follows the path of a religion she has been raised with.
Scotty2Naughty
No Abortion. No Racism. No Gay Marriage. Interesting. Is it weird that I feel like she is probably racist, too? Even though she said No Racism. I don’t believe her for some reason. I don’t know what it is, but she and her parents just look like bigots. I know there’s not actual physical attributes of a bigot, but if there were I think it would look like this girl and her parents.
Chrisk
I was thinking the same thing. I’ve known many bigots in my time and racism is always the other side of the coin.
Chrisk
Yeah the only thing that’s missing is a banjo playing. Her parents look like they’re right out of Central Casting.
bobbyjoe
So they outed her and then complained about her pushing her “sexual preference” on them?
Yeah, that’s some trying to have your cake and eat it too style bigoted evilness right there. I hope this teacher sues the school for all its worth.
JoeyRamone
I’m for free speech, no matter how “offensive.” Silencing people only amplifies their martyr complex. Instead of saying they are wrong because the language is hurtful or harmful (welcome toe the world, I say) make them defend their comments. How the hell would eliminating gay marriage make for an ideal world to an ostensibly straight teenager? (Of course, it would eventually come out that she wanted a theocracy, a non-democratic model which could be further dismantled.) People need to defend their ignorance not be gagged.
DCguy
Or you tell them that it’s illegal to discriminate and if they want to make it legal then would they also support laws that say women or Christians can’t attend school or shop in local businesses.
Then if they don’t like it, you kick her out of school and prosecute the family for harassment.
Steve
Someone remove that girl from the home of her bigoted parents to save her.
My2Cents
1) yes this little girl has been taught idiotic concepts by her parents but let’s face it, a lot of kids are being taught idiotic concepts by their parents and will parrot it to their kids. They will only change when they are confronted with their beliefs with someone in their family. A kid coming out, the girl requiring an abortion, etc. nothing we can do about their “beliefs”.
2) this teacher should act like a teacher and not cower in the face of this shit! It is ridiculous to think that she could be gay outside of work and not have the kids find out. Especially since she is posting it on social media. Kids pounce on vulnerability and weakness and she is showing them that she is somehow embarrassed or ashamed to announce she is gay. Being a member of a minority group will require a much thicker skin than she is exhibiting. If she stands proud and does her job then the kids would tire quickly of trying to bully her.
3) I can’t help but notice that people like this little bitch and her family feel far more emboldened to espouse their creepy ideals (What did they do with the gay people in this utopia?) But I unfortunately have to agree with them on one point. They do have a right to their shitty opinion and it looks like she followed the rules of the assignment. It should have been either ignored or counterpointed in class and that’s it. By elevating it to a lawsuit, this teacher has inadvertently given these people a much larger audience. It is a trick of the right that the left falls for over and over again!
teslaspigeon
The 1970s called, they want their ideals back. My God, Harvey Milk is rolling in his grave.
DCguy
Notice how the defense of right wing bigots is always the same?
She shouldn’t be “PUSHING” LGBT issues in school. So apparently “Pushing” means their daughter stalked the woman online, found out she was gay and harassed her for it.
Just like the old “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy, where they would investigate people to find out if they were LGBT then kick them out even though the people hadn’t “Told”.
Bigots being bigots. The student should be kicked out for harassment with a hate crime attachment and the administrators need to be fired.
buzzy58
I use to be a High School Teacher but had to leave the profession because of a student. Today, the students have ALL the power! This one student told me: “No wonder you are so f—ing fat, you are always stuffing your goddamn face.” I was having an insulin reaction and taking a piece of candy to bring my sugars up.
I got made and grabbed her by the coat collar and demanded she apologize. I was fired because she said I hit her and so it was child abuse. It was in the hallway in front of everyone, but not one student came to my defence. It is the same with your sexuality. If they don’t agree with what you are, straight or gay, they have all the power to get rid of you.
Things HAVE to change!
buzzy58
Oh, I forgot to mention that this student that told me I was fat, outweighed me by at least 50 pounds. Being a professional I didn’t say things like “Look in a mirror” or anything like that.
Float
Well… Ever thought he was just trying to hurt you? Considering you are here trying to justify that he/she has no argument against you because of their weight, it seems to have worked. Also if a 450 pound person tells a 400 pound person he is fat, does not mean he is wrong…
Not sure about kg->lbs so might be a bad example 🙂