After the Waukesha, Wisconsin, school board banned music with rainbow themes from an upcoming concert, Melissa Tempel, a first-grade teacher, asked on Twitter, “When will it end?”.
After several songs with a rainbow theme were dropped from her students’ spring musical, a Wisconsin first-grade teacher took to the internet to express her outrage.
The Waukesha County Board of Education was criticised by Melissa Tempel, a dual language teacher at Heyer Elementary, for prohibiting the songs “Rainbowland” by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton and “Rainbow Connection” from the Muppet movies”.
“My first-grade students were eager to perform “Rainbowland” in our spring musical, but our administration rejected their request. Tempel questioned on Twitter, “When will it be over?
Supt. James Sebert of the Waukesha School District did not promptly answer an inquiry for comment.
In addition, Tempel released the following lyrics from their 2017 collaboration, which appeared on Cyrus’ sixth studio album Younger Now: “Living in a Rainbowland / The skies are blue, and everything is grand / Wouldn’t it be nice to live in paradise / Where we’re free to be exactly who we are”.
My first graders were so excited to sing Rainbowland for our spring concert but it has been vetoed by our administration. When will it end? @waukeshaschools @DollyParton @MileyCyrus @mileyworld @gsafewi @CivilRights #publicschools pic.twitter.com/8Na0nETmDw
— Maestra Melissa (@melissatempel) March 21, 2023
The song continues, “Let’s all go deep inside / Brush off the fear and judgment.”. Make the mistakes right and end the conflict because, as I promise, no one will prevail”.
Although Tempel was informed that Cyrus, 30, was “controversial,” she “felt for sure” that Parton’s popularity among drag queens and the LGBTQ community had something to do with the decision.
But I can’t stop my students from singing “Rainbowland.”. The song is fantastic and infectious.
According to Tempel, emails from parents and the neighbourhood group Alliance for Education led to the lifting the ban on “Rainbow Connection.”. Without them, “I don’t know where I’d be,” she said.
As stated by Becky Gilligan of the Alliance for Education, the group “continues to advocate for our community” and that “this is the most recent decision by a school district administration intent on stifling diversity and denying equality to the community it serves, further ostracising Waukesha in the eyes of the nation,” this decision further alienates Waukesha from the rest of the country. “.
The Los Angeles Times was informed by Sarah Schindler, whose daughter is a student in Tempel’s class, that the school board recently underwent a “conservative flip” due to public outcry over the COVID-19 regulations.
The policy changes that came along with it, according to Schindler, “have sparked some discussion in our community.”. One of these is a contentious rule prohibiting teachers from displaying political signs. The discussion of pronouns with students also came up. Rainbow-coloured clothing is also forbidden for teachers”.
The Waukesha School District’s nondiscrimination policy explicitly lists “sexual orientation” as one of the protected classes. It states that the district “does not discriminate in its admissions, programs, activities, services, or employment” on any grounds prohibited by federal law.
Governor of Florida follows. H. was acquired by Ron DeSantis. B. Following the signing of H.R. 1557, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, into law last March, many states followed suit, making it illegal for teachers to discuss sexual orientation and gender identity with students.
As of last month, 340 pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation were proposed in the United States, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
