Kim Johnson, a part-time French teacher at Morton High School in Illinois, was accused by a former student of expressing racism and homophobia in the classroom. These allegations provoked parental protests and Morton School District investigations.
“She basically said that for those who look like me, if I stop at the airport for no reason, she won’t have any problems, because it makes better use of the police’s appropriations and funds,” Morton Asia 2017 Maya Phan, a high school graduate, told WMBD. “She asked me if I was gay in front of my classmates. She warned a boy to be careful at a college party because girls like to cry and rape.”
Johnson once taught “American Issues” in school. Former student Andrew Irwin took Johnson’s class in 2009.
Owen said: “Early in the semester, Kim Johnson shared with our class that she thinks homosexuality is a choice.”
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Owen said that she often mentioned her religious views in class. He also said that she often hugs students and sits on their desks, making some of them feel uncomfortable.
The head of the school district, Dr. Jeff Hill, said the school district has begun an investigation into these allegations.
On Thursday, parents, students and community members from the area protested outside the school. The protesters mainly advocate for LGBTQ students, while calling on teachers and education leaders in the region to increase ethnic and religious diversity. Some protesters shared stories of their own experiences, witnesses or heard bullying in the area.
Morton High School third-year student Josie Kneller accused Morton School Board Member Bart Rinkenberger of FacebookAccording to reports, the comment was made in a post encouraging others to disregard the Democratic governor’s requirement to wear masks.
According to the aforementioned news network, Rinkenberger’s comments reportedly said: “Imagine a person is so contradictory that they allow children to decide what gender they want to’be’, but they are not allowed to decide whether to wear a mask.” The protesters appealed. Johnson and Lincolnberg both stepped down.
“I want to see people feel safe and happy in school, rather than being afraid of teachers being rude to them or other students being rude to them, because the top of our community has shown them that this is okay, but not,” Kneller said.
Weekly newspaper Contact Rinkenberger for comments.
The Gay and Lesbian Student Education Network (GLSEN) advises teachers and staff not to go out publicly or question the sexual identities of students and others. GLSEN says that such treatment can expose individuals to discrimination, harassment, bullying and violence.
