The Newport-Mesa Unified School District is investigating one of its teachers for claiming she removed the United States from her classroom and had her students pledge allegiance to the gay pride flag instead.
In a TikTok post, California English teacher Kristin Pitzen said her students have the option to decide if they want to stand and recite the pledge of allegiance or not.
"During third period, we have announcements and they do the pledge of allegiance," Pitzen said in her TikTok video. "I always tell my class, 'Stand if you feel like it, don't stand if you feel like it, say the words if you want, you don't have to say the words.' So my class decided to stand, but not say the words. Totally fine."
However, Pitzen added that her classroom doesn't have a flag. She stated that she removed the American flag from her classroom while the country was on lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pitzen explained that the flag was removed because it made her "uncomfortable."
"I packed it away and I don't know where, and I haven't found it yet," she continued. “But my kid today goes, 'Hey, um, it's kind of weird that we just stand and then, you know, we say it to nothing." And I’m like, 'Oh well, you know, I gotta find it, like, I'm working on it, I got you.'"
A laughing Pitzen shook her head, hinting that she had no intention of finding and showcasing the American flag before stating, "In the meantime, I tell this kid, 'We do have a flag in the class that you can pledge your allegiance to,'" before panning her camera towards the gay pride flag.
The TikTok post caused the Pitzen to become the subject of an investigation by the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. In a statement, the school district announced that they were taking the matter seriously and working to address it.
Once Pitzen was identified as the teacher in the TikTok post, she removed the viral post and cleared all of her TikTok posts except for one where the caption reads, "The American flag makes me feel uncomfortable."
Source: NY Post
