By Grace Carr
Angry parents expressed outrage after actress Janine Turner’s “conservative” presentation on the Constitution to fifth and sixth graders.
Turner, the founder of “Constituting America,” spoke to the middle schoolers on Sept. 12 about patriotism and the meaning of America’s founding document. She gave a lecture to promote “civic engagement and understanding of constitutional rights,” the mission of her nonpartisan organization.
“Constituting America” seeks to promote the Constitution for students of all ages,” according to its website.
Our Founder & Cochair Actress @JanineTurner spoke to @EubanksDragons today for #ConstitutionDay-Book a speech: constitutingamerica@yahoo.com pic.twitter.com/sDAHQKER1W
— Constituting America (@ConstituteUS) September 12, 2017
“The program itself was great as she talked about love for country and being a good citizen,” said school district spokeswoman Julie Thannum, according to The Dallas Morning News Monday. “It wasn’t until later that we started getting calls and seeing social media postings upset about materials the speaker passed out to the children.”
“These aren’t the topics we’d typically talk about with fifth and sixth graders,” Thannum added, noting that Turner addressed topics like sex trafficking and abortion.
Some parents thought Turner was not qualified enough to talk with kids about the Constitution, claiming legal scholars should explain the document instead. The topics she introduced were too advanced for the middle schoolers, others claimed, and Turner shouldn’t have broached the topics at all.
The school district apologized to parents in a letter, saying Turner addressed political material in an inappropriately partisan manner.
“How they get their foot in the door is letting a nice, little actress from Texas talking in a school about the Constitution,” former school board president Buddy Luce, a civic and family law attorney, told The Dallas Morning News.
Beware, Superintendent had to apologize 2x after Turner and daughter blindsided CISD. #ConstitutionDay .@tasbnews pic.twitter.com/jEsoVgCmWe
— Blucebdcer (@moderate2severe) September 17, 2017
Turner was not aware of any backlash until she received notice on Monday of the school’s public apology. “The things people are saying on the internet are terrible,” she told the Texas newspaper on Monday. “I am the victim of social tyranny.”
Turner claimed she gave school administrators copies of the material in the spring and the district did not express concern.
“The last thing I’d ever want to do is to disappoint a school system or to disappoint a child or a parent,” Turner said, dismayed that neither the school nor the district defended her presentation.
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Before we get bunched up with the alleged ‘outrage’ over teaching students about the U.S. Constitution, the reports on this Texas issue indicate that some parents, certainly not all, were concerned with the supporting literature handed out during the talk to explain the legislative process. The controversial handouts included topics on sex trafficking and abortion that were not age appropriate for 5th & 6th graders, not so much ‘outrage’ about teaching the Constitution. With all due respect, True North, the ‘spin’ of this article does a disservice to conservatism.
To all the loud mouth lefties and other idiots of like mind, don’t go away mad; just go away. Do you think your warped outlook on the world is correct?
When I read stuff like this, I KNOW that being on the right is RIGHT! And Trump is RIGHT for America.
Good for Janine Turner. Camp Constituon had the opportunity to speak to a public school a few years ago and we were well received but not invited back. Here is a presention we did at a home school group entitled “Know Your Constitution” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYM7PIIfs6c
“Welcome to Eubanks Intermediate!
We strive to educate and to assist them in realizing their full potential as responsible, productive, contributing members of society by providing an educational environment in which students are challenged, excellence is expected, and differences are valued.”
I can only assume that in realizing their full potential as responsible, productive, contributing members of society, students in Eubanks Texas, are destined to become adults without the realization of their certain inalienable RIGHTS guaranteed by the Constitution. The fact that these educators feel the need to apologize for a presentation on Constitution Day, says loud and clear that they themselves are ignorant themselves. Or worse……they have no backbone. How sad!
For any who may remain unaware, Texas is being overrun by snowflakes from Kalifornia who insist on carrying with them their toxic ideologies, Austin by far the worst.
Of course there would be outrage. Any teaching of the meaning of the Constitution ruins the Lefties program of keeping the mushminds of the young kids ignorant of the values of America.
Angry parents expressed outrage after actress Janine Turner’s “conservative” presentation on the Constitution to fifth and sixth graders, but these same Idiots don’t have a problem with teaching school kids about Gender Identity…Shameful!!
These leftist snowflakes are really irritating with all their BS, please move to the left coast with the rest of the fruitcakes.