(OPINION) A Texas high school teacher was fired Friday after she instructed students to not judge people for wanting to have sex with five-year-olds. The El Paso School District, led by Superintendent Diana Sayavedra, initially suspended Amber Parker, 53, who taught English at Franklin High School in El Paso. But on Friday, the district voted unanimously to fire her.
“After a thorough investigation was conducted, on September 6, 2022, during a Special Board Meeting, the Board of Trustees approved a decision to notify a Franklin High School teacher of proposed termination,” Chief Communications Officer Liza Rodriguez stated, according to NBC News. “Any allegation of potential misconduct is investigated thoroughly, and the safety of our students is a top priority.”
A clip from a TikTok video showed Parker telling her students, “Stop calling them that. ‘You’re not allowed to label people like that. Stop it, Diego. We’re not gonna call them that. … We’re gonna call them MAPs, minor-attracted persons. So don’t judge people just because they wanna have sex with a five-year-old.”
Parker’s remarks were allegedly made prior to the class reading Arthur Miller’s play, “The Crucible,” which revolves around the infamous Salem witch trials. Initially, school board trustee Daniel Call felt that Parker’s remarks were taken out of context and posted his reaction on Facebook, KFOXTV reported. That prompted Parker’s husband Jason to thank Call, stating:
Mr. Daniel Call, I happen the be the husband of the teacher in question. I can tell you that we were shaken to the core about these accusations. It is both scary and disturbing that an edited 18-second clip could destroy a 30-year career when taken completely out of context. She is exemplary as a teacher and truly cares about the students.
Needless to say, we have spent many sleepless nights because of this cruel release to social media of the 18 seconds. We pray that you and the rest of the board will see this for what it is and not allow an edited video destroy an innocent woman, her career, and her family in the process. I want to thank you personally for the updated post to begin to right this wrong.
But one week later Call changed his position. “Any reasonable person that heard what the seven trustees heard would’ve voted to terminate Amber Parker. … There were more things that the public may not know about that were included on the closed findings.” (Daily Wire)
