Once the teacher saw the student’s mask, they had a complete and total temper tantrum, complete with a meltdown and everything…
A thirteen-year-old boy was left completely dumbfounded after his teacher started yelling at him. The reason? She didn’t care for his Thin Blue Line facemask, saying that it was “not American” and saying that it was the “new confederacy flag!” Fortunately, the incident was caught on camera and his mother decided to intervene.
Luke Lillar is the proud 13-year-old son of a police officer, and he thought that he was wearing a Thin Blue Line facemask because it would be the best way to honor his father and all of the other men and women in blue who put their lives on the line each and every day for the safety of the public. However, his teacher felt differently about his choice of masks, and almost immediately began berating him for it.
“The Thin Blue Line flag honors fallen members of law enforcement, but it has been degraded by police antagonists and people demonstrating sheer ignorance as they wish to defame peace officers,” Law Officer.com reported.
This incident involving Luke’s teacher occurred at Lyman Gilmore Middle School in Grass Valley, CA, which is about 50 miles or so outside of Sacramento. It was caught on video by classmates, and according to CBS Sacramento, it happened when Luke was in math class working on his homework when the substitute teacher was sitting at an empty desk behind him. She began provoking an argument over the image that was on his mask, but Lillar didn’t back down because both his father and stepmother are members of law enforcement, saying that he wears the mask as a show of support for his family.
“It just makes me feel worried,” the eighth-grader said in regards to what it is like to the child of several members of law enforcement and have teachers such as his substitute react in the manner that they did. “I never had someone talk to me like that, yell at me in my face, especially a teacher.” It’s a shame that Luke had to learn this, but it just goes to show you that propaganda knows no bounds.
Part of the reason that this incident grabbed headlines is because viewers took note of what the teacher had to say, including the part where the teacher is heard saying to the student that his Thin Blue Line mask might pay homage to law enforcement but it is “not American.”
“That’s not the American flag, that’s the new confederacy flag,” the teacher loudly proclaims.
This brings us to Luke’s mother, Amanda McCallus, who launched a campaign to ensure that this would never happen to another student ever again. She informed the school principal first and then she proceeded to get the word out on social media. It took a little while, but McCallum’s hard work paid off after the media took notice of the incident.
“I was angry because these types of things should never be in the classroom,” said McCallum to Fox News 40. “These topics need to be left at the door. The school is meant to educate our children in a safe environment and I don’t feel like this was a safe environment, but it needs to be. We are entrusting these people of authority, these teachers with our children.”
The determined mom went into more detail on her Facebook page, offering some extra juicy information on the teacher in question.
“The [teacher] also said she’s ‘never met one good police officer. All police officers do is look to get people in trouble.’ This is a great message to convey to our impressionable teenagers,” she wrote.
McCallum did get some good news from the principal, who assured her that the educator in question was no longer going to be teaching at the school in the future. That’s not all. This teacher is also going to be reviewed by the authorities who do the credentials as well.
Scott W. Lay — the Nevada County Superintendent of Schools — noted, “We expect all educators to perform their duties with utmost respect and professionalism to afford our youth an environment conducive to learning. The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing that governs educator credentials will be informed of this incident.”
Young Luke Lillar has good reason to be worried about his law enforcement dad and stepmom. Police officers killed in the line of duty continue to be on the rise, with officer death rising by 55 percent after 2020 according to ABC news. Indeed, you would have to go back to 1930 to find higher numbers. Teachers have no business bringing politics into the classroom, especially when it could impact the life of a police officer.
This teacher can save her complete temper tantrum for the unemployment line.