• Jenna Ebbers – Oct 24, 2023 – Lincoln Journal Star

My cmnt: “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance” – Thomas Jefferson. Hartley Burr Alexander, “The salvation of the state is watchfulness in the citizen.” The Lib-Left (i.e., the public school administrators) is constantly testing the fence for any weakness so that she can burst forth and devour the middle class like the T-Rex in “Jurassic Park”.

An assignment given to students at Waverly Middle School in August that dealt with diversity spurred complaints from a handful of parents and led to one of the topics being dropped.

According to Waverly Superintendent Cory Worrell, the controversy started when students in an eighth grade social studies class were given an assignment intended to teach them more about different cultures.

Students were asked to choose and research four of seven provided topics: Celebrating Pride, Celebrating Women’s History, Celebrating Black History, Celebrating Hispanic Heritage, Celebrating Asian Pacific Americans, Celebrating Men’s Health, and Learn and Love Diversity.

Worrell said administrators were made aware of parent concerns regarding the assignments in August shortly after they were given, specifically about the “Celebrating Pride” topic.

The middle school principal heard from four parents who expressed concerns about the assignment, while a couple of others expressed support for it, Worrell said.

The assignment was promptly pulled from the course and no student received a grade for it, he said.

While most assignments undergo an extensive curriculum review to be approved for the classroom, this one had not been fully vetted, Worrell said. Typically, teachers and administrators are required to review all content using state standards to approve all texts, written materials and assignments.

Worrell said he feels the issues raised regarding the assignment were resolved after communicating with parents and answering questions.

But one parent disagreed.

Shanna Allison, who was one of the parents to file a complaint about the assignment said eighth grade students, including her own child, were asked to research topics like the history of the LGBTQ+ community, the Black Lives Matter movement and gender dysphoria for a graded social studies assignment.

She also claimed students were taught about hatred toward law enforcement and that certain races are oppressed while white people are privileged — an allegation that was denied by the school.

These are all things she said she considers “activism,” which she feels has no place in a classroom.

“It’s not about one teacher or 20 teachers doing it,” Allison said in an email. “All public school educators need to be neutral when it comes to political topics or views being taught in the classroom.”

Allison said that she requested to sit in on one of her three children’s classes at Waverly following the incident but was denied access by Worrell.

In an email she provided to the Journal Star between her and Worrell, the superintendent highlighted Board of Education policies that outline the district’s right to protect the learning environment from distractions and its policy on visitors and loitering.

Additionally, the parent handbook states that visitors are only allowed to observe classes for up to 30 minutes and must be approved by administration. If they feel it would be disruptive to the classroom, administrators reserve the right to say no to requests.

Allison said she is now planning a protest before school Nov. 1 in an area that’s visible from both the middle and high schools.

Waverly administration is aware of the planned protest and will work to ensure student safety throughout that morning, Worrell said.

“Our students’ safety and security will be our top priority this day as they travel on these sidewalks and streets outside of our buildings,” he said.