Was A Mother Silenced At School Board Meeting For Reading Daughter’s Explicit Assignment?
A viral video of a Clark County mother speaking out against her daughter's explicit lesson is sparking debate on social media.
Controversy erupted over a concerned Nevada mother’s claims made at a local school board meeting. Kandra Evans went before the Clark County school board to discuss a questionable assignment given to her 15-year-old. A video of her addressing the board members went viral where the board cut her off as she read the material and she was forced to defend her position, saying, “If you don’t want me to read it to you, what was it like for my 15-year-old daughter to have to memorize pornographic material?
The video in question circulated from Facebook to Twitter and grabbed national attention. But the focus was drawn away from the content that Evans brought to light, and placed on the Clark County school board’s pause to break. Newsweek and many other publications attempted to “Fact Check” the story by claiming that the outrage sparked by this incident was falsely fueled by the belief that the mother was not allowed to proceed with her argument and that the board took a standard pause to break, as is common, and that the mother was then allowed to have her say.
What these reports fail to highlight is the growing introduction of sexual material in the public education system, and how minors — who are not legally able to consent to sex — have been sexualized at younger and younger ages. Evans went before the Clark County school board to address this and read her daughter’s school assignment which she says required the young 15 year-old minor to memorize pornographic writing and then recite it before her class. When addressing the board, Evans began reading the material 16 minutes and 45 seconds into the recorded meeting and an audience member tried to decry it as “propaganda.” There was a commotion and the board had to regain control of the situation. One board member then asked Evans not to use “profanity.” Evans defended her reading of the assigned material and was then told, “I ask you simply, this is a public meeting, I ask for decorum.”
Although the clips circulating on the internet do not show the entire conversation, they do display how a mother came forward to read the content assigned to her child and was told not to use that sort of language. The Clark County School Board has launched an investigation into the assignment, but whether or not the teacher involved will be reprimanded remains to be seen. For now, parents must closely monitor school work and oral presentation assignments in order to ensure that their children aren’t being required to recite explicit content of a sexual nature.
The mother in question was allowed to address her concerns, but was also asked not to further read her daughter’s school assignment. Some people believe this silenced her from expressing the full severity of the situation, while others note that her complaint was addressed and is being reviewed, so although she was not allowed to read the entire work at the meeting, she was not silenced. Regardless of the semantics, a minor student looks to have been given inappropriate sexual content in school and instructed to recite it to her other Clark County class members. This is the issue that parents, students, and educators against the sexualization of children are most shocked at. The silencing itself is merely a single detail that deflects from the entire issue.
