Kristin Pitzen, an English teacher for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District in California, is being investigated by the school district over a TikTok video in which she bragged about taking down the U.S. flag for the Pledge of Allegiance and telling students to instead recite the pledge to a transgender and LGBT pride flag.
“On Friday evening, one of our teachers created a personal social media post that caused alarm and concern related to saluting the American flag,” the district stated this week. “Showing respect for our nation’s flag is an important value our District instills in our students and is an expectation of our employees. We take this matter seriously and are investigating and addressing it.”
In the TikTok video, Pitzen “OK, so during third period, we do announcements and they do the Pledge of Allegiance. I always tell my class, ‘Stand if you feel like it, don’t stand if you feel like it, say the words if you want. You don’t have to say the words.’ So my class decided to stand but not say the words. Totally fine. Except for the fact that my room does not have a flag.” Pitzen bragged that she had removed the flag because it made her “uncomfortable.”
Teacher mocks the American Flag and suggests to students they can say the Pledge of Allegiance to the pride flag: pic.twitter.com/1QTS5xjPln
— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) August 27, 2021
“But, my kid today goes, ‘Hey, it’s kind of weird that we just stand and we say it to nothing,’” Pitzen said, boasting that she told the student she couldn’t find the flag. “In the meantime, I tell this kid, ‘We do have a flag in the class that you can pledge your allegiance to.’ And he like looks around and goes, ‘Oh, that one?’” she said, pointing to the rainbow Pride flag and cackling.
The school district Twitter account stated on Saturday, “A personal post by a teacher about the American flag is causing alarm/concern. Respecting our flag is a value we instill in students and is an expectation of our staff. We take this matter with extreme seriousness and are investigating and addressing it.”
A personal post by a teacher about the American flag is causing alarm/concern. Respecting our flag is a value we instill in students and is an expectation of our staff. We take this matter with extreme seriousness and are investigating and addressing it.
— Newport-Mesa USD (@nmusd) August 28, 2021