Tag: public schools

School Shootings NOT the Number One Cause of Child Death – Statistical Nonsense Debunked

A European friend approached me today, asking about guns in the US, saying, “There are so many guns in your country. It will take a long time to collect them all and get rid of them.” She was shocked when I responded, “We don’t want to get rid of them.”

After she got over her immediate horror and confusion, she asked, “But aren’t you afraid of school shootings?” I said that I was not, while also making it clear that I opposed them. “Most Americans are against school shootings,” I added.

Then she said, “I read that school shootings are the number one cause of death of children in the US.”

I responded, “I believe you believe you read that, but you didn’t. No one is actually making that claim. Mainstream media and anti-gun lobbies are playing with statistics to make you think that is what you read.”

This or similar statements about school shooting deaths are now repeated constantly, not only in personal conversations but also on television talk shows and in the talking points of the anti-gun lobby. The claim, of course, is complete nonsense.

On average, school shootings result in fewer than 40 deaths per year, and not all of the victims are children. There was an uptick during the Biden administration and after COVID, but from 2000 through roughly 2020, the average was closer to six deaths per year.

And this is why no serious authority has actually made such an egregious claim. Rather, headlines are designed to make people believe that is what they read. The actual claim, according to CDC data, is that firearm injuries were the leading cause of death among children and teens ages 1 to 19 in 2020 and 2021.

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Trudeau facing backlash after story referencing high school girls’ skirts

On Wednesday’s live stream, Sheila Gunn Reid and Lise Merle reacted to former prime minister Justin Trudeau facing backlash after sharing a bizarre story about his time teaching high school girls decades ago.

Trudeau told the controversial story while speaking at the 2026 Women Deliver Conference in Melbourne, Australia, earlier this week.

Speaking on a panel, he recalled his time as a teacher when a male student complained about being disciplined for dress code violations, while pointing out that female students regularly wore their skirts “too short.”

Trudeau continued by reflecting on how male teachers were “uncomfortable” pointing out the issue, which visibly squirmed his former Chief of Staff, Katie Telford, who was sitting next to him on stage.

Trudeau noted that he found the student’s perspective “really interesting” and allowed it to be published, which subsequently got the newspaper temporarily thrown out.

Lise condemned Trudeau’s remarks, noting the severely inappropriate nature of his messaging. She criticized him for letting a student publish the op-ed suggesting “[male] teachers are awkward around the [female students]. The sub context of that is that they liked it, and they were allowing it.”

By defending a student’s perspective that male teachers felt “awkward” around short skirts and allowing it to be published, Trudeau has once again placed himself at the centre of a firestorm over what many view as deeply insensitive and outdated attitudes.

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Fired Ontario teachers return to labour board over union’s refusal to defend religious freedoms

Two Ontario teachers fired after refusing to “celebrate and affirm” LGBTQ-related school programming are back before the Ontario Labour Relations Board this week, arguing their union failed to defend their constitutional rights.

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms says lawyers funded by the organization appeared Thursday on behalf of Matt and Nicole Alexander in their ongoing case against the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario.

According to the Justice Centre, the Alexanders were terminated by the Renfrew County District School Board in October 2023 after declining to participate in school activities they say conflicted with their sincerely held Christian beliefs regarding sexuality and gender identity.

The couple alleges their union failed in its legal “duty of fair representation” by refusing to properly defend their Charter-protected freedoms of religion and expression.

In a statement released ahead of the hearing, the Justice Centre said the case raises broader questions about whether public sector employees can face professional consequences for declining to endorse ideological positions that conflict with their faith.

Lawyers representing the Alexanders argue the issue is not whether schools can support LGBTQ students, but whether teachers can be compelled to actively affirm beliefs that violate their religious convictions.

The hearing before the Ontario Labour Relations Board is expected to focus on whether the teachers’ union adequately represented the couple during the disciplinary and termination process.

The JCCF says the Alexanders are seeking accountability from the union and recognition that religious Canadians do not surrender their Charter rights when working in public education.

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Virginia Teacher Abby Zwerner Testifies She Warned Assistant Principal Multiple Times Before 6-Year-Old Shot Her in Classroom: ‘He Was in a Violent Mood’

Former Virginia first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner took the stand Monday in the ongoing criminal trial of former Richneck Elementary School assistant principal Ebony Parker, delivering a harrowing firsthand account of how she was shot by a 6-year-old student.

Zwerner described the student’s escalating violent behavior and the repeated warnings she gave school administrators, which she says were ignored before the boy pulled a 9mm handgun from his jacket and shot her in the hand and chest in her classroom in 2023.

Zwerner, who has undergone multiple surgeries and still has bullet fragments in her body, described a student she referred to only as “J.T.” who displayed clear signs of aggression in the days leading up to the shooting at the Newport News school.

Three days before the incident, Zwerner testified that the boy became defiant and slammed her cellphone onto the ground after she instructed him to do something.

On the morning of the shooting itself, she immediately noticed something was wrong.

“The student appeared to be off and appeared to be in a violent mood,” the former teacher told the jury, according to a report from the New York Post.

Zwerner said she went directly to assistant principal Ebony Parker to voice her concerns.

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UK Schools Push Radical Race Doctrine On Kids, Claiming Black People ‘Cannot Be Racist’

Schools in the north of England are teaching pupils that black people cannot be racist towards white people.

According to materials adopted by a group of Sheffield schools, led by Notre Dame High School, teenagers are explicitly told: “Black people can be racially prejudiced towards a white person which is wrong and totally unacceptable. However, this is not racism. Racism is racial prejudice plus power. In the UK, white people hold the cultural power.”

For children as young as 7, lessons focus on “empathy building” around “privilege,” asserting that white people are “likely to be privileged by the colour of their skin” and have a “responsibility” to reduce racism by monitoring their language, challenging friends, and reporting incidents.

Handouts for older pupils push narratives on criminal justice, claiming black people are disproportionately targeted by police due to racism, with questions guiding students toward that conclusion.

The scheme aims to “interrupt systemic racism” and promote “strong social justice values,” according to its creators.

Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott slammed the materials, noting “It is deeply alarming that children as young as seven are being exposed to divisive identity politics in schools under the banner of ‘anti-racism education’… Labelling children by race and teaching them to focus on what divides them will only foster resentment and deepen division.”

Shadow minister Neil O’Brien called it “political indoctrination” and vowed to tackle such content.

These latest examples highlight a disturbing pattern in UK education: grooming children with critical race theory concepts, framing whiteness as inherently privileged and problematic, while shielding certain groups from accountability and cracking down on any dissent.

This comes as nurseries in Wales, funded by over £1.3 million in taxpayer money, have been urged to report “racist” incidents involving toddlers to police, turning playgrounds into surveillance hubs for the state’s anti-racism agenda.

Childcare workers are being trained to spot and log “racist incidents” by children barely out of nappies, with instructions to contact police via 999 or 101 if it could amount to a hate crime.

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PARENTAL RIGHTS OUTRAGE! Illinois Mother Sues School District, Alleges Officials SECRETLY Socially Transitioned Child After Mental Health Crisis

An Illinois mother has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Community Unit School District 300 of secretly socially transitioning her child at school, withholding key information from her, and cutting her out of a “gender support” plan even after the student had been hospitalized for suicidal ideation.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, names Community Unit School District 300 and Superintendent Dr. Martina Smith as defendants. 

The mother, identified in the complaint only as S.K., alleges that the Algonquin-based district violated her constitutional rights by allowing school officials to make major identity and mental-health-related decisions involving her minor child without parental consent.

“This case challenges a public school district’s policies, practices, and customs of subjecting minor students to psychological and identity-based interventions, while deliberately excluding their parents from participation, consent, and even knowledge,” the complaint states.

The complaint alleges that District 300 officials “socially transitioned minor students at school,” developed “gender support” plans, coordinated with mental-health providers, and withheld material information from parents. 

The lawsuit argues that these actions were “not routine educational judgments,” but rather “state-directed psychological intervention into a minor’s identity, mental health, and familial relationships.”

According to the lawsuit, school personnel began using an alternate name and pronouns for S.K.’s child, T.K., in certain classes in 2022 without informing the mother. 

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Hantavirus Case Reported at NY High School Not Linked to Deadly Cruise Ship Outbreak

Health officials in Ontario County, New York, are investigating a suspected case of hantavirus involving a student at Geneva High School, just after a deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship sparked international concerns about a COVID-2.0 scenario.

According to health officials, the case is not connected to the rare Andes strain that killed three passengers aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship and prompted the quarantine of 18 Americans, including three New Yorkers.

Officials emphasize this is a locally acquired infection typical of the hantavirus strains already present in the United States, and there is no evidence of risk to other students, staff, or the general public.

The Ontario County Department of Health received the alert Thursday morning.

Geneva City Schools sent a letter to parents Friday afternoon confirming the investigation and reassuring families that the situation poses no threat to the school community.

“The Ontario County Department of Health is investigating a suspected case of locally acquired hantavirus involving a Geneva High School student,” the district said in the announcement. “The Department of Health has advised that there is no evidence of risk to other students or staff related to this situation. Health officials have also emphasized that this situation is not tied to the hantavirus strain currently receiving national media attention.”

Ontario County Public Health Director Kate Ott described the timing as “horrible” given the ongoing national attention to the cruise ship outbreak, but stressed that the student’s symptoms have been mild fatigue, aches, and lethargy for several weeks, according to a report from local station WHAM.

“We thought surely this can’t be Hantavirus in relation to what’s going on in the media at this time,” Ott said.

“The case is mild, and hantavirus is not always mild,” Ott added. “It can be really severe, so we’re really grateful for that.”

She noted this is only the second suspected hantavirus case in Ontario County in the past two decades.

The student is not required to quarantine.

Officials are urging residents to take standard precautions when cleaning areas that may have rodent droppings, such as attics, cabins, sheds, and garages, by wearing masks and gloves and wetting down debris before sweeping to avoid aerosolizing particles.

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Insanity: Ex-BLMer and Special Ed Teacher on Leave Over Abuse Allegations Just Elected President of Teachers Union

Homeschooling only looks more appealing as the education system continues to leave children with some of the worst excuses for teachers.

One of those is Ibijoke Idowu, who teaches special education at Rising Star Elementary in South Beacon Hill for Seattle Public Schools in Washington state.

In December 2025, Idowu was placed on leave following allegations that she abused an autistic child in her classroom. A complaint was filed with the district after the third-grader’s parents saw bruises the size of an adult’s fingertips in October and December.

The child’s parents also alleged his therapist witnessed Idowu throw a marker at him, hitting him in the face.

Since those incidents, The Seattle Times reported that according to his father, the child has been emotionally distressed, not sleeping well, and has been avoiding school.

The Teacher Accountability System summarized the allegations as follows:

“Alleged physical abuse of a third-grade student with autism, including leaving fingertip-sized bruises and throwing a marker at the student’s head, causing injury to face and glasses. Additional allegations include grabbing students by the arm, causing pain.”

The organization puts the case severity as high, and the Seattle Police have been notified with the investigation ongoing.

If those claims weren’t bad enough, Idowu is also a leftist, having previously worked as an organizer for Black Lives Matter.

Apparently, none of this has kept her from holding office, as she’s been elected president of the Seattle Teachers Union ,with the New York Post reporting that the election results were certified Friday.

The criteria to run for office includes paying union dues and being employed by the school system.

Given that Idowu is on leave but still employed, she was an eligible candidate, but who in their right mind would vote for this woman?

From a practical perspective, she is relatively inexperienced.

Her teaching career began in 2021, but she is also a special education teacher. Why would her fellow teachers — she now represents 6,000 SPS employees — put her in this job?

Per the New York Post, as the race last week was winding down, Idowu commented on how she’d like to be seen as a candidate.

“I am not afraid to be a line stepper when it’s necessary and when it protects others,” she said.

“You can’t be afraid, and the thing is, sometimes you even have to be the bad guy. You have to ruffle feathers. But that is a part of, like, leadership, and sometimes you have to advocate for this group, and it bothers this group. But you know what? That’s for this group to deal with. And you figure out why the advocacy for this group is bothering you, because that’s something you have to deal with. That’s not for me to deal with.”

Her dystopian collectivism in handling individuals on a group basis is a topic of discussion in itself, but the comments about being “a line stepper” or “the bad guy” lack self-awareness. She should have given pause in consideration of the accusations, but her rebuttal now would likely be that those statements won her the race.

Idowu’s story is another advertisement for homeschooling.

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16-Year-Old Texas Student EXPOSES Woke High School’s War on Conservative Kids – SILENCING Republicans While Openly Promoting Sharia Law and Islam

Brave 16-year-old sophomore Marco Hunter-Lopez just blew the lid off the radical left’s blatant double standard in Texas public schools: conservative students get censored, harassed, and stonewalled for months, while Islamic groups get the royal treatment to push “Understanding Shariah” pamphlets, Qurans with conversion cards, and hijabs right in the lunchroom.

As previously reported by The Gateway Pundit in February, “Why Islam” (tied to the Islamic Circle of North America) invaded Wylie East High School during lunch, setting up a massive table and handing out Islamic materials and head coverings while administrators watched approvingly.

The school later tried to downplay it as a “procedural breakdown,” but Hunter-Lopez – president and founder of the Wylie East High School Republican Student Club – has now gone public with the full story of systematic anti-conservative bias.

Hunter-Lopez detailed how his club faced endless roadblocks that other groups never encounter: months of delays in getting approved, posters ripped down by administrators while he was out of town, and hostile interrogations and condescending lectures pulled straight from the principal’s office.

He’s documented over 55 specific incidents of censorship, unfair treatment, and outright harassment against him and his conservative club dating back to August 2024.

Meanwhile, the Muslim Student Association and “Why Islam” got a free pass. They operated with zero pushback, distributing Sharia-promoting materials and hijabs as part of World Hijab Day celebrations.

School administrators didn’t just allow it – they enabled it. Principal Tiffany Doolan has proudly participated in World Hijab Day two years in a row, posting photos of herself wearing the hijab and gushing online: “I LOVED this experience!”

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GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville Urges English Language for Everyone in Schools, Colleges

Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville slammed the U.S. education establishment Tuesday for pushing America’s children into second place by promoting multiple languages used by diverse migrants.

Standing beside a sign reading, “Assimilate Or Go Home,” the Alabama senator blamed some of the problems with American schools on “mass migration,” which he says is “destroying our educational system.”

“Mass migration is destroying our educational system…more and more American kids are entering the classroom, hearing multiple languages being spoken around them every day, and having a difficult time making friends because they are now the minorities in the school,” Tuberville said on the floor of the United States Senate.

“We’re having enough problems with our education system when our kids can’t understand the language that the other people are speaking,” he continued.

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