Social Studies teacher Justin Kucera is looking for a new job after he was fired possibly for his political tweets. Among his tweets were a retweet of the president’s message declaring that “SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL” and one that said: “I’m done being silent. @realDonaldTrump is our president… Don’t @ me.” He also responded to a comment on one of his tweets that read, Liberals suck man.” He said his tweet about Trump being our president was meant to be unifying. He says the tweets about Liberals was meant to be sarcastic. He was fired though the school district says no action was taken based on his tweets in support of Trump.
I do believe the school district when they say Kucera was not fired because of his comments in support of Trump. I think he got fired because of his tweet where he says “Liberals Suck.” If that is the reason then I agree with it. Not because Liberals do or don’t suck. I really don’t care what Kucera thinks in his mind. I don’t care if he likes Trump or doesn’t. I don’t care if he donates to Republicans or Democrats. However, I do care when he is teaching children, especially a subject like Social Studies which often can be colored by one’s political beliefs, if he is saying one of the main ideologies in this country “sucks.” I would feel the same way if a Social Studies teacher tweeted “Conservatives suck.” I don’t want political ideology bleeding into education. I feel the same way when Conservatives complain about Liberal professors at the college level. Just teach the curriculum and let the students have the dialogue. A teacher’s ideology should never be in play. Now admittedly the story does not present any evidence where Kucera let his beliefs bleed into the classroom. He could have gotten off with a warning. I don’t buy his claim that he was being sarcastic. Maybe he was but sarcasm does not work on the internet. Believe me I know it.
Teachers get fired when pictures surface of them out with their friends drinking and not wearing conservative clothing. That has zero effect on what is going on in the classroom yet we see it all the time. I often think back to what Detective Dave has said multiple times on our show. He needs to be above reproach. That is the climate we live in. We pay for our actions because we all feel way too comfortable putting every little thought and picture out there for the world to see. We use to keep that to ourselves and that made it easier to maintain that veneer of being above reproach. Kucera has made it where liberal parents are going to be looking for anything questionable in Kucera’s lessons. He will not be given the benefit of the doubt by some parents and they will be quick to complain possibly. This will cause a headache for the school that in the midst of trying to figure out how to educate children during a pandemic they don’t need right now. I’m not saying Kucera should never teach again. I’m not saying Kucera should not be given another chance in this district down the line. I’m saying with everything going on the last thing a school district needs is a teacher who is potentially controversial and seems willing to enrage a large portion of the community.
I’m not saying it is even fair. But life isn’t fair and it seems like Kucera just learned a lesson in school. Be above reproach.