A teacher at a secondary school in Scotland has been suspended after making “inappropriate comments” during a lesson about the royal family, in the latest case of anti-republican repression following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

On Tuesday, North Lanarkshire Council suspended the teacher – who has taught in the area for 22 years – from Clyde Valley High School.

After being informed of his suspension, the teacher was escorted off of the premises – due, he was told, to concerns for his safety. He requested anonymity for the same reason.

A spokesperson for the council said: “We do not comment on individual employee matters.”

‘Inappropriate comments.’

In a letter to the teacher, Janie O’Neill, head of the council’s education and families team, said the reason for his suspension was a “parental complaint […] alleging that you made inappropriate comments whilst teaching a class about the royal family […] [and that] you mocked pupils in relation to this.”

Though O’Neill does not specify these “inappropriate comments” in her letter, the teacher believes she is referring to an incident that occurred on Thursday, during a modern studies class with his third-year (year 9) students.

Speaking to Novara Media, the teacher recalls asking his class: “Have you noticed the media coverage about the royal family? And have any of you ever thought that it’s a bit odd that you don’t hear any dissenting voices, everybody’s all pushing the same narrative? You know, you don’t hear anybody saying, ‘Well is this maybe a time to think about moving away from a royal family?’”

He says that while most of his students seemed to agree with his comments, one took umbrage: “This one girl flew at me and said, ‘You must be a Catholic’ […] [and] ‘You must respect the Queen’”.

The teacher says he replied: “You know, that’s really funny. That’s how my mum responds when I raise this issue with her.” He recounts that the other students laughed, while the girl “looked furious” and “stormed off”.

When he arrived at work five days later, the teacher was summoned to a meeting with Jacqueline Burton, education and families manager at North Lanarkshire Council, who notified him he was being suspended pending an investigation.

“I couldn’t believe it was happening to me, but at the same time, I wasn’t that surprised,” says the teacher, who is being supported by his union, the Educational Institute of Scotland. “The warning signs have been there for years.”

‘If you hate the royal family, clap your hands.’

While the Queen’s death has reignited tensions between republicans and monarchists across the UK, in Scotland the issue is particularly fraught, enmeshed as it is with sectarianism.

Πηγή – περισσότερα: https://novaramedia.com/2022/09/21/a-teacher-was-suspended-for-encouraging-students-to-question-the-monarchy/