What?! Fla. High School Principal Refused To Call Holocaust a 'Fact'

Nick Kangadis | July 8, 2019
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Update (7/9/2019, 12:04 pm): According to the School District of Palm Beach County, Principal William Latson is being "reassigned" to a "district position."

"Despite these efforts [described in the original story below], his leadership has become a major distraction for the school community. It is, therefore, in the best interest of students and the larger school community to reassign Mr. Latson to a District position," the school district said in a statement. "The Regional Office will immediately follow the District's process in the selection of a principal for Spanish River High School."

Original Story: It seems that part of the problem in today’s education system is that people in positions of power too often either project their own beliefs into the curriculum of their respective school or they kowtow to certain outraged parents that don’t know the first thing about the substance of their complaints.

A principal at a Boca Raton, Fla. high school is apologizing after responding to an email from a mother of one of his students by saying that “not everyone believes the Holocaust happened.”

"Not everyone believes the Holocaust happened,” Latson wrote, according to a report by The Palm Beach Post. “And you have your thoughts, but we are a public school and not all of our parents have the same beliefs."

What?! How is that a thought an educator felt was good enough to say to a parent?

Spanish River High School Principal William Latson made that comment, among others, in an email response to a mother, who wishes to remain anonymous, that wanted to make sure that Holocaust education is “a priority.” The email interaction reportedly occurred in April of 2018. The emails in question are just coming to light in a report by the Palm Beach Post.

“I can’t say the Holocaust is a factual, historical event because I am not in a position to do so as a school district employee,” Latson wrote in an email to the mother.

Latson also continued his response by saying that he has “the role to be politically neutral but support all groups in the school.”

I’m sorry, but what do politics have to do with teaching students about the Holocaust? The correct answer, children, is nothing.

If a principal, the de facto head of a school, feels restricted to teach students about the Holocaust by the school district he works for, then the questions about the “validity” of the Holocaust should be directed at the people who run the school district.

To his credit, Latson apologized in a statement to The Post.

“I regret that the verbiage that I used when responding to an email message from a parent, one year ago, did not accurately reflect my professional and personal commitment to educating all students about the atrocities of the Holocaust,” Latson stated. “It is critical that, as a society, we hold dear the memory of the victims and hold fast to our commitment to counter anti-Semitism.”

Latson not only apologized, but he toured the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. voluntarily. 

It appears as though Latson kowtowed to certain parents who, for some reason outside the realm of reality, actually don’t believe the Holocaust happened.

Some people aren't satisfied with Latson's apology and are calling for the principal's resignation. Watch below:

 

H/T: Daily Mail

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