A US teacher struggles to maintain her job after reading an Australian kid’s picture book in class.
Katie Rinderle says she bought it My shadow is purple at a school book fair, then included it on a list of options her students could read in March.
She selected fifth grade—normally at age 10 or 11—at Due West Elementary in Georgia My shadow is purplewhich centers around a non-binary character.
It was written and illustrated by Melbourne-based bestselling creator Scott Stuart and published last yr.
![Rinderle bought the book My Shadow Is Purple at the school book fair.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/reading-class.jpeg)
“The scholars just went through the book with me, after which we discussed the message they got,” Rinderle said in a video for the Southern Poverty Law Center.
“What our conversation really focused on was the facility not only to embrace your unique differences and skills, but additionally to understand them in others and learn from them.”
A few days later, her principal asked to see the book, which she said was on account of a parental criticism.
![The author, Scott Stuart, shared on Instagram that he was](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/Screen-Shot-2023-06-26-at-9.54.35-AM.png?w=671)
In line with local media, Ms Rinderle was placed on administrative leave in the course of the investigation and is now facing dismissal, with a public hearing on her termination scheduled for August.
FOX 5 Atlanta reported that Ms. Rinderle’s attorney, Craig Goodmark, said the Cobb County School District claims that Ms. Rinderle violated the Georgia Divisive Concepts Act passed in 2022.
The law was introduced to ban teachers from discussing certain topics while teaching about race or history.
In a statement to local media, the varsity district said: “Without going into the main points of the personnel investigation, the district believes this motion is appropriate given the teacher’s overall behavior and history. Nevertheless, as this case is pending, further comment is unavailable. The District stays committed to strict enforcement of all Board policies and the law.”
In Australia, the creator of the book was disgusted by this ordeal.
“The teacher is struggling with termination, but this whole thing really shows how much the US school system is more interested in politics than in educating children,” Stuart said in a video posted on social media. “It’s disgusting. It’s disgusting.”
In line with the Southern Poverty Law Center, words similar to “pornographic material” and “inappropriate topics” were repeated in the course of the investigation.
“To be clear, there is nothing sexual or pornographic about this book. This is a book about acceptance and inclusion,” Mr. Stuart wrote in the caption of his film. “We must support teachers, not slander them.”
He also identified that the teacher had bought the book at the varsity’s book fair.