Shawnee Mission teacher’s lawsuit isn’t an attack on ‘woke.’ It targets us students | Opinion

I am a student caught in the middle of the national debate over diversity, equity and inclusion policies, gender and pronouns. A teacher at my school is threatening to damage the education of thousands of Kansas students with a lawsuit based on a faulty argument.

For the past year and a half, the Shawnee Mission School District has been used by opponents of inclusivity initiatives as the prime example of a school that has fallen victim to a “woke agenda.” Shawnee Mission North High School English teacher Caedran Sullivan’s opinion pieces are irresistible to conservative news outlets.

This controversy began in the spring of 2023 when Sullivan published a commentary on the conservative news site The Lion, and it spread throughout social media. Before we knew it, a movement supposedly intended to protect the education of students held the inverse effect.

In her original column, Sullivan wrote, “Our district is no longer academically focused.” That statement became true ultimately, as Shawnee Mission North students were unwillingly thrust into the middle of a national story, and to the dismay of our teachers, we became politically focused. For example, I recall the day my precalculus class crowded at the window to view a group of adults who had gathered outside to protest the district’s co-called “woke agenda.” It was finals week, and we were supposed to be studying, but instead, our teacher had to strain repeatedly to divert our attention away from the drama and back into the classroom. It appears Sullivan did not consider academic focus in timing the publication of her column.

Sullivan claims the district removing her from teaching Advanced Placement classes caused a “hostile work environment,” and has brought a lawsuit asking for damages and attorney fees. If she won a significant amount and that money had to come out of the district’s operating funds, it could seriously harm the schools’ ability to fund education. As Sullivan acknowledges that the teacher shortage right now is bad, winning her lawsuit would only make it worse.

Sullivan would not attack radical left-wing policies with her demand. She would attack the education of every student in our district with her faulty arguments.

Her lawsuit says “she feels her job is threatened and her workplace has become increasingly hostile.” However, according to the English department chair at our school, the administration decided to cut AP classes to one teacher each, and a different teacher was selected. After speaking with several parents, it is clear to me that this was likely because of their concerns about their children being enrolled in Sullivan’s class. Contractually, the district can reassign teachers for AP duties.

Contradictory claims about religion, pronouns

Sullivan wrote in her column, “One teacher referred to me as a ‘Nazi’ and ‘fascist’ for disagreeing with her views.” This is an ironic argument in the context of a lawsuit prioritizing freedom of speech. If Sullivan creates hostility by publicizing her claims of injustice, is she surprised by negative reactions from others?

Her suit reads: “Ms. Sullivan believes it is wrong to compel her and other teachers to say things that they believe are false and that violate her and their sincerely-held religious beliefs,” and “Ms. Sullivan did not recall referring to any student with a pronoun or by any name that was not the student’s preferred name.

These two claims contradict each other. If it is so strongly against Sullivan’s religion to refer to students by their preferred pronouns, then why does she claim not to recall ever referring to any student with a pronoun or name that they do not identify with? That makes no sense.

Throughout this case, Sullivan is clear that she believes parents should play a large part in their child’s identity at school. However, I reached out to parents who witnessed her using the wrong gender and names for their children in front of them. One told me Sullivan used the wrong pronouns for a student more than 10 times during a meeting, despite the fact that the student’s name and gender had been changed legally and noted that way in the school’s computer system.

This appears to show that Sullivan does exactly what her lawsuit attacks the district for doing: placing her personal political views above the rights of parents and students.

Sullivan’s actions do not show she has the best interest of parents and students in mind. Her lawsuit is filled with contradictions and misrepresentations. As a student, I find it shocking that a teacher would put so much effort into hurting the profession they claim to love, knowing that impact would inherently trickle down to students.