SALENA ZITO: Why are so many K-12 educators prone to violent rhetoric?

In July 2024, days after Trump was shot, Cassandra Olson, a Sioux Falls School District middle school behavior specialist, wrote, “Shoot—if only he would’ve had his scope sighted correctly” on Facebook. The South Dakota school district acted swiftly, saying in a statement that the staff member “was no longer employed” at the school.

Olson was one of several educators who either lost their jobs or had their teaching licenses pulled for wishing or celebrating harm on Trump.

The volume of educators posting on social media to celebrate the shooting or express regret that Trump survived was unprecedented. It was not surpassed until the death of Kirk, the founder and executive director of Turning Point USA, a conservative organization known for hosting open debates with young people. Kirk’s assassination also prompted celebratory posts from educators online.

Education Week reported that teachers in California, Florida, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Texas were either fired or placed on leave ahead of investigations into social media comments celebrating or slyly implying their approval of Kirk’s death.

What makes the incident at Propel this past week especially troubling is that it is likely not the last of its kind. It has left many parents asking what sort of influence, or even rhetoric, teachers may be bringing into the classroom, not only in public schools but also in charter and private schools.

Read the whole thing — it’s Salena, after all. But I’d just add that public education is dominated by lefties, and historically lefties aren’t shy about resorting to violence.