Pitzen explained that she removed the American flag from her classroom during the pandemic because “it made me uncomfortable.” “Except for the fact that my room does not have a flag.” “So, my class decided to stand but not say the words. “I always tell my class, ‘Stand if you feel like it, don’t stand if you feel like it, say the words if you want, don’t have to say the words.'” “OK, so during third period, we have announcements and they do the Pledge of Allegiance,” Pitzen says in the video. The video went viral and has been viewed over 1.6 million times, and the tweet has nearly 6,000 Likes. Pitzen recently deleted her TikTok account, but it was too late, as the account saved the controversial video and posted it online. “But individuals may choose not to participate in the flag salute for personal reasons.” “The school district’s policy requires that each school conducts daily patriotic exercises, including the pledge of allegiance, with an understanding that the pledge is an expression of patriotism and pride in the U.S.,” KTLA reported. “We follow due process and our investigation continues.”
“The teacher is no longer in the classroom,” the spokesperson said. “I assure you, we take matters like this seriously and will be taking action to address it.” “Showing respect for our nation’s flag is an important value that we instill in our students and an expectation of our employees,” Franco continued. “We are aware that one of our teachers posted a video on their personal social media that caused alarm and concern related to saluting the American flag,” Annette Franco, a spokesperson for the Newport Mesa Unified School District, said. Pitzen has been placed on administrative leave, according to the school district. Pitzen recently posted a video on TikTok, where she revealed that she removed the American flag from her classroom in Orange County because it made her feel “uncomfortable.” Kristin Pitzen, the California schoolteacher who posted a video to social media of herself instructing students to pledge allegiance to the gay pride flag, has been removed from the classroom.