Iowa teacher's aide reportedly fired for calling 'Huckleberry Finn' racist
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A teaching associate at a private school in Iowa has reportedly been fired for allegedly telling students that “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is a “racist” novel.
Naiya Galloway, 31, was fired by Hillcrest Family Services, a privately run K-12 school that caters to students who have mental health issues or behavioral problems, The Des Moines Register reports.
Galloway became upset one day when a teacher in her classroom mentioned the Ku Klux Klan in a discussion of historical and political events, according to state records made public last month.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Galloway allegedly announced to a classroom full of students in October that Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was a racist book and should not be taught in schools. The following day, Galloway was on a school bus with students when she allegedly renewed her criticism of the book as “racist,” forcing the bus driver to intervene, according to state records. School officials alleged she voiced objections to the book on numerous other occasions, the newspaper reports.
Galloway was planning to quit her job at the school at the time, but the alleged incidents involving the book prompted school official to terminate her employment immediately.
Galloway has denied allegations that she questioned the school’s use of the book, but acknowledged she disrupted a classroom discussion of the Ku Klux Klan because it had triggered “flashbacks,” noting that she’s both black and Japanese, the newspaper reports.
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