The education administrator, who’s been in education for 20 years, reportedly lost his job after reading a children’s book to a group of 2nd graders. The man, who is the assistant principal of the elementary school, said he doesn’t understand why. He received the termination letter from the superintendent of the school district. The letter said the assistant principal reportedly showed a lack of professionalism and impaired judgment by picking the book.
This unfortunate incident occurred last week. The assistant principal of Gary Road Elementary School, Toby Price, was reportedly fired after reading the children’s book to a group of 2nd graders. The book is called ‘I need a new butt!”
The education administrator from Mississippi, Toby Price, told WLBT3: “My boss had asked me to set up a Zoom with the second grade classes and the principal at the school they’re going to be at next year and she was going to read to them. And she didn’t show. My boss told me ‘Go ahead and read.’ I grabbed one of my favorite books that I had nearby, I read it to them. It’s a funny, silly book.”
The assistant principal also said that he had read this book at previous school districts before, but never heard any complaints.
Toby Price also said: “I didn’t think twice about reading it because I’ve never had an issue with it before. There are other books that have much more suggestive material that are much more widely accepted.”
Price said he received the termination letter from the superintendent of the HCSD. The letter said the assistant principal reportedly showed a lack of professionalism and impaired judgment by picking the book. Unfortunately, for those reasons, Price was fired.
Toby Price also said: “I just think that, you know, this was a pretty harsh reaction. I’ve been in education for 20 years. I’ve never had a disciplinary anything put in my file and I didn’t for being late. So I was blown away.”
Many children’s book authors, teachers, and librarians responded to this incident. They reportedly posted on social media stating the book is hilarious and sweet, joyful and fun and lighthearted. They also believe the superintendent’s decision was wrong.
The assistant principal of Gary Road Elementary School is now hoping to overturn their decision, get his job back, and teach others that funny books are needed in education.
The assistant principal of Gary Road Elementary School, Toby Price, also said: “If you don’t let kids see funny and silly books, they’re not going to stick around long enough to find out that books can be other things than funny and silly. You have to hook them with the funny and silly stuff. And that’s what I’ve always done. That’s what this book was for.”