John Wallis had been hired by Neosho Junior High School in St. Louis, Missouri, to teach speech and theatre in his first graduate role after finishing university.
The 22-year-old put up a sign saying “in this classroom everyone is welcome” and had a Pride flag on his bookshelf, which quickly received complaints from parents. “A parent called last week to complain that I was going to teach their child to be gay,” Wallis wrote in a Twitter thread about his ordeal. “I was then instructed to take my flag and signs down.” “In fact, the use of the Pride flag in my classroom was compared to hanging the Confederate flag in my classroom.” When asked by a student why the flag was up, the teacher shared that he is gay. “This led to three or more calls