N4T Investigators: Tucson teacher’s recorded Trump-Hitler comparison leads to district investigation
By Chorus Nylander
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TUCSON, Arizona (KVOA) — A Cholla High School student has reached out to the News 4 Tucson Investigators after alleging that a history teacher compared President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler during a World War II lesson.
The student recorded parts of the lecture, feeling the teacher’s comments were inappropriate.
“…your generation with the lowest information level is the biggest supporter of Donald Trump, he has that in common with Hitler too,” said the teacher in the recording.
The student who captured the recording expressed concern over the teacher’s comments and says it’s hardly the first time they have blended their personal opinions into lessons.
“She’s trying to put her beliefs onto us,” he said.
He added, “I don’t appreciate her telling me that me and my generation are Nazis for voting [for] or for being the biggest Trump supporters.”
The student’s father shared his frustration, describing the teacher’s comments as bullying.
“It’s bullying because in a sense she’s calling our kids Nazis, for their beliefs. It’s not something our kids need to be hearing,” said the father.
Believing the issue might be ignored by school authorities, the father said he didn’t report it to the principal or school district but decided to turn to the News 4 Tucson Investigators for help.
“If I tell one person, the superintendent, principal, whoever I think it will fall on dead ears,” he said.
The News 4 Tucson Investigators reached out to the teacher directly for her perspective but received no response. We sent the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD), which oversees Cholla High School, the video and it acknowledged the allegation.
“Tucson Unified is aware of the allegation and it’s under investigation. Due to personnel privacy matters we are not able to disclose any other information,” TUSD said in a statement.
According to TUSD’s policies, teachers may discuss political topics if “suitable for classroom studies” but must remain neutral.
The father and son hope for disciplinary action against the teacher.
“I believe there should be higher punishment for this,” said the son.
“I think a lot more people need to see and stand up for this stuff and not allow it. This is our kid’s education we’re betting on here we just have got to do better,” said the father.
The News 4 Tucson Investigators will continue to follow this story and provide updates as the district’s investigation progresses.
If you have a story you’d like the News 4 Tucson Investigators to look into email us at investigators@kvoa.com or call our tip line at 520-955-4444.
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