A 17-year-old student came to the defense of teacher Peter Sage at Minneapolis' InterDistrict Downtown School when a group of parents staged a protest in reaction to Sage's acknowledgement to his second-grade class that he is gay.
“Sage said he read a prescribed book about a two-mom family, and then explained to the 23 students that he too is gay. Sage said he went on to tell students that some people have different views of people not like them, describing how he disagreed with his own grandfather's negative view of black people.”
A group of upset parents held a protest at the school on Friday after deeming Sage's discussion “inappropriate”. Their protest was interrupted by 17-year-old student Walter Kaplan who reportedly called the parents “hatemongers” and defended the school's curriculum. According to the Associated Press, when confronted by Kaplan, “the parents replied that the young man didn't have children of his own in the classroom.”
Several parents have asked for their children to be transferred from Sage's classroom, but so far the school has stood by Sage, citing “overwhelming” parental support of its curriculum.