A Texas high school teacher has been fired after assigning her students a graphic novel version of Anne Frank’s diary, which references male and female genitalia.
Officials within the Hamshire-Fannett Independent School District confirmed that a teacher had been fired and that the book had not been submitted for pre-approval.
In the graphic novel adaptation of the famous diary, Anne Frank describes her exploration of her own body parts and her sexuality during puberty.
When parents heard that the book was being used in the curriculum, they expressed outrage during their conversation KFDMwhere students were told to read aloud in class.
‘Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation’, based on the original diary from 1947, is a newer version of ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’
This is a page from the book that refers to genitals and Anne’s desire to kiss her friend Jacque
“It’s bad enough that she makes them read this for an assignment, but then she makes them read it to them too,” said mother Amy Manuel, whose sons are in eighth grade.
“To have a little girl talk about feeling each other’s breasts and when she sees a female she goes into ecstasy, that’s not okay,” she continued.
In an email to the local Texas branch last week, Hamshire-Fannett ISD representative Mike Canizales confirmed that the teacher had been released after the incident.
The instructor was initially dismissed from classes on Wednesday, September 13, but on Friday officials said they were looking for a replacement for her.
“The district is currently in the process of posting a vacancy to secure a high-quality, full-time teacher as quickly as possible,” Canizales wrote.
A teacher at Hamshire-Fannett Middle School was fired after having her students read the graphic novel version of Anne Frank’s diary
The seemingly innocent graphic novel contains references to Anne Frank – and other young women – going through puberty and their periods.
At one point in the book, Anne mentions that she wants to kiss her friend Jacque and her friend asks if they can show each other their breasts.
“If only I had a girlfriend,” says the graphic novel with a photo of Anne jumping through a row of naked female statues in a garden.
The original versions of Anne’s diary omitted references to puberty and sexuality, but the graphic novel, published in 2018, is adapted from the original text.
The novel was edited by Ari Folman and illustrated by David Polonsky. Folman’s parents are Polish Jewish Holocaust survivors.
In an email to the local Texas office last week, Hamshire-Fannett ISD representative Mike Canizales (pictured) confirmed that the teacher had been released following the incident.
Anne Frank was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944 and later died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945
In Friday’s statement, Canizales said that in the future they plan to take additional measures to ensure the appropriateness of the content distributed to students.
The communications coordinator also thanked the parents for their ‘trust and partnership’ during the transition period.
“We appreciate your trust and partnership as we all work toward the common goal of protecting your child’s educational environment,” Canizales wrote.
Although the district insists the book was never approved, parents say the book was on a list sent to parents at the beginning of the school year.
They believe that someone higher than the unknown teacher was aware of the material and did not reject it or remove it from the curriculum.
In a statement to KDFM, a source close to the teacher claimed that the principal of Hamshire-Fennett Middle School had approved the book.
The source also told the newspaper that the unnamed teacher has since retained a lawyer.
DailyMail.com reached out to officials within the district to inquire about the teacher’s dismissal and the investigation, but received no response.
Hamshire-Fannett ISD Superintendent Dwaine Augustine
A still from the graphic novel adaptation of Anne Frank’s diary
This is certainly not the first time that the graphic novel version of Anne Frank’s diary has caused drama in a school district.
In April, a Florida school library removed the adaptation after a parent group complained that it was sexually explicit and trivialized the Holocaust.
At the time, it was one of four books removed from libraries in the county as school officials continued to review literature deemed controversial.
Jennifer Pippin, president of the group’s Indian River chapter, said WPTV that they objected to the book because it contained a “graphic scene” in which Anne Frank asks a friend to expose themselves to each other.
Last August, the same book was reintroduced to a Texas school district after it was initially deemed “too graphic” for schoolchildren.
