A private school in California has issued an apology following the release of a video last month that appeared to show a teacher leading a classroom of young students in a chant that denounced US President Joe Biden.
The video, which was leaked to ABC 7 News in Los Angeles, starts by showing a teacher, whose identity remains unknown, who prods a group of four-and-five-year-olds by first asking them a seemingly innocuous question: “Who’s our president?”
The group responds by correctly stating that the president is in fact, “Biden,” but then the teacher’s follow-up question leads the parrotting chorus of preschoolers in a different direction when she asks, “What do we want to do with him?” to which the group emphatically replies, “we want him out!”
Parents from Turning Point Christian School, located in Norco, California, who saw the 8-second video of their children engaging in the political chant were furious.
Christina McFadden, a parent at the school, said the video was first shared through a messaging app designed to keep teachers and guardians up to date on what’s happening in the classroom. It was later deleted, but that didn’t shake the complete sense of “shock” the mother experienced while watching what she described ironically as her daughter’s “first history lesson”.
“I had to watch it multiple times to realise, is this really happening?” Ms McFadden told Eyewitness News.
In a separate interview given to local news station KTLA, the same mother added how the students’ ages — a group of preschoolers — heightens how vulnerable they are to receiving such politically charged content.
“Especially at that age, I don’t even think that she can comprehend to make an informed decision on who and what she should believe in.”
Officials from the Southern California private school issued a statement to parents, explaining that they were “sorry for any misunderstanding” that stemmed from the video.
“Earlier today a video was posted that has since been deleted as it did not share our school and church philosophy of honouring and respecting authority including those in government positions,” the school statement said, according to the AP.
Turning Point, located just outside of Los Angeles, offers programs to preschool-age children at a rate of $535 (£404) to $940 (£711) per month.
