Why Did So Many Teachers Cheer The Assassination? A Wake-Up Call For Parents

When you send your child to school, you expect educators to teach reading, math, history-and character. You do not expect them to cheer when someone is killed, or show violent videos to ten-year-olds with commentary that says the dead man "deserved" it. Yet right now, parents across America (and in Canada) are seeing exactly that. And it's terrifying.

There are several shocking stories making national headlines. These aren't rumors. These are documented, public, deeply upsetting incidents:

In Oskaloosa, Iowa, a high school art teacher, Matt Kargol, posted "1 Nazi down" in a public social media response to Charlie Kirk's assassination. He has been placed on administrative leave, and the school district is conducting an emergency hearing about whether he should lose his job. 

In Massachusetts, a special education teacher was caught grinning and singing "God Bless America" while watching the news of Kirk's death on TV. 

In North Carolina (at Fort Bragg), a Department of Defense Education Activity teacher named Kristen Eve openly called Kirk a "garbage human," declared she would not mourn him, and went further, suggesting maybe the country would have to get "rough, messy, maybe even violent." 

In South Carolina, a Greenville County social studies teacher -- Wynne Boliek -- was fired after a Facebook post stating, "America became better today. There I said it." 

In Toronto, Canada, a substitute teacher at a French immersion class for 5th- and 6th-graders showed a graphic video of Kirk's assassination. While doing so, he allegedly said Kirk "deserved" what happened -- invoking anti-fascist and anti-trans rhetoric. The teacher has been suspended pending investigation, and parents were deeply shaken. 

In Texas, more than 180 complaints have now been made against teachers for posts or actions related to celebrating or inciting violence in response to Kirk's death. Over 100 teacher certifications may be suspended; some teachers already suspended or fired. Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Education Agency are calling these acts grossly inappropriate. 

These examples show us something deeper than just "bad behavior." They point to a culture somewhere between moral relativism and moral collapse--where violence is cheered, where ideology overwhelms empathy, and where the role of a teacher as a caretaker, moral guide, or role model is forgotten.

Blurring of professional / personal boundaries: Many teachers seem to believe their private social media posts, or what they do outside class, are somehow detached from their role in school. But when you're teaching, parents and students see you not just as someone who imparts facts, but someone who shapes values. When that teacher with students in Grade 5 plays a graphic, violent video and says the victim "deserved" it, that crosses the boundary from "personal opinion" into indoctrination--or at least into something deeply harmful. 

Political polarization has become moral justification: Words like "garbage human," calls for violence, mockery of death--all are being dressed up as righteous anger. The sentiment "he deserved it" is being used to justify celebrating death. That's not free speech. That's moral nihilism with a political banner. And when you tie that into a teacher's role--shaping young minds--it becomes explosive.

The age of social media means nothing stays hidden: Videos, screenshots, posts--parents are seeing what teachers do. Districts are receiving names, pushing these stories into public view. Teachers are getting fired, stripped of certification. There is no off-boardroom immunity anymore.

Erosion of trust: If a teacher is seen celebrating violence, mocking death, it shatters the trust students and parents need. How can students feel safe, how can parents trust in school's moral leadership, when we see examples like this?

This is not about punishing speech. It's about whether people who celebrate assassination, who expose children to graphic violence and justify it, should remain in positions of power over young minds.

Here's what parents must do:

Demand transparency -- Ask your child's school: What is your social media policy for teachers? What training do teachers have in handling delicate topics--political, violent, controversial? How do you ensure your educators respect age-appropriate boundaries?

Monitor, don't paranoia -- Know which teachers interact with your child. Ask about school culture. Watch for warning signs: teachers making political statements in class, showing graphic content, using mocking or celebratory language around violence. Not everything will be reported in the news.

Support accountability -- Schools, districts, and state boards must act. If truly celebratory language is used about violence--especially political violence--there must be consequences. Emphasize not punishing for grief or criticism, but for encouragement or glorification of violent acts.

Consider alternate schooling -- If your school district or teacher body tolerates this kind of rhetoric, you might well consider homeschooling, private schools, charter schools, or other alternatives. Your child's moral and psychological safety matters.

Because this isn't minor. Teaching is never neutral. Every classroom is a place where not only facts are taught, but values. Civility, empathy, respect for life--even of people we disagree with--are supposed to be part of what children learn.

When teachers celebrate the death of someone, mock it, make hateful comments--it sends a terrifying message: disagreement is violence, and violence is moral. This transforms how kids see politics (as war rather than dialogue), how they see people who disagree with them (as enemies rather than fellow citizens).

Schools are supposed to be community spaces, where children learn both knowledge and character. If those entrusted with both are cheering violence, parents have every reason to be furious -- and fearful for what influence these teachers might be having.

Yes -- there has been a rising wave of teacher misconduct in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination. The incidents are extreme, visible, and deeply troubling. But this is not a problem that can be solved by outrage alone. It demands moral clarity.

Parents: watch. Question. Hold schools to higher standards. And if institutions fail, remove your child from that environment. Because no matter how good the math or science lessons are, if character is lost, everything else is hollow.

We are reaching a moment of moral reckoning. Schools can't be allowed to cheer death and call it justice. Not if we want the next generation to believe in decency.