Substitute teacher urges district to change curriculum and discipline approach during public comment
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Summary
At the Knox County Schools Board meeting, Mia Denise Brown, a recent substitute teacher, criticized how evolution is taught and described repeated student misbehavior. She urged the district to stop teaching evolution and suggested a nonsectarian Bible study class; board members did not take action during the meeting.
Mia Denise Brown, a substitute teacher who said she worked in the district for 10 years until March, used her public comment time to criticize district instruction on human origins and to describe widespread student misbehavior in classrooms.
Brown told the board she encountered a student who asserted humans "came from monkeys" and said the exchange left her concerned about classroom behavior. She described incidents at Green Magnet where students displayed disruptive conduct, including standing on desks, using profanity and being rude to adults. Brown said the behavior should not be tolerated and that principals should exercise control.
Brown also said the district should "stop teaching it to the students" in reference to evolution and suggested implementing "a Bible study class that's non religious, non sectarian" to teach students to be responsible citizens. She characterized her remarks as rooted in her experience substituting across district schools.
Board members did not take action on Brown's comments during the meeting. The chair offered Brown additional public-comment time would require a motion and board approval; Brown declined to seek that at the meeting. The board's official curriculum and discipline policies were not discussed or changed on the record in response to these comments.
The remarks are part of the public-record public comment period and do not reflect board action; any policy changes would need to be brought forward as agenda items and follow district review procedures.