Administrators at Heyer Elementary School in Waukesha, Wisconsin, banned their first-grade class from performing their rendition of Miley Cyrus’s “Rainbowland” duet with Dolly Parton at their spring concert because it conflicted with their school board policy on controversial issues in the classroom.
Melissa Tempel, a teacher at the school, spoke out against the ban by sharing a tweet saying that her “first graders were so excited to sing Rainbowland for our spring concert but it has been vetoed by our administration.”
Tempel had selected the song after another faculty member had recommended it, “because it’s such a great song with a positive message,” she said in an interview on Tuesday. The school, however, found that the song “could be deemed controversial” and was forbidden within one day of her students’ learning the “Rainbowland.” Tempel explained that the ban had confused her students, saying that they “were asking, ‘Why can’t we sing it?’” because they “really liked” the song.
