Back when I was in high school (1988-1992) it was pretty fucking lame. With the exception of a few cool teachers (those being literature teachers), school and the administration pretty much sucked. Wearing our Heavy Metal shirts was always looked down upon by our principal and most teachers and as fans, we fucking loved it. We were rubbing them raw with our love of metal and there wasn’t jack shit that they could do about it. Fast forward to 2021, I’m 48 years old and I’m still reading dumb shit in the news about people freaking the fuck out over anyone openly liking Heavy Metal music. This is exactly what is happening in St. Catharines, Ontario for Eden High School principal Sharon Burns.
The horrified and extremely lame parents of some of the students launched a petition on Change.Org to have Mrs. Burns removed from her position as principal. The petition states:
“As concerned parents with impressionable children at Eden High School in St. Catharines, Ontario, we are deeply disturbed that the principal assigned to the school blatantly showed Satanic symbols and her allegiance to Satanic practices on her public social media platforms where all the students can see them under @edenprincipal (not her personal account). Our school is based on inclusion, and openly displaying Satanic symbols (on a public social media platform) that directly goes against the principles of the vast majority of families who represent the school, is not inclusive. As parents we are demanding her transfer to another school. Please replace her with another principal who aligns with the values of the families at Eden and will not sabotage the teaching or upholding of those values and will not try to introduce impressionable students to Satanic practices or symbolism.”
When I checked the status of this petition, as of today it was CLOSED with a grand total of 583 supporters.
And making me prouder than a goddamn peacock, the students of Eden High School rose together and pretty much said, “Not on our fucking watch” and launched their own petition on Change.Org. Their petition states:
“Recently, there has been a petition going around to “remove” the principal of Eden high school. It is ridiculous that a couple of parents only judge her role as a principal only based on an Instagram post. (About liking the band Iron Maiden. That’s it.) Eden High School is a public school. Not a Christian school. If you somehow don’t like the principal of your child, grandchild, relative etc.’s school, then send them to another one. The principal has made so many efforts to remind students that Eden is a diverse place. She has even turned a whole room into a prayer room for students who are practicing religions other than Christianity, like practicing Islam. She has made Eden a safe space for so many people. She spreads nothing but love and kindness, and is probably one of the best and most enthusiastic principals the school has ever had. If you would like to bring some light to this whole petition, please consider signing!”
As of this post, the petition is still OPEN with a whopping 23,159 out 25,000 supporters backing Mrs. Burns and her right to be a bad ass Iron Maiden loving teacher.
While shit like this makes me steam more than a New York apartment building boiler room, seeing the young people rise up to the defense of Mrs. Burns made me so proud. It’s actions like this that make me proud and make me feel like maybe, just maybe, the future will be in good hands.
Mrs. Burns, you do you and UP THE FUCKIN’ IRONS!!!
About The Author
