Minna-Maaria Antikainen, the world’s first transgender figure skater, had a mishap during her debut at the European Figure Skating Championships in Finland. Formerly known as Markku-Pekka Antikainen, she transitioned to a woman and started figure skating at 49.
During the opening ceremony, she stumbled and fell seconds into her performance but was helped up by a female hostess carrying the Finnish flag. Despite this, Antikainen had trained for eight years, practicing five hours a week and participating in other skating events.
The European Figure Skating Championships focused on promoting diversity and inclusion with the theme “Just be you.” However, same-sex pairs are still banned in the sport, and there’s no category for non-binary skaters. Hopefully, more countries will work toward equality and diversity in figure skating.
Teacher sobs as she quits during school
Laura Morris, a former fifth-grade teacher at Lucketts Elementary School in Leesburg, Virginia, left her position due to her refusal to teach critical race theory (CRT).
During a Loudoun County School Board meeting, Morris emotionally expressed her opposition to the board’s “highly-politicized agendas” and resigned. She criticized the equity training and curriculum changes related to CRT, which explores how racism is embedded in societal structures.
Morris explained, “I quit being a cog in a machine that tells me to push highly-politicized agendas on our most vulnerable constituents – the children.” She shared that her Christian beliefs clashed with the district’s ideologies.
She also raised concerns about her personal life being affected by the school district’s political agenda. Morris received emails cautioning against dissenting opinions even in her personal life.
Frustrated by the lack of consideration for concerned citizens and what she perceived as the district’s bias against certain demographics, Morris chose to resign.
In her passionate speech, Morris encouraged parents and staff to explore alternative educational options.
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