When public school teacher Jonathan Koeppel spoke out against what he calls liberal indoctrination of students, he was banned in some circles and embraced in others.
Koeppel, a Christian who teaches Spanish in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, recently went viral for his public comments at a school board meeting. After warning about Critical Race Theory (CRT) and controversial theories about gender, Koeppel told administrators, “Don’t push this ideology on children. I’m not going to work in a district that’s okay with that.”
Before TikTok banned video of his comments as hate speech, Koeppel racked up more than 10 million views. Now some Christians and conservative media outlets are hailing his bravery, and Koeppel is selling merchandise at BraveTeacher.com to “fight for preserving American Values.”
Sean Feucht on Jonathan Koeppel: ‘This Guy’s a Legend’
After leading worship outside Louisiana’s state capitol on Sunday, musician and religious-freedom advocate Sean Feucht spoke with Koeppel. In a video posted to Instagram, Feucht asks the teacher about his motives and credits him with fighting against indoctrination that’s currently filling America’s schools and even churches.
Koeppel tells Feucht he’s alarmed by “two things that crazy people are trying to push on children”: the idea of infinite genders and CRT, which he says assumes all white people are oppressors and all people of color are victims who can’t succeed due to structural racism. “I need to expose this,” Koeppel says. “No kid should learn that.”
Christians need to be bold and start attending school board meetings, the teacher adds. “We have to get involved in our political process,” says Koeppel, noting that various states are trying to “promote these ideologies” through legislation.
“This guy’s a legend,” Feucht says of Koeppel at the end of the video. “We need thousands more like him in America.” On his website HoldtheLine.live, Feucht urges Christians to do God’s work, “stand up and speak truth to our government leaders,” and “change a nation.”
Jonathan Koeppel: God ‘Can Use Anybody’
As a result of his brief public comments, Koeppel was featured on Fox News, Newsmax and Washington Watch With Tony Perkins. Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, says Koeppel’s story is “exactly why we need believers in public education.”
On Washington Watch, the teacher explains that residents of his Republican-leaning community hadn’t really been aware of the ideologies that local schools were promoting. Parents and especially teachers are now thanking him for his warning, says Koeppler. “They see these things creeping into their classrooms that have nothing to do with real learning, and they’re frustrated.”
Koeppler believes that many fellow citizens share his views and values but are “scared to death” to speak out. “The righteous are supposed to be bold as a lion,” says the teacher. “How can you be a Christian and live in fear?”
Going viral wasn’t his plan, says Koeppler, but it shows how God is always at work in our world. “Because I was just simply doing my job and being a Christian at the same time, God was able to use me,” he says. “He can use anybody.”
