​Parents Petition To Have Headteacher Who Loves Iron Maiden Removed

Parents of children at a high school in Canada have petitioned to remove the heavy metal-loving school principal from her position - only for the campaign to be outnumbered by a counter petition in support of the teacher, which has garnered 20,000 more signatures than the original.

Sharon Burns, the principal of Eden High School in St Catherines, Ontario, had posted pictures on social media revealing she was a fan of metal group Iron Maiden.

Parents and guardians then launched a campaign to have Burns removed as headteacher, setting up a Change.org petition titled 'Eden High School Principal, Sharon Burns, Needs To Be Transferred Immediately'.

Google Maps

According to the Independent, it said: "As concerned parents with impressionable children at Eden High School... 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)."

The petition garnered 553 supporters before it was closed, with an update on Friday (8 October) stating that the demand for Burns' transfer was not due to her being a metal music fan, but for 'openly displaying her own handmade sign with the 666 clearly displayed on it'.

However, a counter petition has also been set up in support of Burns - having attracted 20,581 signatures as of Tuesday (12 October).

The description says Burns 'spreads nothing but love' and has gone out of her way to ensure Eden High School is a 'diverse place'.

Change.org

It says: "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!"

Topics: World News, News, School, Music, Canada

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman