SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A photo being shared online by organizations shows a board at Carmel Valley Middle School with pictures of notable world leaders, including Hitler.
When a student pressed as to why, a teacher reportedly told him that "Hitler may have done some bad things, but he also had strong leadership qualities."
"There was a failure in the classroom." Rabbi Abraham Cooper is with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading global Jewish human rights organization.
They issued a public statement about the incident, saying they aren't interested in seeing anyone involved punished, but do want to see proactive steps taken to ensure it doesn't happen again.
"What are we teaching 12-year-olds and how are we teaching them. But clearly if you look at this incident and the cascade of decisions made something is missing folks."
The principal of Carmel Valley Middle has since issued an apology and the district has said it will organize anti-bias training for faculty and staff, specifically around anti-Semitism.
The comment is just the latest in a series of controversial statements made by people connected to the San Dieguito Union High School District this year.
The superintendent was fired several months back after controversial comments she made about Asian students.
Then last month, a school board member was accused of making transphobic comments and only bullying after messages he allegedly posted surfaced.
Those troubled by the most recent incident say they simply hope that a lesson was learned.
"People make mistakes even teachers sometimes especially teachers. Everybody right up the food chain of education learns from the incident."
