California English teacher is filmed repeating the n-word and urging students to repeat it during a lesson on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 'which saw her insist slur is just an English word everybody can say
The teacher was going over Mark Twain's seminal work with a student
A student who recorded the incident said she tried to get him to repeat the slur
The teacher then repeats the word about 15 times in a row as the class starts to laugh
An English teacher in California is facing backlash after repeatedly using the n-word and urging a student to do the same during a lesson about The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
The Sequoia Middle School language arts teacher - who has not been identified - was discussing the famous Mark Twain novel when one of the 219 utterances of the racial slur came up.
A black student who filmed the encounter - who is remaining anonymous - said that the teacher then 'was trying to force' one student to repeat the word.
'The teacher got in front of the class and she was saying that the word is just an English word and everybody can say it if she wants to, it's in the dictionary, and people are oversensitive over the word,' they said.
The video shows the teacher baiting the student: 'Say it. N****r' and then begins to smirk. 'Why? You're asking me, so go ahead and pronounce it: n****r.'
The student could do nothing but hang his head and remainsilente. His classmates even begin to chuckle.
'She was trying to force him to say the word and she repeatedly kept saying it and she had a smirk on her face,' added the filming student. 'I was just thinking, 'Dang, this teacher is out of her mind.''
The student claims the teacher repeated the slur approximately 15 times.
A parent shared the video on a local Facebook page on March 31.
'This took place at my Daughters school in Fontana at Sequoia Middle School teacher,' Bianca Gibbons wrote. 'Repost[,] please stop racism and verbal violence[,] bullying[.] this teacher should be fired[.] please help share this.'
The school district responded with a statement that didn't appear clear on the context the teacher had gone on the rant.
'While we acknowledge that this derogatory language comes from a novel first published in the late 1800s, and that historical context is important to consider when discussing literature, the district does not condone the language that was used in the video or using that language outside of the context of discussing the novel,' they said.
The teacher offered no comment when contacted by ABC7 Wednesday. Sequoia Middle School have yet to return requests for comment.
The teacher was going over Mark Twain's seminal work with a student
A student who recorded the incident said she tried to get him to repeat the slur
The teacher then repeats the word about 15 times in a row as the class starts to laugh
An English teacher in California is facing backlash after repeatedly using the n-word and urging a student to do the same during a lesson about The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
The Sequoia Middle School language arts teacher - who has not been identified - was discussing the famous Mark Twain novel when one of the 219 utterances of the racial slur came up.
A black student who filmed the encounter - who is remaining anonymous - said that the teacher then 'was trying to force' one student to repeat the word.
'The teacher got in front of the class and she was saying that the word is just an English word and everybody can say it if she wants to, it's in the dictionary, and people are oversensitive over the word,' they said.
The video shows the teacher baiting the student: 'Say it. N****r' and then begins to smirk. 'Why? You're asking me, so go ahead and pronounce it: n****r.'
The student could do nothing but hang his head and remainsilente. His classmates even begin to chuckle.
'She was trying to force him to say the word and she repeatedly kept saying it and she had a smirk on her face,' added the filming student. 'I was just thinking, 'Dang, this teacher is out of her mind.''
The student claims the teacher repeated the slur approximately 15 times.
A parent shared the video on a local Facebook page on March 31.
'This took place at my Daughters school in Fontana at Sequoia Middle School teacher,' Bianca Gibbons wrote. 'Repost[,] please stop racism and verbal violence[,] bullying[.] this teacher should be fired[.] please help share this.'
The school district responded with a statement that didn't appear clear on the context the teacher had gone on the rant.
'While we acknowledge that this derogatory language comes from a novel first published in the late 1800s, and that historical context is important to consider when discussing literature, the district does not condone the language that was used in the video or using that language outside of the context of discussing the novel,' they said.
The teacher offered no comment when contacted by ABC7 Wednesday. Sequoia Middle School have yet to return requests for comment.
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