The clip has since ignited a heated debate on social media as to whether teachers should talk about politics with their impressionable students.
A video going viral on the internet shows an extremely upset parent interrupting her daughter's virtual class to give the teacher a piece of her mind. The video, which is a little over a minute long, features a mom is scolding her daughter's White teacher for apparently having made inappropriate and insensitive comments about George Floyd and the anti-racist protests that swept across the nation following his inhumane death at the hand of police officers. Although the video does not reveal the exact statements made by the educator, the infuriated parent mentions that teacher said something along the lines of "He wasn't supposed to be honored."
One positive thing about zoom schooling is parents being able to see and hear what really goes on in a class. https://t.co/UtsNRWj1c7
— Deby (@FarafinMuso) September 28, 2020
"We were talking about George Floyd's death and I was waiting for this to happen," reads the caption on the clip, which appears to have been originally posted on Snapchat. "This is where mom steps in," the parent is heard saying in the video. "Is this the type of stuff that you talk with our kids? To see what Black man is right, what Black man is wrong, which Black man did that, and what Black man did that?! How about which White person did this and which White person did that? Did you ever think about that?"
Although the teacher attempts to interrupt and say something at this point, the student's mom was not done saying her piece. "No! I don't feel as though that this conversation that you’re having with our children is a good one," she says as her voice breaks from emotion. "It’s 2020, you got racist-a** motherf****rs that don't care! And now you’re in school, talking to my kid about George Floyd. They ain’t got nothing to do with this. You’re having an ignorant, disrespectful conversation. 'He wasn't supposed to be honored,' 'He wasn't supposed to be this.' Are you saying this because you're White?"
“It has nothing to do with race “ pic.twitter.com/e2PwQhBrbe
— Yarvington (@YarveyB) September 28, 2020
At this point, a student with a Trump 2020 poster behind him decides to brave the enraged mom's wrath and very stupidly announces: "It has nothing to do with race." The parent swiftly puts her daughter's classmate in his place as she responds: "I'm speaking to a teacher. Nobody else." She then tells the teacher that they can continue the conversation over the phone or via email but that her daughter will be leaving the class for the rest of the day. "I would have happily spoken to you..." the teacher attempts to say before the video cuts off.
The clip has since ignited a heated debate on social media as to whether teachers should talk about politics with their impressionable students. "Honest question: many of you are saying teachers shouldn’t talk about politics, but shouldn’t students learn about current events? Isn’t ignoring current events a disservice to the students?" asked Reddit user missingdab. "Yes, they should learn about politics and current events, and the death of a man in police custody is learning about justice, reforms, law, ethics, constitution, human rights, etc etc. Anyone who says otherwise probably didn't get the correct education in the first place and lacks critical thinking," responded u/CreativeAnalytics.
Going forward, we need to demand cameras in class rooms with zoom access for any parent at any time that their child is in that class. Every corner of dealing with our children should be transparent because blind trust has hurt our children, who are forced to be there, by law.
— MamaMixedLikeObama (@LikeMixed) September 28, 2020
However, Redditor Slayer1ready pointed out that only those specifically trained to teach politics without letting their political beliefs influence the class should be allowed to do so. "Agreed but not just by any teacher. It should be an educator specifically trained in politics. And they have to make sure that their own personal feelings about current events don’t get in the way. And that the kids learn to have disagreements without being disrespectful to each other. I could go on and on but you get my drift," they wrote. u/Zrd5003 shared a similar opinion, writing: "You can teach politics without advocating a side. Just present all sides. 'George Floyd died in police custody because a cop put his knee on Floyd's neck too long.' Democrats believe X should result, Republicans believe Y should come from this, while other viewpoints are x, y, z. Allow the students to get the facts, then allow them to make their own decisions. CRITICAL THINKING or 'how to think' as you state."