Teacher scolded teens for speaking Spanish but she didn’t expect the Principal’s viral response
The Principal of their school, Neika Richard, came across the video on her 'For You' page.
Speaking one's native language is a right every person holds, but when one is reprimanded for it, it can be disheartening for the speaker. When a student named Kimberly recorded a video of her teacher berating her for speaking in Spanish in class, the video caught the attention of the principal of their school, whose response has the internet cheering loudly. On November 11, @nieka_richard shared the response video, which has garnered over 160k likes.
Kimberly, a student, was pulled aside with her friend by her teacher and berated for speaking in Spanish in class after being "warned not to do so." Kimberly, who discreetly records the video, asked the reason for the rule as the teacher explained her rationale. "One, it's unfair to other people. You're speaking a language that half the people in the classroom can't speak. It makes it seem like you are talking about them." When the students insisted that they were not talking about others but themselves, the teacher was not ready to take them seriously. "It's disrespectful when you don't do what I'm asking you to do," she said.
While the students apologized and promised not to repeat it, the teacher said, "There's not going to be a next time. I'm the adult. You need to do exactly what I tell you in my classroom. If I tell you not to speak Spanish, there's a reason. I don't have to give a reason; you're supposed to do it now. Moving forward, there won't be any Spanish in my classroom."
While the video received a lot of flak from online users, the Principal of their school, Neika Richard, came across the video on her 'For You' page. Backing the students, the principal urged them to have recorded the teacher's face during the conversation. In her video, she said, "You (teacher) are being macroaggressive because students are speaking Spanish in your class. Just so you know, that is discrimination and a violation of civil rights." Referencing Title 6 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, she called out the teacher for not allowing the Hispanic students in her class to speak their mother tongue. She continued, "Also, why are you assuming negative intent? On top of that, you're also stereotyping."
The principal also criticized the teacher for putting the students in an embarrassing situation. "I could tell by the way Kimberly kept looking at the other people around," she shared. Backing the students, the principal asked the teacher to report to her office the next day. According to a 2007 report by the Civil Rights Project, Latino English Language Learner students frequently face linguistic isolation within schools. The report notes that this practice constitutes a form of systemic discrimination that is rooted in language, reinforces educational inequities, and hinders their social and academic development. By discouraging students from speaking Spanish among themselves, the teacher attempted to assert her authority while enforcing discriminatory practices.
Soon after the video went viral, many online users condemned the teacher's behavior. @gandhy370 wrote, "Why are Americans so obsessed that someone else is talking about them, like, you are not the center of the world." @joyofodu commented, "Meanwhile, those bilingual students will go farther than every other student in the classroom. Ask me how I know." @k.stylesduh wrote, "This is comical… she’s offended because she can’t understand what the girls are saying in class, she’s not even complaining about the fact that they’re talking during class … SAD."
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