A Springfield middle school teacher has just lost her job after berating a student over his apparent objection to LGBTQ.
The Springfield News-Leader reported the disturbing incident which involved the teacher calling the student names, offending him and on the whole not showing the tolerance she supposedly wished to see and criticized the student for not showing.
How did it all happen?
The incident took place on May 27 and was caught on a cellphone video. The footage begins with the teacher angrily addressing a student. Her reaction apparently comes after he interpreted the unicorn cupcakes she brought to the Pershing Middle School classroom. The sweets were meant to celebrate the last day of school with a pro-LGBTQ gesture, the news outlet said.
The LGBTQ community has indeed adopted the mythical animal as a symbol in the last years.
“Just 'cause I support another thing doesn't mean I don't support straight people, too. Just 'cause I'm Mexican doesn't mean I don't also support black people or Irish people or ignorant people,’ the teacher is heard saying in the beginning.
And when she says “ignorant people” the teacher points toward the student who questioned the cupcakes. In return, he responds that he thought he was being “ignored” by his teacher.
“Would you like a special unicorn cupcake?” the teacher then shouts at the student, who yells back, “Yes!”
After that the teacher walks to the back of the class and presents the student with a cupcake and calls him “a pill.”
“I'm just trying to be annoying," the student tells the teacher, who shouts back, "You are annoying! You are very successful, congratulations!”
On her way back to the front of the classroom the teacher is heard saying, “What a dip!”
The student is also heard asking what she means by that and the teacher replies, “A dip! Like a dipstick, a weasel!”
By the end of the clip the teacher explains she wanted to give students something before the summer starts. “Everybody is welcome to a unicorn cupcake,’ she says.
The news outlet revealed that the video was recorded by a student sitting right in the middle of the classroom and the teacher doesn’t appear to have notice she was being recorded.
What was the reaction from the school district?
Stephen Hall, the district's chief communications officer, shared with the News-Leader that a parent had informed the district about the teacher’s behavior and provided the video 24 hours after the incident happened. An investigation began “immediately.”
“The video includes comments that do not meet the professional standards for educators. They are inappropriate and inexcusable. As a result of the district's internal investigation, SPS has taken appropriate disciplinary actions.
While details of personnel matters must remain confidential, our response has followed the guidelines outlined by our board policy and reflects the district's zero-tolerance for this type of conduct,” Hall told the news outlet.
He added that “the employee will not be returning to SPS.” He also claimed that the Springfield incident had been dealt with before the video being shared on social media.