The Fort Worth ISD Superintendent is calling for the firing of a teacher whose ninth-grade student repeatedly used racial slurs in a classroom presentation.
As reported by NBC 5 News, a 3-minute, 18-second video of the presentation shows the student using racist language nine times. Superintendent Kent Scribner said that the profanity and racial slurs used in the video “disgusted” him.
“There is no place for this kind of language in our society, much less in our schools I am appalled by the conduct of the adult in the room and saddened by the message it sends to our students,” Scribner said in a statement, according to a FOX 4 News report.
“The conduct of the teacher was unacceptable,” said Scribner, who believes the teacher should have intervened and stopped the student.
The incident happened at R.L. Paschal High School. While the identity of the teacher involved has not been released, Scribner said they are an experienced educator and, as such, have no excuse for not handling the incident appropriately.
“It’s obvious that incidents like this highlight the need for more racial equity training,” Scribner said.
The district is currently investigating the incident and has not released an official statement about what disciplinary action the teacher could face.
A group of Fort Worth ministers also had something to say about the issue. “Why would a teacher allow that word to be used nine times without interrupting the student and using it as a teachable moment,” Pastor Kyev Tatum of New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church wondered.
Pastor Tatum said he believes that the language used by the student in the video may be isolated, but the hostility towards racial diversity and equity training is “systemic.”
As reported by FOX 4 News, Tatum and other ministers are planning an event on May 5 where civil rights advocates from across the country will address issues surrounding racial equity.
