PORTSMOUTH, OH – A Black teacher accused of having White students in his classroom bow to Black students was put on leave, according to a report on Fox News. Ethan Hooper, a middle school teacher in Orlando, posted the videos to his personal social media which went viral after being shared by the popular right-wing account Libs of TikTok.
Hooper took down the videos after Florida’s Voice asked the district whether it was appropriate behavior for a teacher. One of the videos Hooper posted showed White students acting like servants to Black students in the class in honor of Black History Month. White students were shown in the video fanning and feeding Black students.
In another, Hooper had his students take aim at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ crackdown on books deemed inappropriate for young kids, noted the New York Post. In the clip, Hooper walks around the classroom snatching benign books from kids as they read them, announcing that anything related to race and black history is prohibited.
Watch Hooper’s display of drama on Libs of TikTok on Twitter. And read the backlash comments.
Obviously, Hooper is rebelling against authority and draging the kids along for the ride. Or perhaps, he lacks rational and critical thinking skills.
“I am appalled at the behavior and judgment of the teacher who posted the inappropriate videos,” Superintendent Maria Vazquez said in a statement. “This is not free speech — it is the exploitation of our students for political purposes, and it will not be tolerated in our school district.”
I am also appalled. As a former specialist in childhood development and education, as well as a child therapist with decades of experience, an elementary school teacher that actually believes humiliating one group of children and giving another group misused power needs to be fired.
Additionally, his teaching license needs to be investigated by the Dept. of Education in Florida. The school’s principal needs to be questioned, the curriculum examined, and the school board contacted.
Any parent that believes humiliation, shame, and degradation is an effective learning model needs to go to reeducation camp. Dehumanizing is an abusive tactic and does not belong in a lesson plan.
An educator doesn’t role model racism in order to teach students about racism. Is Hooper following the harmful critical race theory?
The Orange County Public School District issued a statement saying that it will “not tolerate the use of our children as political pawns by anyone, including a classroom teacher. Any employee who creates videos or other content with students in an effort to exploit them for political purposes will be immediately removed from the classroom, placed on administrative leave, and swift action will be taken to terminate employment.”
As a parent, I would not want my child under the tutelage of Hooper. And why would a teacher put a classroom video of minors on his personal social media platform? Did parents sign a permission slip? Is this against school policy?
Children should not be taught to be ashamed of the skin they live in. Furthermore, the children in Hooper’s classroom were not alive during the slavery era in America. Kids are not to be used as scapegoats.
Kudos to Libs of TikTok and Florida’s Voice for defending the children, and for the school superintendent for calling out the offense.
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