'Ethnocentric' Texas Teacher Who Said White People are Superior in Hot Water [Update]
VIDEO: Pflugerville teacher on administrative leave over ‘inappropriate conversation’ on race | KVUE
Updated as of 11/15/2022 at 9:15 a.m. ET
The Bohls Middle School teacher caught on video saying he believes white people are superior has been fired, per NBC News. At first he was put on administrative leave after the video of his speech went viral. Now, his loud and proud racism just costed him a job.
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“As of Monday morning, Nov. 14, the teacher in question is no longer employed by Pflugerville ISD and we are actively looking for a replacement,” said Pflugerville ISD Superintendent Douglas Killian in a statement.
Killian called the teacher’s comments inappropriate, inaccurate and unacceptable. A spokesperson for the district said they couldn’t confirm the teacher’s race, though, it wouldn’t be a reach to assume a white man proclaimed his race as superior. Regardless of his color (or lack of), teachers don’t get paid to give their think-pieces in the classroom.
“You’re not hired to bring your opinions into the classroom, especially when you have impressionable minds. Those kinds of exploratory conversations, that’s for the parents to expose their kids to,” said Bohls Middle School parent Brian Hennington via NBC.
The teacher was recorded in the video saying, “Deep down in my heart, I am ethnocentric. Which means I think my race is the superior one,” per KVUE News.
He had allegedly directed his comment to two Black students, who both sat in utter disbelief of what just came out that white man’s mouth. Other students in the background were heard gasping and awkwardly laughing. Then some students challenged him to be honest about what his “ethnocentrism” really implied.
“Wait, so you said you are what? You are racist?” one student asked.
“I did. If I’m going to be honest with you,” the teacher responded. He then went on to say he thinks everybody is racist at “some level.”
Read the school principal’s response from The Dallas Morning News:
In a letter obtained by KXAN, Bohls Middle School Principal Sharon Churchin told parents the teacher was placed on leave pending the outcome of an investigation. “This interaction does not align with our core beliefs as a district,” the letter said. “The video of the conversation includes statements that we find wholly inappropriate.”
The letter appeared to praise the students for speaking up for themselves.
“We always do our best to ensure the safety of all students; we encourage them to be self-advocates and let an adult know when something is wrong, as they did in this situation; this could be to a parent, a teacher, or a counselor,” Churchin wrote. “If you see something, say something.”
Check this out. Apparently one of the Black students in the class was the son of rapper-producer Southside, per REVOLT TV. His son, Mello, confronted his teacher acknowledging that he gets treated unfairly in the classroom compared to his white peers and shared the video of the incident to his Instagram. Southside also had some words.
“Legally, my son wants an education, and he is being denied. This s**t is sad, this is in Austin, Texas, this hurts my heart to see this. I’m so angry I’m at a loss for words, but I will stand up for my child and the other Black and Spanish kings and queens in this video,” Southside wrote in response to his son’s experience.
We can only pray that a day comes where students aren’t subject to racist nonsense while trying to learn.
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