The teacher deserves combat pay.
Via Baltimore Sun:
The mother who posted a video of a white Baltimore teacher berating a class of black students and using a racial epithet said she regrets that the meltdown led to the teacher being fired.
Erica Esha Deminds, mother of a Harlem Park Elementary/Middle School eighth-grader who was in the science class, posted the video Wednesday. It quickly went viral and has been viewed more than 7 million times.
“You take this woman’s whole life and judge it by 1 minute and 30 seconds,” said Deminds, who described the teacher as “a woman who wanted to teach these kids because she’s passionate about her job.”
In the video, the teacher is heard yelling at her students and calling them “stupid” and “idiots.” She tells them that if they don’t get an education, they’ll wind up “a punk-ass n— — who’s going to get shot.” School officials said the incident took place Tuesday and the teacher was fired the next day.
The video has drawn wide reaction on social media, with some outraged by the teacher’s behavior and others suggesting that she may have been overwhelmed.
Deminds said the teacher, who has not been publicly identified, was wrong to use such language. But she said she doesn’t believe the teacher is racist. Deminds said she posted the video to get reaction from her relatives but did not realize it would be widely disseminated.
“It bothered me to see her that way, but she’s not a nasty teacher,” Deminds said. “She was more so hurt than anything because she couldn’t get the kids to learn, and she couldn’t get them to listen.”
She also said she thinks the teacher is being treated unfairly because she is white. She said she doesn’t consider use of the epithet appropriate, but says there’s a double standard.
“If this was a black man doing it, it would have been a high five,” she said. “Her message was right — her approach was wrong.”