A Texas teacher who was heard telling his students in a video that his race is “superior” is “no longer employed” by the Pflugerville Independent School District, a statement said. The comments by the former Bohls Middle School were condemned by parents after the video was circulated on social media. They reportedly labeled his comments as racist.
According to NBC News, the students the teacher was addressing in the video are multi-racial. And in the footage, the teacher is heard telling them, “Deep down in my heart, I’m ethnocentric, which means I think my race is the superior one.”
“I think everybody thinks that,” the teacher adds. “They’re just not honest about it.”
The teacher appeared to be addressing two Black students when he made those comments. But other students objected to his remarks. “I’m not racist though. I like all types of kinds,” a student is heard saying. The teacher, however, replies saying, “Did I say I don’t like people?”
“Wait, so you said you are what? You are a racist?” a Black student is also heard asking the teacher. The teacher replies saying, “I think everybody is a racist at that level.”
“No. But you said you are a racist,” the student tells the teacher. “I did. I did,” the teacher responds before two Black students tell him that he has lost their respect.
The superintendent of the Pflugerville Independent School District, Douglas Killian, condemned the teacher’s comments in a statement on Monday. Killian labeled the conversation as “inappropriate, inaccurate, and unacceptable”, adding that “this type of interaction will not be tolerated in any PfISD schools.”
“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,” Killian said. The teacher’s race was, however, not disclosed. But he looks White.
Killian said they were on Friday notified about “an inappropriate conversation a teacher at Bohls Middle School had with students during an advisory class.” He also said the footage was ultimately handed out to administrators. Other students in the class also shared the video on social media.
“We apologize to any parents whose students have been included in the video without their knowledge,” Killian said in the statement. “We want to reiterate that this conversation does not align with our core beliefs and is not a reflection of our district or our culture at Bohls Middle School.”
Elsewhere in the statement, Killian apologized to “students and families at Bohls Middle School for the undue stress or concern this has caused.”
“We have counselors and administrators available for any of our students and families who want to discuss this situation further,” he added.
A parent of a student at the middle school, Brian Hennington, told NBC News that he went to the school with his wife to register their displeasure over the teacher’s comments after they saw the video on Facebook.
“The reason why we were appalled is because it was offensive and we definitely wanted to make sure that our voice was heard,” Hennington said on Monday. “I think more parents need to stand up, especially the parents who had kids in the classroom.”
Hennington said some of the students involved in the discussion with the teacher were his 11-year-old son’s friends. He said the video left his son saddened and offended.
“He should be removed. He should be terminated,” Hennington said about the teacher. “He should not be teaching.”
“You’re not hired to bring your opinions into the classroom, especially when you have impressionable minds,” he continued. “Those kinds of exploratory conversations, that’s for the parents to expose their kids to.”
