In all due respect to Amy Creeden, this is simply an overreaction by the Middletown Superintendent of Schools. (see her letter below)
I can understand if Amy thinks that teachers dancing to TikTok video is not appropriate but sending out a lengthy letter basically accusing them of being a racist and suspending them is not acceptable.
I watch both TikTok videos and to be honest I didn’t even catch the offending word in my first viewing. Perhaps it because whenever I hear rap music today, it simply contains a lot of profanities. This is not just my opinion, even a recent research paper determine that 76% of the most popular Hip-hop/Rap music contain profanities
Plus, in both videos, the teacher did a quick 8 to 10 second dance. They were not singing or mouthing the lyrics and I highly doubt they clearly heard the lyrics playing from a smartphone speaker 10 feet away. These were just teachers simply trying, perhaps foolishly, to bond with students.
Instead of immediately resorting to suspending them and starting a full investigating, Amy should carefully have consideration of all the relevant factors, including the context of the situation and the teacher’s intentions, and simply sat down with them to discuss why it was perhaps inappropriate action for a teacher. I’m sure a quick meeting and a warning would have suffice everyone involved.
For this reason, I strongly recommend everyone who agrees. Please go to petition and sign it
