A New Jersey high school teacher at Cliffside Park High School was recorded telling her students to “speak American”.
The teacher at Cliffside Park High School allegedly said, “Men and women are fighting. They are not fighting for your right to speak Spanish. They are fighting for you right to speak American.” Students in the class immediately reacted to the comment, with one student even walking out.
A large percentage of students at Cliffside Park High School are Spanish-speaking.
https://twitter.com/bnleez/status/919744712780795904
via Pix 11:
Students in Cliffside Park, a diverse community with a large number of Spanish-speaking students, immediately reacted to the comment. One even walked out.
“You’re being racist,” that student can be heard saying on the video. “I know how to speak English.”
On Facebook, some former alumni are calling for the board of education to investigate the “discriminatory” behavior and the “belittling” of a bilingual student. While others are defending the teacher, who has been identified on social media, as a “great person” and a “wonderful teacher.”
Some commenters said that English should be spoken in a class that is taught in English out of respect for the teacher. Outside the high school on Friday, a student who was in the classroom said the teacher asked students whispering in Spanish to stop several times before making that comment.
“This school is not a negative school,” said Carmen Benitez, a senior at Cliffside Park H.S. “You know there are a lot of different cultures in our school. There’s a lot of teachers who respect us.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDoZLaoeBuY
According to reports, Cliffside Park High School students are planning a walk-out today in response.
