A New Jersey student was reportedly suspended after he secretly recorded his teacher going on an expletive-laden tirade in the classroom – telling the mostly black children it is a “f—ing zoo.”
Pastor David and Geneatha Wright, of Sicklerville, are calling for the Winslow Township High School teacher to be axed after they heard the profanity their son, Jai, 16, captured on his phone, NJ.com reported.
The junior said he began recording when the teacher, who has not been named, unleashed the invective on the class Thursday after noticing the phone on his desk.
In the recording posted by NJ.com, the teacher is heard saying: “Knock it the f—k out ’cause you do not go around behaving like this in front of your parents. Don’t do it in front of me, either. Period. Am I understood?
“So, if you’re done the test, please actually put it in the Chromebook cart and plug the s—t in. Stop leaving s—t around,” she says.
“You done already lost your game privileges, which actually gives you chances to earn extra credit, just ’cause you’re trying to be funny. And then you’re taking that away from other people who actually care about their f—king grade in here. And that’s not OK,” the teacher continues.
She also tells the mostly black students that “it is a f—king zoo in this class every day – every day.”
Jai said he knew that using his phone in class was not permitted but that he recorded the teacher because it wasn’t the first time she had used foul language in class.
“I am distraught and disappointed that this happened,” he told NJ.com.
Jai was suspended for four days last week after his parents contacted school officials about the recording, the Rev. Kevin McCall, an activist, told NJ.com on behalf of the family.
Assistant Principal Richard Dawkins also ordered Jai to delete the recording, the report said.
Principal Kurtis Marella upheld the suspension the following day without providing the parents a reason for it, McCall said.
The Wrights believe school administrators punished their son for recording a teacher of color, who they insisted suffered no consequences for her actions.
“This should not be happening,” Geneatha told NJ.com. “And to know this is happening and no one is batting an eye about it makes me very uneasy.”
David said their “son has been dealing with this for a while, and sometimes I wondered why he didn’t want to go to school. I’m used to a teacher being able to grade my son, not degrade my son.”
On Tuesday, McCall said: “How do you suspend a kid and not reprimand the teacher for their actions? She still has a job to come to, and the school is taking a lackadaisical approach to the situation.”
The teacher told NJ.com said she could not comment about the incident. Dawkins, Marella and Schools Superintendent H. Major Poteat did not respond to the outlet.
In November, Jai was suspended for one day for having his phone out. The student also complained at the time about the teacher’s use of foul language.
The teacher apologized after David spoke with school administrators, who said they would take action, the parents said.
The father said Jai became depressed after the teacher berated him and called him a “f—king idiot” in front of the class.
“I moved my family here because I didn’t want to raise my kids around what I was used to,” David told the outlet.
“Growing up in Brooklyn, we heard that type of language all the time. And for my son to have to deal with that in what I thought was a safe haven. I’m still in disbelief,” he added.
The Post has reached out to the school district for comment.
