A Florida teacher is under fire for using students as “political props” in TikTok skits — including one which shows white kids bowing right down to their black classmates.
Ethan Hooper, a sixth-grade language teacher at Howard Middle School in Orlando, was placed on leave after parents complained about several eyebrow-raising videos he posted to his personal TikTok page.
In a single video, white students fan, feed and bow down in front of several black classmates to commemorate black history month.
In one other, Hooper had his kids take aim at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ crackdown on books deemed inappropriate for young kids.
The Republican governor’s “Stop WOKE Act” compels school districts to remove texts that espouse critical race theory, together with books containing sexually explicit prose or illustrations.
Within the clip, the teacher walks across the room snatching benign books — including Harry Potter — from kids as they read them, announcing that anything related to race and black history is prohibited.
DeSantis has pushed back on that narrative, nevertheless, noting that the teaching of black history is mandatory in Florida public schools.
While the scholars seem like giggling through the unorthodox lessons, displeased parents have accused Hooper of injecting politics into the classroom and enlisting students as participants.
“If one in all the teachers was using my kid for political gain, that will upset me,” Howard Middle School dad CJ Johnson told Click Orlando.
“What if I don’t consider in that, and, you recognize, that’s not what I’m teaching my kid.”
The backlash only intensified when right-wing Twitter account Libs of TikTok shared the clips on social media.
“He must lose his job now. He can take his issues to adults within the system. As an alternative, he used children he’s presupposed to be caring for on a private social media account,” one critic fumed.
“I ponder if his activism is a component of the curriculum? I’m gonna exit on a limb and guess, no,” one other added.
Others also took aim at Hooper for posting his student’s identities online.
“What’s a teacher doing on social media during school hours, much less posting his students’ identities?,” a detractor questioned.
Orange County Public Schools superintendent said he was “appalled” by the “inappropriate” videos, which he said used students as “political props.”
“I’m appalled on the behavior and judgment of the teacher who posted the inappropriate videos using his students as political props,” Maria Vazquez said in an announcement.
“This isn’t free speech — it’s the exploitation of our students for political purposes and it’s going to not be tolerated in our faculty district.”
In one other clip, Hooper’s students mockingly chant that “books are bad” and “I shall not read books” — and closes with a child hiding in a separate room while reading.
Critics of DeSantis’ act have argued that the governor is imposing conservative values onto Sunshine State teachers.
Meanwhile, several students and fogeys have also come forward to defend Hooper, calling him a well-liked and dedicated educator undeserving of punishment.
“All of us agreed to it,” student Jaida Jackson told WESH, noting that she was in one in all the clips.
“He didn’t really do anything unsuitable.”
But the college district’s Media Manager Michael Ollendorf said Hooper’s fate has likely been sealed.
“Any worker of who creates videos or other content with students in an effort to use them for political purposes might be immediately faraway from the classroom, placed on administrative leave and swift motion might be taken to terminate employment,” he said in an announcement.
