Virginia, US.- A high school teacher in Richmond (Virginia, USA) has been suspended after she forbade a student to speak Spanish in class, local media reported last week. The Thomas C. Boushall center, where the events occurred, has 44% Hispanic students.
In an audio recorded by a student, who seems not to be involved in the discussion, the teacher can be heard telling the student that it is mandatory to speak English in the classroom, to which the girl replies that Spanish is her mother tongue , so you consider that you have the right to use it wherever you want.
At that point, the teacher interrupts her and blurts out: “Okay, go back to wherever that Spanish-speaking country is and speak it. But when you’re in the United States, you’ll speak English in the classes that are spoken here.”
“I didn’t know that speaking my own language was wrong,” the young woman then says, to which the teacher replies that if she wants to speak Spanish, she can do it at home with her family. Shortly after she throws her out of the classroom.
Outrage in the Latino community
The recording, which has gone viral, has generated outrage, especially among the Latino community. In the midst of the controversy, the body in charge of supervising the educational centers of the city announced this Monday that the teacher is currently on administrative leave, pending the result of an internal investigation. “Racism, bigotry and intolerance of any kind will not be tolerated in the Richmond Public Schools,” the organ stressed.
“The day this happened, my daughter came home and locked herself in the room and wouldn’t stop crying,” the student’s mother explained at a school board meeting. “We parents have to be willing to defend our children,” she stressed.
According to Rachel Gomez, president of the Richmond chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens, it is a “systemic problem” throughout the district “that is not being handled properly.”
For that reason, he requested that a task force be created to monitor this situation, while calling for mandatory civic education for staff and students to be implemented, arguing that the audio showed clear violations of students’ constitutional rights.
