A 6th-grade teacher in the town of Bedford, Texas has found herself in a heap of struggle after she gave her class of students the nickname “Jighaboos” but claims she didn’t know it was an offensive slur. The school district has since apologized for the teacher’s actions, and a father at the school who brought the matter to local news outlets doesn’t appear to be letting the issue go easily.
Local outlet KDFW-TV reports:
A parent who didn’t want his face shown on camera shared a picture with FOX 4 that shows the name “Jighaboos” on a laminated classroom sign at Bell Manor Elementary in Bedford.
“I don’t think other parents know. I don’t think children have sat down with their parents yet and told them,” he said.
According to his son, it’s the mascot name his sixth grade teacher assigned to the class. He said other classes got different names.
“You put Dream Team and then you have the Jighaboos. Really? Really with that? That’s, that’s unacceptable,” he said.
The parent took the photo of the sign during an empty period in the classroom and also features a daily mantra the children say each morning with the slur featured prominently. The Hurst-Euless-Bedford school district informed the outlet that the teacher simply didn’t know the term. However, the father wasn’t buying the district’s explanation.
As of yet, the district has yet to announce what the next steps are to take with the teacher.
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Photo: screen cap
