A Texas high school teacher is in hot water after making students watch Derek Chauvin’s trial for an assignment without their parents’ consent.
What We Know:
- Parents at Cedar Hill High School in the suburbs of Dallas were shocked to discover their freshmen student’s project was to watch Derek Chauvin’s trial and were instructed not to discuss the trial with anyone. According to the Daily Mail, the assignment entailed watching the video of the incident, following the trial for six to seven weeks, watching live streams of the trial in class and at home, and acting as mock jurors.
- Derek Chauvin is the former Minneapolis police officer responsible for fatally placing a knee on George Floyd’s neck back in May of last year. So far, Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter. The class is on their second week of the project.
- Parents expressed their dismay for the project in a letter to the school’s communications teacher. “This murder seen by millions around the globe was triggering and traumatizing for adults. Yet, you left students to handle their own emotions and mental health as they left your class, without proper and professional support.”
‘It is unfathomable to me that you felt it appropriate to force my child to watch George Floyd’s murder on television in your classroom, and then move on with his day as if nothing had happened,’ the letter continued.
- After the complaint, the unidentified teacher clarified the details of the assignment by sending a letter home to parents. “They may not text discuss what they hear with friends, siblings, or relatives – not even the family dog,’ the teacher wrote. ‘I’m kidding.’ It has not been stated if the teacher will face any further consequences from the school.
On Friday, Cedar Hill Principal Jason Miller ultimately sided with the parents and shut down the project claiming it was not ‘age-appropriate.’
