Emily Walters, a diligent and passionate student, found herself in a very delicate situation after recording her teacher saying something terribly wrong and humiliating during a class discussion. She was aware that school rules prohibit the use of cell phones inside the classroom, especially during a discussion. But Emily just couldn’t bear listening to her teacher’s unacceptable remarks any longer and decided to do something about it. So she picked up her phone and filmed him, not knowing how much impact it would make on her life…
A principled student
Emily Walters is a 14-year-old freshman student at Clayton High School in Missouri. Growing up, her parents have always given her a clear sense of what’s right and wrong, and they have always told her to respect each person regardless of their social status, age, gender, or race. So when Emily witnessed her Math teacher say something totally unacceptable in class, she disobeyed school rules just to get evidence of it.
Her favorite teacher
It was a normal day in school and Emily was listening intently to her Math teacher as it was her favorite subject and he was her favorite teacher. She had always looked up to him because Emily thought that he was the type of person who always knew what he was saying. He always appeared intelligent and composed and Emily admired that about him. But all that admiration was replaced with disgust when he said something in class that made everyone frown…
Sensitive topic
Out of nowhere, her teacher brought up a very sensitive topic for discussion. Emily and her classmates were all shocked but they didn’t want to intervene while the teacher was saying something. So they all listened and waited to speak their minds. But not one of them expected what he would say next…
Garnering negative reactions
The entire class frowned and fell silent as the teacher was speaking. It was evident that none of them were happy about where the discussion was going. One student just couldn’t hold it anymore. So he cut the teacher off and said, “Don’t say it right now, as a teacher, if you want to keep your job.” But the student’s words meant nothing to the teacher. He was too proud to admit his mistake so he simply went on with the discussion.
Making a choice
Emily was conflicted for a moment because she couldn’t believe what she was hearing from her favorite teacher. Emily knows that he should be held accountable for his words, but she doesn’t want to put him in a tight spot either. It was a tough decision to make, but fueled by a strong sense of justice, Emily eventually decided to record the incident on her phone to expose the teacher’s inappropriate behavior.
Notwithstanding
Not being able to read the room, the audacious Math teacher repeated his remarks several times more, earning raised eyebrows each time. Another student even said, “Please stop, this isn’t part of our lecture and completely unnecessary.” But the teacher dismissed it once more and said, “Why can’t I say it? I can say the word.”
Exposed
The teacher did not welcome any of his students’ comments because he thought of himself as the only authority in the room and therefore, they should listen to him. Little did he know, Emily captured it all on camera. And soon, not only will his students be the only people to hear those words from him, but the entire world…
Against the rules
While she was recording her teacher, Emily suddenly remembered that school rules forbid the use of cell phones and other electronic devices during class hours, especially inside the classroom. She could get in trouble simply by taking out her phone! Emily was about to turn off the video when her teacher made another remark that surprised her even more. This made her more determined than ever to expose the shameful teacher.
Caught on cam
After minutes of rambling and a lot of negative reactions from his students, the teacher looked around and finally noticed that Emily was holding up her phone camera in his direction. He felt his heart race realizing that Emily was able to record everything he just said. “Are you recording me? Stop that and put your phone away!”
It’s not that simple
Emily was not about to let this teacher intimidate her. She refused to stop recording even when he demanded and asked her to report to his office after the class. When the teacher realized that Emily wasn’t going to stop filming, he dropped the discussion and went back to their lesson. But after everything he just said, Emily couldn’t let him get away with it. She was determined to expose him…
Trusting her best friend
Emily knew that filing a complaint using her video as evidence could have serious repercussions for her. But that was a thought for later. She had to act quickly now because her teacher might ask her to delete the video. And she had to be one step ahead of him. So Emily did the only logical thing she could think of at the moment – she sent a copy of the video to her best friend, Lindsey. But in her hurry, she forgot to do one important thing…
Threatening her
Emily guessed correctly. Right after the bell rang, her Math teacher asked to see her in his office. He wasted no time in asking Emily to delete the video telling her that if she didn’t, he would be forced to send her to the headmaster’s office for bringing out her phone during class hours, and the minimum penalty she would get was a three-day suspension. On the other hand, if she obeyed him, he would let it pass and they would pretend like they never had this meeting.
What’s happening?
Before she could even respond, Emily’s phone started vibrating uncontrollably. Luckily for her, she always keeps her phone on silent mode so her teacher couldn’t hear any of it. But she still had no idea why she was getting so many notifications and she couldn’t check her phone at the moment. What could be happening?
Then it hit her. If what she’s thinking is right, she may be in big trouble…
Standing her ground
After some time thinking, Emily faced her teacher and said, “Sorry but I can’t delete the video.” Then she stood up and left the room rendering her teacher speechless. Emily knew she would be called to the headmaster’s office soon because she refused to delete the video, but right now, she was more worried about all the messages she was getting and she couldn’t wait to find out.
What she didn’t know was how bad the situation already was…
Going viral
As soon as she was out of her Math teacher’s office, she took out her phone once more and began reading through her notifications. Emily couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The video she took of her teacher has been shared online and has now gone viral within their community with hundreds of shares and comments!
But how did this happen? She didn’t share the video with anyone – except… Lindsey!
Realizing her mistake
Apparently, Lindsey was offended by the teacher’s remarks and thought it fit to share the video online after Emily sent it to her without context. She was in such a hurry to send the video that she forgot how much it could affect Lindsey! But there’s no way to undo those damages. Even Emily herself knew there was no escaping the consequences of taking that offensive video now…
Online reaction
Lindsey thinks that even if Emily violated school rules by taking the video, the circumstances were unique and Emily did the right thing. And apparently, most of the people who shared the video online seem to think the same way. In fact, they think Emily should be praised for being bold enough to disobey school rules and stand up to her teacher. But what did she really capture in the video? What was so bad about her teacher’s remarks?
Waking up to big news
When she reached home, Emily’s phone still wouldn’t stop pinging with notification alerts. She was just desperate to escape the commotion so she slept away the rest of the day.
She woke up the next day to her mom loudly knocking on her door. Then she broke the news to Emily, sounding more concerned than agitated, “What did you do Emily? The headmaster just called to inform me of your one-week suspension.”
Fighting back
Emily saw it coming but she still couldn’t believe that the school took her teacher’s side, especially since the video has now gone viral and probably half of the school – if not all of it – had already seen it. She told her mom all about what happened and showed her the video. Emily’s mom was furious as she also believed that her daughter did nothing wrong. And she was desperate to fight back.
Despite Emily’s objection, her mom quickly called their family lawyer and brought up the case. If Emily was determined to make her teacher pay, her mom was set on making the school regret suspending Emily as well…
