“I believe the children are our future; teach them well, and let them lead the way” is not just the first line in Whitney Houston’s song “Greatest Love of All.” It has meaning. It touches peoples’ freakin’ hearts! Unlike SOME teachers and their mindless worksheet packets.
A hilarious video that went viral this week shows high a school student going all the way off on his teacher after he is kicked out of class for voicing his frustration over her lazy teaching style — which apparently is nothing but a bunch of boring worksheet packets. And we all know those are no fun.
As he is walking out of the door, the student — identified by the local news as Jeff Bliss, a sophomore at Duncanville High School in Texas — gives a rousing minute-and-a-half long speech about his education, which he takes very seriously.
“If you would just teach them instead of handing them a freakin’ packet, yo! … You want kids to come into your class? You want them to get excited for this? You gotta come in here and make them excited. You want a kid to change and start doing better? You gotta touch his freakin’ heart! Can’t expect a kid to change if all you do is just tell ’em.
“You gotta take this job serious, this is the future of this nation. And when you come in here, like you did last time, and make a statement, about ‘oh, this is my paycheck’ — indeed it is. But this is my country’s future, and my education.”
Jeff talked to a local Fox affiliate about his viral rant, which has been seen by over a million people since it was posted to YouTube on May 8th, and he says he was just defending his classmates and standing up for their education, though he admits he could have handled the situation differently.
“My question was, why we don’t get the same amount of time to take the test as the rest of her classes?”
Jeff said his teacher replied with profanity and told him to stop asking questions before asking him to leave; and that’s when he went off. Dr. Alfred Ray, the superintendent for the school district, wouldn’t confirm whether or not the teacher cursed at Jeff, but Jeff says she did.
Dr. Alfred Ray, the superintendent for Duncanville ISD said, “less than 10 minutes after it occurred, the teacher cared so much about her student that she went down to the office with the assistant principal while someone else watched her class and they had a conversation in that office and came to some agreement and the student came back to the class later that same period.”
In an interview with Steve Eager, Jeff Bliss said one of his key points is the fact that it’s not just about his education, it’s about our education. “If we embrace this, I feel as if we can make a serious change and a positive change. But if we just want to ignore and push this to the side then I expect to see the same problems again and again.”
On Thursday, the district announced it would not punish Jeff Bliss for his actions. He said he was upset by what he says is his teacher’s lack of passion for her profession
The teacher has been put on paid leave while the district investigates the incident. The district said that is standard procedure during investigations, but wouldn’t say how long the leave will last.
“We love it when students are passionate about education,” Duncanville ISD superintendent Dr. Alfred Ray told FOX4.
Ray also admitted the “setting and the tone could have been different” about Bliss’ statements.
Jeff Bliss said his mom was proud of him but said his attitude could have been better.
Rhonda Bliss is relieved the district didn’t punish her son.
“When you take a chance like that, there could always be something that doesn’t work out well,” Rhonda Bliss said.
Even though the video is viral, he said he doesn’t want all the attention.
“I don’t want people to look up to me as something to idolize or anything, I’m just as human as the next person,” said Bliss.
If you were wondering why Jeff Bliss is so passionate about his education (unlike most high school students), it’s because he dropped out of high school his freshman year, but recently returned to get his diploma. So he takes his schoolwork very seriously, and he asks that his teachers do the same, KDFW reported.
