Another Marianna teacher accused of racial slur
Jimmie Green
An investigation is under way to determine whether a Marianna High School teacher used a racial slur and cursed in the classroom as alleged by a parent in a letter to Jackson County Superintendent of Schools Danny Sims.
The allegation against American history teacher Jimmie Green, who is black, came to light late last week. The alleged incident came just days after a white Marianna Middle School teacher was suspended for writing a racial slur on the chalkboard in discussing a rogue acronym for the word CHANGE.
Greg Howard, a seventh grade social studies teacher at MMS, was initially placed on suspension while the investigation into the allegation was being done, and a few days later was placed on a 10-day unpaid suspension. He was also required to take diversity training, write a letter of apology to the students involved, and was stripped of his football coaching responsibilities.
Green has not been placed on suspension to date, Sims said. He continues to teach one dual-enrollment college course and five classes of high school American history. He has worked for the school system since July 2006.
Sims said that students will be interviewed about the allegation as part of the investigation. He would not disclose further specifics about the allegation, adding that the investigation is just getting started and that he had not yet spoken with Green about the matter. He said the probe “will not leave anything unturned.”
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Reader Reactions
Could this possibly be one reason Mr Sims was not re-elected? All should be treated equally! He should have beeen temporarily suspended just like Mr. Howard. What a horrible example to set for our children! Color is not even the issue… the issue is that two men who had the same “possible” offense were treated totally different in the same school system. What’s up??? Where are our school board representatives in all of this… we’d sure like to hear their positions as well as Mr. Sims… accountability is the key!
If the racial slur was used in a teaching fashion, such as with the Civil War, then I think it was an overreaction. Any other use of the N word is not appropriate and the teacher should be suspended until the investigation is over. Yes, it is used in literature, but even then it is being taught, not said by the teacher for his or her own personal gain or attempt to be hurtful. All teachers should be treated the same and the rule should apply REGARDLESS of skin color.
Seems like a “set-up” to me to off set the actions of the MMS teacher. I have also heard very positive things about Mr. Green.
I am a student in Mr. Green’s American History class. There is no way that he meant any harm from anything he says. He is a great hard working teacher, His is very dedicated to his job and some people may not like him because he is determined to make you pass his class. If there is anything wrong with Mr.Green i have not seen it. Never would I feel he would say anything out of the way to another student or any other human for that matter. The only problem is that some may be jealous about the wonderful skills of this hard working dedicated man.
I don’t think that there is enough information given about the way the “racial slur” was used in this case. Was it used as a joke in the same way that Mr. Howard used it, or was it used in a history lesson. The “N” word appears in literature that is used by English teachers and it also appears in history books as part of the history of the period. If it was used to “make fun” of a group of people, then this would be a serious offense. Let’s wait until the situation has been investigated before passing judgement.
If you are going to suspend one for the same thing you need to suspend the other one to. If he is or not guilty he should be suspended till the investigation is over, just like Mr Howard was. The standerds should be the same for all teachers.
Why was this teacher not suspended in the same fashion as the other? Oh wait, he is black.
Why has this teacher not been suspended? Mr. Howard was suspended immediately after reportedly making racially offensive statements. We teach diversity to our children, and we should uphold the same standards in every matter before our children. Whether Mr. Green is guilty of making the remarks or cleared of the allegations, he should be taken out of the classroom, just like Mr. Howard, until the matter is resolved. We do not need distractions hampering our students’ learning nor do we need allegations of wrongdoing being paraded in front of our students. They are there to learn, not have more drama created for them.
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