After being fired for having his students pull down his braids, a teacher speaks out.
Most instructors, if not all of them, want their students to respect them, it’s reasonable to assume. Whether they acknowledge it or not, a greater number of them aspire to be the “cool teacher.” You’ve probably never had one if, after reading this, you feel that those two words are simply unfit for each other. But for those who are familiar with this, it is imperative that a youngster feels noticed in the classroom by having a relatable instructor who isn’t scared to inquire about the newest trends and who constantly has their back. Thank goodness I’ve had a few.
There are plenty of examples of teachers who should avoid working with children, even if many of us have pleasant recollections of instructors who were calm and supportive when necessary. Regretfully, a number of parents and detractors of TikToker JaQ Lee’s pupils have classified him as belonging to the latter group. JaQ talked about how his reputation as a cool instructor was destroyed after a video of him engaging with his kids went viral in May 2024. See how the behavior cost JaQ his job by continuing to read.
JaQ Lee took a video of his female middle school students taking his hair out of braids.
Prior to his wildly popular TikTok videos, JaQ frequently took self-portraits at the school where he worked. He was seen playing darts with his kids in several of the videos, or he was seen filming videos of himself using his classroom as the background. However, the middle school teacher’s channel quickly attracted unwelcome attention to a TikTok livestream. JaQ shared a video on Friday, May 3, 2024, from his livestream. In the final moments of class, four of his female classmates could be seen unbraiding his hair in the 4:24 TikTok.
JaQ said in a voiceover that he was unable to let his hair down in advance since he had a hair appointment “immediately after school.” He claimed he had to wait until later to pull his hair down since a team had come in that day for a promotional video and he needed to seem “presentable.”
JaQ claimed that it would have taken him too long to remove on his own when he had the opportunity. In order to expedite the process, he claimed to have recruited “four or five of over 100 best friends” to assist him in taking off his hair in exchange for permission to leave class ten minutes early. JaQ made it clear that he didn’t think it was improper to ask students to take his hair out of braid, but this caused a stir on TikTok and X, which was once Twitter.
A user on X going by the handle @TanelleIrene widened the discourse by uploading a video by JaQ and inviting Black parents to “tap in” and offer their opinions. JaQ said in another TikTok video that he was sacked by his middle school a few days after the tweet went viral. One member on X said, “I can see why they fired JaQ Lee; there are so many videos that he shouldn’t have been posting as a teacher.” “most likely disregarded the policy.”
In a heartfelt response to his dismissal, JaQ Lee shared notes from his students.
JaQ was even dubbed their “bestie” by several kids, who said that he supported them during their difficult moments in middle school. JaQ also got support from commenters who disagreed with the criticism, saying his act shouldn’t have cost him his job.
“This is not something you deserve,” a commenter said. “We need more teachers who actually care about their pupils, like you do. This is really distressing. Even as someone without children, I would disagree with JaQ’s choice to urge his students to unbraid his hair. Although I’ve had the good fortune to feel protected and supported by my teachers at school, they have never once requested that I groom them. But JaQ seems truly hurt by the charges and his dismissal, and I’m saddened that the students who grew close to him won’t have him around.
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