RantCrush Top 5: June 8, 2017

The Texas teacher who came up with the brilliant idea to hand out awards to middle school students at the end of the term that said things like “most likely to become a terrorist” and “most likely to blend in with white people,” has officially been fired. Parents were understandably horrified and the school conducted an investigation. Yesterday, the Channelview Independent School District said the teacher was no longer employed at the school, Anthony Aguirre Junior High.

But for the kids, the damage was already done. Thirteen-year-old Lizeth Villanueva was the one who received the “most likely to be a terrorist” award, and said that the teacher just laughed when handing her the note. Among the other awards were “most likely to cry” and “most likely to become homeless in Guatemala.” Latonya Robinson, the mother of another girl who got an award said, ”Basically now the students are taking that, and that’s her label for the rest of the school year.” The teacher in question has not been named, but the school district apologized for the incident.

Her mother commented saying, “everyone doesn’t believe that this is real but yes this certificate shows that this is real…” @Fox26Houston pic.twitter.com/6Oruoxek98

— Lindsey Henry (@LindseyFOX26) May 26, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.