A math teacher at a southeast-Texas school has been put on leave pending an investigation into an allegation that he asked an American-born Muslim student if she was grieving because her "uncle" had died, referring to Osama bin Laden.
The teacher, whom school-district officials did not identify, is accused of making the remark to the student on Monday during a ninth-grade algebra class at Clear Brook High School in Friendswood, located 23 miles southeast of Houston.
The school got wind of the remarks when another student reported the taunt to her mother.
"The student did the right thing and immediately notified an adult regarding the teacher's comments. The principal at Clear Brook High School notified the child's parents and has been in communication with the family," the district spokeswoman said. She added that it doesn't reflect school or district staff attitudes.
Aziz Siddiqui, president of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, told KTRK that the group is satisfied with the district's response. "A lot of people are ignorant in the world, and so you just have to ignore them," he said.
We agree with the "ignorant" part, but when it comes to adults who children are forced to spend time with five days a week, ignoring can become a little more difficult. We hope that this teacher isn't back in the classroom anytime soon and he limits his commentary to mathematics when he is.
Read more at the Washington Post.
In other news: Will.i.am: Women With Condoms Are Tacky.
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