Rubidoux High School is located in Jurupa Valley, California. The school “mascot” is the jaguar. The town is about 70% Hispanic or Latino, and the student body is closer to 90%, according to the Washington Post. The town’s on part of the old Rancho Jurupa, a Spanish land grant.
SorryWatch wasn’t surprised to learn many students skipped school February 16th for the national Day Without Immigrants, especially in the current political climate. SorryWatch skipped some high school days for political demonstrations, and we’re not sorry.
I was totally listening, Mr. Greer. And I was wondering if we could talk about how a border wall would cut off the remnant jaguar population in the US from the population in Mexico?
SorryWatch wasn’t surprised some teachers liked having a small class for one day. But we were surprised that they got on social media and attacked their absent students.
Geoffrey Greer, who teaches social studies, started the sneering on Facebook. “Well. A day without immigrants. Perhaps all the missing workers in all the various industries out there had the intended impact and sent the desired message. I don’t know. As for the public school system, having my class size reduced by 50% all day long only served to SUPPORT Trump’s initiatives and prove how much better things might be without all this overcrowding.
“That’s what you get when you jump on some sort of bandwagon cause as an excuse to be lazy and/or get drunk. Best school day ever.”
Art teacher Robin Riggle marveled that she had 50 absences, and Greer replied, “Yup. And I bet your class went a whole lot more smoothly as well.” She said, “Yes, it was a very pleasant day.”
It’s not that your class is boring, Mr. Greer, it’s just that I was up late fighting for justice. And doing my homework. Also I feel sick. For some reason.
Science teacher Allan Umbarger posted, “Unfortunately, statistically my cumulative GPA increased today. Mostly failing students were missing.”
Another science teacher posted, “Let’s do this more often.”
Agriculture teacher Rhonda Van Aken Fuller posted, “…Small classes, troublemakers were gone fantastic day!”
Guidance counselor Patricia Crawford – a guidance counselor! – posted, “Cafeteria was much cleaner after lunch, lunch, itself, went quicker, less traffic on the roads, and no discipline issues today. More, please!”
Hey, teach? Rookie mistake. Because, as SorryWatch often points out, Facebook is accessible to many people, students saw this conversation. Parents saw it. Alumni saw it. The administration saw it. They didn’t like it.
There have always been mean teachers, teachers who despise students. (Why do they go into teaching? Can it be that they enjoy despising people?) Some readily show their contempt, others hide it more or less successfully.
The comments produced a second walkout by many kids. Emily Diaz, a student at Rubidoux, told ABC7, “I never thought they would act like that. In class they obviously don’t seem like that. They’re always trying to help us and support us. But I guess their true colors came out on social media.” Guadalupe Lopez posted “…ladies and gentlemen l I present to you our beloved teachers from Rubidoux high school .My heart is so broken , I loved these teachers and this is how they feel about us and our people ? I understand you don’t agree with the protest or the way it’s being done but to just openly say those comments about students I can’t even be angry my heart just hurts . We all looked up to people who think of us as lazy drunks .. man Rubidoux your people are hurting .”
The Facebook comments were deleted. (I think at least one teacher defended the students, but I wasn’t able to see the entire comment.) Six teachers and a certain guidance counselor were put on (paid) leave. The district said it was considering disciplinary action. They sent district staff and extra counselors to the school to talk to students about the Facebook attacks.
Before it all got taken down, instigator Greer posted an apology:
Evidently a remark I made earlier today regarding the Immigrants’ Boycott has infuriated a great many people. Of course it’s far too late to make it go away, but I’ve deleted the post in an attempt, however small, to mitigate any further damage. While I stand by my assertion that skipping school is no way to demonstrate one’s value to society, I do apologize for the harsh tone and hurtful structure of the previous message. I hadn’t meant for it to come across as quite so scathing.
Terrible, evasive, snide apology. “Evidently” “a great many people” were infuriated. Just because you called YOUR STUDENTS lazy dishonest drunks? Who knew?
He apologizes for his “harsh tone,” which makes sense. But “hurtful structure” is weird. Yeah, that’s why he’s not an English teacher. What does it mean? Possibly it’s about his assertion that a) smaller classes “[serve] to SUPPORT Trump’s initiatives,” and b) “That’s what you get” when you take a day off school. In other words, he’s claiming that the students are refuting their own cause. Because if only all immigrants, children of immigrants, or grandchildren of immigrants could be deported, classes would be smaller.
Yes, I am a black jaguar. NO, you may not touch my fur.
Given that “Trump’s initiatives” are all over the map, but that ICE agents are stepping up raids and deportations, students’ fears are legitimate.
Class size is a real problem. Teachers are justified in liking a smaller class. But it’s vicious to blame kids for existing, rather than government for not funding enough teaching positions.
P.S. Sorry not to get to this story sooner. SorryWatch had technical problems that took a long time to fix. Thanks to FatCow staffer Mary for fixing it!
(By the way, our favorite Day Without Immigrants story might be from Oklahoma, where the owner of the I Don’t Care Bar and Grill fired 12 people for not showing up, and the owner of Brownie’s Hamburgers offered to hire them, saying he was looking for experienced workers.)
Oddly, Mr. Greer’s Facebook page is currently nowhere to be found.
As a former teacher (you never are NOT one) I feel both contempt and shame together… They put this crap on FB? Then, they wanted their students to know how much they resented and disliked them… a revelation to the half-witted haters recently revealed in our society is that there are consequences to actions. Suddenly – gasp! – there are
“evidently” a “great many people” who …aren’t hateful like them. Who knew.
There is no apology that can restore the relationship they destroyed. I wish they would be silent.
Unbelievable. I mean, I could believe it if ONE teacher in a school was this callous and cruelly disrespectful of the students he is meant to be helping, but SIX? And a counselor? Yikes, what a horrible place. I feel sorry for ALL the kids who have to go there.