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Arizona middle school staff ends up using N-word while asking students not to use the racial slur

'It is shocking and it is wrong under any circumstance,' said an after-school enrichment teacher

A video clip showing an employee of a middle school in Phoenix, Arizona, hurling the N-word while speaking to the students has gone viral. In the three-second video clip, the man is heard using the racial slur in a bid to stop the students from using the word. The incident took place in Paradise Valley Unified School District in Phoenix.

Parents and social media users have reasoned that the school official did not need to use the word himself to make his point. Expressing her agreement with the opinion, after-school enrichment teacher Jodi Light said, "It is shocking and it is wrong under any circumstance." 

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Why did the employee use the racist slur?

The three-second video clip which has been circulated widely by now was taken by a student of Vista Verde Middle School in northern Phoenix. In the video that takes place within a school bus, the employee can be heard saying, "I don't want to hear the (N-word) anymore." His words are received with audible shock from the school students in the background towards the end of the video. 

Though the video did not provide much context, it has sparked controversy across social media since many believe using the word in any context is problematic. 

Speaking to CBS 5, Jodi Light said, "This is a very, very pivotal point for kids, and they really need adults to be strong role models. And it is shocking and it is wrong under any circumstance. It's not appropriate. Teachers, principals... they should be very sensitive and very self-aware, and it is damaging for all kids to hear that word in the air."

Reportedly, the staff member at the center of the controversy has not returned to the school campus. 

'He shouldn’t lose his job'

Responding to the video released on Twitter by CBS 5, users vented their opinion about the incident. 

"No surprise here. We had to pull our kid from the district because of how terrible they treated the kids," wrote a parent. Another believed the man in question should be pardoned with a warning but not lose his job, "This is a boondocks episode...he shouldn’t lose his job tho. Maybe just a firm don’t do that"

Another user remarked, "Seriously— this is a non story that will get this man death threats. Headline readers will think he called kids on the bus that word. Misleading, not helpful, not journalism."

"I don’t think he is using it in a vulgar way," one user opined. 

According to CBS 5, the incident is currently being investigated in the school district.