Jeffrey Keene: Florida teacher who made students write their own obituaries amid shooting drill fired
ORLANDO, FLORIDA: Florida high school teacher Jeffrey Keene lost his job after making his students write their own obituaries during an active shooter drill. Keene insists that he "didn't do anything wrong" by asking students to write obituaries.
Keene, a psychology teacher at Dr Phillips High School, told Fox 35 that he intended to teach students how to stay safe during an emergency exercise while also evacuating from his class. The 15-year veteran teacher claimed that a student had been upset at the class at the beginning of the day, which prompted him to include a disclaimer that read, "This is in no way to upset you." Keene's lesson plan comes as the country is still in shock following the Nashville school tragedy, in which a former Covenant School student killed three 9-year-old students as well as three faculty members.
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'I was stunned'
Referring to the purpose of his lesson, he said, "If they died 24 hours from now, what would they do differently than they did yesterday? And that's to get them to get rid of all the fluff and show them what's important in the world. It wasn't to say, 'You're going to die, and let's stress you out.'"
Keene stated that during his second class of the day, a supervisor stopped by to monitor him and ended the lecture when he asked students what they would do if they were in the restroom during an active shooter situation. He said, "I was stunned. I was talking to students about the world they live in: gun safety, active shooters."
The Orange County School District subsequently sent Keene a notice informing him that he could either resign from his post or be fired. Keene stated, "I said, 'I didn't do anything wrong.' I said, 'If I did, tell me what it is.' They said, 'We can't do that.' I said, 'In that case, since I don't know what I did wrong, you can go ahead and terminate me without cause.'"
Is Jeffrey Keen contesting the decision to fire him?
Keene is adamant that he is going to fight against his termination. The school district claimed that as Keene is contesting his termination, it was not possible to discuss the details of the case. A district official said in a statement, "Dr Phillips High School families were informed that a teacher gave an inappropriate assignment about school violence. Administration immediately investigated, and the probationary employee has been terminated," according to New York Post.
