Teacher says Jewish primary class will be 'shipped to gas chambers' if they didn't do homework, sacked
A teacher has reportedly been fired for "joking" with her Jewish students saying that she would "ship them off to the gas chambers" if they did not finish their homework. The Newberries Primary School sacked the teacher on October 11 after backlash from children and their parents over her controversial comments.
The teacher, who has not been identified, reportedly made the anti-Semitic remark on October 10 while she was teaching a class of 28 ten-year-olds, out of which 11 were Jewish. The woman, according to the parents, told the children: "You better finish off your work quick, or I’ll ship you all off to the gas chambers."
Reports state that one of the students questioned her on her comments, she told them that she was "joking" and apologized. She reportedly even asked the students to not tell anyone about the incident. The students, however, told their parents about it and the news soon spread on school WhatsApp groups.
Multiple parents sent complaints to the headteacher, with some even threatening to withdraw their children from the institution unless the teacher who made the remark was dismissed. The board of governors held an emergency meeting to discuss the issue and the teacher was dismissed the next day. Reports said an instantaneous action was taken because the woman had no permanent employment contract with the institution and was an agency worker.
One of the parents, on conditions of anonymity, said: "‘To the credit of the school they made it clear they wanted to deal with the situation without delay. They did not seek to dispute the suggestion that the teacher had made the reference to 'gas chambers.' The fact that the woman was sacked the following day says everything you need to know", Daily Mail reported.
A spokesperson for the school also released a statement saying: "We can confirm that last week we were made aware that an alleged racist comment had been made by an agency teacher working within the school. We acted on this immediately and our governors and leadership team are undertaking a full investigation. The agency teacher will not be returning."
The school, after the teacher's dismissal, also issued a newsletter, reassuring parents that it was doing all it could to "embrace and celebrate diversity" despite the "recent events." "This year we are asking particularly for the focus to be on strengthening the important messages of religious tolerance and respect", the statement said.