In what is possibly the most unbelievable piece of news we’ve seen all week, a school in Houston presented a 7th grader with a certificate deeming them “Most Likely to Become a Terrorist,” KPRC reports.
The certificate was awarded to 13-year-old Lizeth Villanueva by her teacher at Lance Cpl. Anthony Aguirre Junior High School in her AVID class, an advanced learning program to prepare students for college.
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“I was shocked,” Villanueva said, noting that the teacher gave other students awards and said that “it might hurt [students’] feelings” as the awards were meant to be “funny.”
Channelview Independent School District official Mark Kramer said it was one of the “fake mock awards” the teacher gave to students.
“It was not a joke,” Villanueva said. “I do not feel comfortable with this…I do not feel comfortable being in the same classroom with [the teacher].”
Villanueva’s mother, Ena Hernandez, was furious when she saw the certificate.
Mom furious after teacher, students name daughter ‘most likely to become a terrorist’ https://t.co/t8Tcy7wfHR #kprc2 pic.twitter.com/o5oM7mdq1h
— KPRC 2 Houston (@KPRC2) May 25, 2017
“When she first showed me the paper, I’m like, ‘What is this?’. I read it again, and I’m like, ‘What is this?’ That’s when my daughter told me it was supposed to be a joke,” she said. “It doesn’t look like a joke to me.”
“We’re really upset about it coming from a teacher,” she continued. “That program is supposed to be for advanced kids. It is kind of hard to believe that she’s doing that. Being a teacher–giving this to a 13-year-old. How is she going to feel when she grows up later on?”
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The teacher involved has reportedly been suspended, and the school district released a statement regarding the incident.
“The Channelview ISD Administration would like to apologize for the insensitive and offensive fake mock awards that were given to students in a classroom,” the statement reads. “Channelview ISD would like to assure all students, parents and community members that these award statements and ideals are not representative of the district’s vision, mission and educational goals for our students.”
“The teachers involved in this matter have been disciplined according to district policy and the incident is still under investigation.”
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Photo Credit: Twitter / @CNN
