A Center Line, Michigan middle school teacher is under fire for asking a biracial student if he was a “mutt” last Wednesday, Oct. 12.
Wolfe Middle School student Kaden Brown was in disbelief after his Language Arts teacher randomly asked about his racial identity.
“We were doing our work … and she said I have beautiful curls. And [then] she asked if I’m a ‘mutt,’ ” Kaden explains.
The student asked the teacher to explain her comment. The woman continued to explain the meaning of the term, stating that it meant he was mixed with different races.
According to FOX 2 Detroit, after the woman questioned him, a student mocked and laughed at him.
“His classmate kind of chuckled as he said, ‘Well I’m Black and I’m white,’ ” Kaden’s mother Liane Banks tells reporters. “The classmate was already laughing at him because he was Black and white, mixed culture. He was a ‘mutt’ according to her.”
This was reportedly not the first racial incident the 11-year-old experienced. He tells reporters that he was called the n-word previously and has since questioned his own identity.
After this recent incident, Kaden’s parents reportedly went to the assistant principal’s office, but they were not able to get the resolution they were seeking.
“We were told we would get a phone call today, which we have not yet from the principal. They said [they] would investigate the matter further to see what the truth is. That’s what we were told. Now, he didn’t say Kaden was lying. But he said we [needed] to find out what the truth is.”
This meeting occurred last Thursday. In an Oct. 13 FOX 2 report, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Andrew S. McKinnon tells reporters that there will be an investigation into the incident. If the teacher is reprimanded, she will possibly be placed on administrative leave and undergo sensitivity training.
However, Kaden’s parents are still waiting for answers as of this report.
“A mutt is a dog, a mixed breed, an impure breed, and that’s not my son,” Banks said.
