A teacher in Florida shared that, during an assignment, one of her 9th-grade students was unable to name the first month of the year, also known as January. Her shock and fed-up tone quickly made her clip viral, with many matching her sentiment while others thought she went too far.
The teacher’s name is Ms. Destinee, who shared the anecdote on TikTok. Her content revolves around teaching, and she oftentimes points out the literacy problem in America. However, the clip in question quickly became one of her biggest, garnering 2.1 million views, 345,400 likes, and close to 8,000 comments.
From the get-go, the Florida teacher sounded like she’d had enough. She detailed that, during an “easy assignment,” one of her students asked her what the first month of the year was. Not willing to accept that the student was asking that question, she asked for clarification. The 9th grader was, in fact, unable to name January.
“On this worksheet, it says, ‘What was the world’s population at the beginning of the year?’” the student said, according to Destinee. “I don’t remember. What’s the first month? How am I supposed to type that in?“
She just chose to ignore the student’s question during the assignment. She refused to call them out, labeling it “the stupidest question I’ve ever had in my life.”
Unfortunately for her, the questions didn’t end there. Other students asked the same question, with some even asking if she meant “January 1st.” Furthermore, other students, reportedly half of the class, had issues with other questions, including “What was the world population on your first birthday?“
According to Destinee, they didn’t know what the question meant, and even one female student reportedly said that she never had a first birthday to begin with.
The confusion continued, the Florida teacher added, and she blamed students having phones in the classroom for the generalized confusion.
Teacher Sparks Debate
The video sparked many responses online.
Some users agreed with Destinee and even shared their own frustrations. One viewer said, “Y’all need to fail them more.” Another one commented, “Y’all keep blaming the phones – it’s the PARENTS.”
Others, however, were critical of Destinee. One viewer called her a “terrible teacher,” while another one said, “Unpopular opinion, either answer their question or help them figure it out.” Both of them were shut down by the majority of users, however, who supported and shared Destinee’s concerns and complaints.
Destinee herself has responded to several of the comments in multiple follow-up clips. It appears that she will continue to speak her mind, regardless of pushback, as she should.
