Shirley Bunn, a teacher from Arlington, Texas, has been on paid leave since she told her student to "go back to Mexico" after he asked for a Spanish language version of the Title 1 forms she was distributing to the class. She will soon be reinstated.
Bunn says that she didn't mean to say what she did -- that she had just been having a bad day. But Bunn has been a teacher for 24 years. It is reasonable to expect her to be able to control saying inappropriate remarks to students. Also, this isn't the only time she has said racist remarks. She referred to a group of male Mexican students as the "Mexican Mafia".
The examiner for the case said he didn't think it was meant to be racist, but if this isn't racist, what is?
Please tell the Arlington Independent School District to fire Shirley Bunn, not reinstate her. Racism is not acceptable anywhere, but especially not by a teacher who is supposed to support her students, regardless of their race.
I am writing to you all today to urge that Shirley Bunn, the teacher that told a student to "go back to Mexico" and also referred to a group of Mexican male students as the "Mexican Mafia", be fired immediately, instead of being reinstated. After 24 years of teaching, she should be able to talk respectfully with her students, regardless of the situation. Racism is a problem that should never be ignored, especially coming from a person with authority.
Do what's right and make sure that racism does not get pushed under the rug in Arlington schools.
