Florida: A psychology teacher in the US asked class 11 and 12 students to write their own obituaries ahead of an active shooter drill on the campus. He was fired for the insensitive assignment.
Jeffery Keene said that he believed the obituary writing assignment will encourage students to reflect on their lives in the event of a school shooting. He insisted to students that the assignment was not a way to upset them. He told NBC that the task was not to scare the children or make them feel like they were going to die. "It was just to help them understand what's important in their lives and how they want to move forward with their lives and how they want to pursue things in their journey."
The teacher gave the assignment for the first period on Tuesday and by the seventh period, he was fired. By the second period itself, students allegedly told Keene that school officials had questioned them about the obituaries.
He asserted that in his mind, he has done nothing wrong. "If you can't talk real to them, then what's happening in this environment? I don't think I did anything incorrectly. I know hindsight is 20/20 but I honestly didn't think a 16-, 17-, or 18-year-old would be offended or upset by talking about something we're already talking about."
The school released a statement saying that the teacher was fired for an "inappropriate assignment about school violence".