May 9, 2024
A maleteacher ignited a debate after posting a video of his female students unbraiding his hair inside a classroom.
A popular TikToker who uses the platform to vlog his teaching adventures is getting mixed reactions to his in-classroom hair session with his female students. According to the educator, who goes by JaQ Lee on TikTok, he decided to live stream a group of his students unbraiding his hair ahead of his scheduled hair appointment at a hair salon.
After live streaming the experience, Lee was well aware of the mixed responses. To keep the conversation going, Lee decided to share a sped-up version of the on his TikTok page where he asked his 650,000 followers to “comment your thoughts.”
@thilluminatin1 Students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Teaching is a work of heart. Comment your thoughts #teacher #teachersoftiktok #teacherproblems #millenialsoftiktok #middleschool ♬ Chopin Nocturne No.2 Op.9-2(1391533) – 314P
While most of the responses on TikTok were positive, a more serious debate was sparked when the video was reposted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Black parents tap in! Would you be okay with your daughter unbraiding her teacher’s hair? Is this appropriate?” a user asked the Black Twitter community.
“I think a bond between an educator and their students can be a wonderful thing, however I believe boundaries are necessary and there are plenty of team building exercises or games that can establish this and doesn’t require touching beyond a high five or a half church hug,” she added.
Many weighed in, including a former teacher who believed the exchange wasn’t “that serious.” According to the former educator, Lee “clearly has build strong and trusting relationships with his students.”
“Every thing isn’t a red flag for something more sinister,” they added.
Another called out Lee for allowing students to do his hair in the classroom as if they were close friends or related. They also brought attention to the issue teachers would have if a student did another student’s hair in class.
“He’s not chilling with his little siblings/cousins he’s at work,” they said.
“Its bad enough he’s doing this on work time, but young girls can be impressionable and this is somewhat intimate, and way to personal. If a student started doing another students hair in class would that be okay?”
Hours after the video made its rounds across social media, one X user claimed that her younger sister was one of the students in the video and said she and others had to write statements to the school with the possibility of Lee facing termination.
“I’m watching this and didn’t even realize that’s my little sister in the background,” she wrote. “She said that he’s her favorite teacher but today they were all forced to write statements and he may get fired…”
After the hair video, Lee responded with a video explaining why he wouldn’t have an issue with his daughter taking braids out of her male teacher’s head. He also shared another where he allowed his student to paint his nails. Lee said it was his way of supporting the student’s dreams of becoming a nail technician.
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