This Teacher Called Out His Male Student For Calling Another Female Student "Chopped"

A teacher on Instagram shared a moment he had with one of his male students, reprimanding him for using the word “chopped” when speaking to a fellow classmate. The moment, caught in the classroom, is a great reminder that 1) kids are always coming up with new and fun ways to be cruel and 2) we need more male figures inside the classrooms, speaking to these boys about what’s absolutely not okay when it comes to speaking about their fellow classmates, including harsh words about their appearances.

“So, do you wanna repeat what you just said there?” Mr. Jonadriel asks his student. “Repeat what you just said there. “

Once confronted, the student gets quiet, refusing to repeat what he said, which was, as we learn later, calling his female classmate “chopped,” which is a slang term for ugly.

When the student won’t repeat what he said, Mr. Jonadriel pushes.

“What do you mean, why? You were saying it to her multiple times. You seemed pretty comfortable saying it then. Why don’t you wanna say it now? Because you're afraid to get in trouble? That's a bad reason. You shouldn't wanna say it because it's rude. And the reason why you don't wanna repeat it to me is because you know it's wrong,” he tells the student.

“If it's not something that you would comfortably come up and repeat to me, then you shouldn't be saying it at all. Do you think I don't know what that means, chopped? I know it means ugly. And why do you feel the need to comment on that? Because do you know that whether someone's ugly or not, that's just an opinion. It's literally just an opinion; it's what you think. And why does that matter? Does that change anything? You saying something about her, does that do anything other than tear her down and hurt her feelings? Or do you think that she would be more important if you perceived her as cute? Do you think that she's any less important because of the way that you think she looks?”

Perfect response, no notes!

The OP then gives his male student a lesson in the patriarchy and sexism.

“Do you know that there are a lot of men who think that they can tell women if how they look is good or not? And they think that they can have control over girls because of that? Do you wanna be the kind of person that literally tears down a person because you're saying you're commenting on the way they look? So keep it to yourself because it's not okay.”

After his video went viral, thousands of Instagram users commented on the video, thanking Mr. Jonadriel for his presence in the classroom, especially for young boys.

One user wrote, “As a female teacher who tries to have these conversations with the young men in my classes, thank you. I wish more male teachers were like you. We need you so badly.”

One woman wrote, “A lot of boys called me ugly growing up. It does have an impact. Thank you so much for calling it out, it healed a part of me! ❤️”

One teacher warned, “This goes for ‘Big Back’ too. All my students were saying it last year.”

“YES I love this. Ppl call me intense for having these conversations with students but we are the ones who can call it out and now is the time. They need a real conversation like this, and they need to see the real impact of their actions. Major snaps to you,” another said.

These are the conversations we need to keep having with kids, especially young boys, if anything is ever going to change!