Florida Teacher of the Year Charged With Child Abuse

Caroline Lee, declared Duval County teacher of the year, was arrested by county school police on the 29th of October for child abuse. This news came following an Instagram post from a student on the official announcement of Lee’s award that they believed she had said a racial slur in class reading of Mice and Men. Ms. Lee reported to a police officer that she used the ‘n word’ while reading mice and men. Caroline Lee, upon seeing the post, called the student to meet with them privately, when she allegedly struck her in the face and caused a nosebleed. Ms. Lee’s actions have provoked intense discussion in the teaching community over how to approach educating students about literature when certain no longer accepted terms are used.

By: Arda Can Utkan

Sources: Florida Teacher of the Year charged with child abuse in Jacksonville (usatoday.com) Florida school’s teacher of the year arrested on child abuse charge (nbcnews.com)