A Georgia middle school teacher resigned after facing backlash over a class discussion that outraged local parents.
Berkerley Davenport, who taught Spanish at Ralph Bunche Middle School, was caught on video talking about topics including divorce and first kisses, WSB-TV reported.
“When you’re in love the first time — that first kiss is — oh, there’s nothing like it. And when you touch her hair and the back of her neck and you pull her close and then you start to go for other parts of her body,” Davenport was heard saying.
“That’s insane. I don’t have any words for that,” one mother said in reaction to what Davenport said in the video. “A conversation like that should be had between a parent and a child, not the teacher.”
The matter was referred to the Office of Employee Relations, and Atlanta Public Schools told the local outlet that Davenport was removed from class and eventually resigned.
Davenport claimed that he was reading a poem at the time and was explaining a metaphor during the controversial conversation. He said he had also read the same poem to the debate team, which he coached.
“When you take stuff out of context like that, it’s a bad name for teachers, you know? Who would want to work with a system that is not going to support you, you know what I mean?” he told WSB-TV reporter Alyssa Hyman. “I don’t have any hard feelings, but I think I’m a great teacher.”
[Image via WSB-TV screengrab]