On what should’ve been a special day for a 6-year-old elementary school student, a teacher at Floral Avenue Elementary in Florida decided to sing an offensive song to the child. The child’s mom doesn’t think anyone found it funny, and she’s doing what she can to protect her son, Legend, who says the song hurt his feelings.
The teacher didn’t just sing an offensive song to the child: She also recorded the whole thing and sent it to the mom. After seeing the video, mom Desarae Prather immediately went to the school’s office. She now plans to send her son to a different school because to her, the version of “Happy Birthday” that the teacher sang was totally “unacceptable.”
In a video, the teacher and Legend’s classmates started by singing the typical version of “Happy Birthday” to him. Arguably, she could’ve stopped there, but instead, she asked, “Would you like the funny song now that I sing to you?”
The “funny” version went like this: “Happy Birthday to you. You live in the zoo. You look like a monkey, and you smell like one, too.”
Legend’s mom told WTSP that she didn’t find this song funny at all. Speaking to the news outlet, she explained why it seemed so hurtful and inappropriate. “My skin is boiling,” she said. “I don’t even like racism, and to know where we come from, and our ancestors and for us to be labeled like that, because when they call us, ‘Monkey,’ they’re saying we’re ugly; we act like monkeys. Those are remarks I don’t like it at all.”
On social media, many people noted that they’ve heard this version of the “Happy Birthday” song before. But the fact that the song is pretty common doesn’t mean that it’s OK. One teacher on Reddit noted that they previously thought the song was “a silly, lighthearted joke” too but could understand why the song bothered the mom so much.
“I don’t think this mom is too sensitive,” the teacher wrote, adding, “part of being a culturally responsive teacher (which I believe is our responsibility) means knowing these things and being careful with your language.”
Some others argued that teachers should not be singing this “silly” song to students, not just because of racism, but because kids might feel “embarrassed” or “bad” after hearing it. “I wouldn’t use this with any student, regardless of skin color,” another Redditor added. “It’s just not nice language. If a student were to sing this to another student, we would be calling it bullying.”
In response to the incident, the mom asked for an apology from the school, immediate disciplinary action, and counseling for her son. Per CBS Miami, the Polk County Public Schools district is investigating the incident, but the mom has already taken action to protect her child.
“I don’t play games about my child,” she said, per WTSP. Her son has switched classes after the incident, so he has a different teacher now, but Desarae doesn’t want her son to attend Floral Avenue Elementary at all anymore.
