Florida teacher assigns students to write their own obituaries on day of active shooter drill, gets fired

A Florida teacher was fired hours after he asked students to write their own obituaries ahead of an active shooter drill on campus, the instructor and school district said Friday.

Psychology teacher Jeffrey Keene told NBC News he believes he used proper judgement for the assignment to 11th and 12th-graders during first period Tuesday at Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando.

After being told about the drill on Monday, Keene said he felt the obituaries would help the students reflect on their lives during the school shooter scenario.

"'This isn't a way to upset you or anything like that,'" he recalled telling his class of 35.

"It wasn't to scare them or make them feel like they were going to die, but just to help them understand what’s important in their lives and how they want to move forward with their lives and how they want to pursue things in their journey."

By second period, Keene, who'd just been hired in January, said students from that class were telling him they were being interviewed by school officials about the assignment.

And before the end of seventh period, he'd been fired.

"If you can't talk real to them, then what's happening in this environment?" Keene said. "In my mind, I've done nothing wrong."

A representative for the Orange County School District declined to substantively discuss the matter on Friday.

But when asked if Keene had been dismissed, the district spokesman said in statement: "Dr. Phillips High School families were informed that a teacher gave an inappropriate assignment about school violence. Administration immediately investigated and the probationary employee has been terminated."

Keene, 63, said he was a new hire and not a member of the union, and thus has no recourse to reverse the district's decision.

He hopes to find another teaching job and vowed not to change anything.

"I don't think I did anything incorrectly," Keene said. "I know hindsight is 20/20 but I honestly didn't think a 16-, 17-, 18-year-old would be offended or upset by talking about something we're already talking about."

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-teacher-fired-asking-students-write-obituaries-day-active-shoo-rcna78722

I saw this today and found it fascinating. This teacher tried to make school shootings not just a drill to prepare for, but a true lesson to be learned from and he was immediately fired for it. Sounds like both students and teachers are getting fed up with nothing being done about near daily school shootings. What do you think about the lesson this teacher tried to give to his students and the response to it? It was, after all, a psychology class.

I've also been thinking a lot lately about what happens to gun rights in the US after 18 years of school shootings happening damn near daily and millions of people who lived through that scenario reach voting age? We're really close to that point given that Sandy Hook was 11 years ago. That means 11 years worth of graduates across the country who grew up and graduated in conditions of steady increases of school shootings. What do you think they will vote for generally when it comes to the second amendment?

There was no reason to tie this to a specific event, scenario, etc. He could at any time have asked students to complete a reflection assignment on the assumption that they passed away prematurely...the proximate cause not being important.

Since, he chose to tie this to a specific gun violence scenario he undercuts his credibility. At the very least it shows terrible judgement.

@SUD123456: what about basing an assignment around a specific scenario undercuts the creditability of it in your view?

morbid. possibly traumatic.

And definitely realistic in this fkn country.

Leading cause of death in children these days are bullets. Well in the US.

Yes but the GOP gets money from the NRA so they don't give a f***.

I think it's within a teachers purview and responsibility to have students think ahead about what they want out of life going forward, especially in the last years of their compulsory education before they become adults sent out into the world to fend for themselves. To itemize the things in their life that have value and perhaps how to plan their lives going forward to be fulfilled in life.

I can see potentially how some students and parents might be concerned about the assignment given the latest attention to mass shootings. But given this is Florida we're talking about, where political weaponization of government is a near daily headline in the national news, I have a suspicion that the political right's gun control opponents likely making the biggest stink for taking a heavy handed approach to address this issue. This is a party after all more concerned about unrestricted guns rights then about common sense legislation to protect children.

If the purpose (in his words) was to reflect on: what's important in your life, how to move forward with it, etc. then there is no requirement for any scenario.

IMO, introducing a scenario necessarily introduces a precedent that colors the reflection...or at best adds zero if you can truly separate the proximate cause.

If it is the latter, then what is the point of any scenario?

If it is the former, then it automatically introduces themes that have nothing to do with the stated purpose. Cancer...automatically pulls in health and medical system. Car accident pulls in drunk driving, speeding, carelessness. Shooting. Swimming with sharks. Whatever scenario you present automatically creates a precedent reflection on the event that caused the death.

Therefore, musing retroactively that the scenario wasn't important rings untrue to me. Why have one?

Moreover, if we put that aside then I question judgement. How could you be so stupid to not realize that asking kids to reflect on their obituary ahead of your school shooter training is fraught with moral, social, and political landmines?

I would say the same about any scenario except old age because they all imply a precedent flaw, mistake, crime, etc....because kids are not supposed to die early.

It was a bad idea to tie the two together.

Incredibly ironic that they get to practice drills to prevent themselves from being killed...

...but don't get to prepare their minds for the very real possibility of failing to prevent themselves from being killed.

Kudos to this teacher for being realistic, and shame on the school district for firing them. Though I admit it's all very dramatic.

Recent photo of the NRA conference

Not only is it kind of crazy he is pointing a gun at the photographer, but that's just plain bad trigger discipline right there. You never ever ever put your finger on the trigger unless you intend to shoot, I feel like that is one of the first things I was taught (in addition to "don't point it at anything you don't intend to shoot")

@mrbojangles25: Hey at least it isn’t as dangerous as an adult in drag, am I right?

/s

Grooming