A New Jersey high school teacher has been removed from classrooms while the school investigates him for allegedly using vulgar and racist language.
Teacher Howard Zlotkin’s alleged expletive-filled rant reportedly occurred during a Zoom class with students at Jersey City’s William L. Dickinson High School. Some of his offensive language was said to be directed at Black students. He can be heard on video, apparently captured from the Zoom session, calling George Floyd “a f**king criminal.”
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The Zoom class reportedly started with a lesson on climate change but quickly shifted as Zlotkin unexpectedly began a tirade against the students.
“If you think I’m privileged, then f**k you, because my daughter thinks I’m privileged and I don’t speak to her,” he can be seen saying during the class recording.
Zlotkin also reportedly turned his attention to racial matters. He says in the video recording, “I hear people whining and crying about Black Lives Matter, but George Floyd was a f**king criminal and he got arrested and he got killed because he wouldn’t comply and the bottom line is we make him a f**king hero.”
One of the students allegedly targeted by Zlotkin was Timmia Williams, a Black, 17-year-old senior. She told the television station NBC 4 New York that the teacher assigned four female Black students to write essays. Instead, Williams and her mother said they contacted school officials and the board of education.
Zlotkin was in class again on Thursday and apparently recorded cursing at students again over Zoom, including Williams.
“I don’t think you can make a case. You know what Timmia? You’re full of s**t too,” Zlotkin says in the video recorded from Thursday’s Zoom class.
Later in the day, Zlotkin was removed from William L. Dickinson High School’s classrooms. School officials announced that he is currently investigation and could face disciplinary action.
Norma Fernandez, a director of Jersey City Public Schools, provided a statement to NBC 4 New York. It reads: “The school was in the process of taking statements from students today before proceeding with disciplinary actions, and then the second video surfaced. The teacher will not have access to students or the school as we proceed. We are appalled by the statements, profanity, disrespect and treatment of students.”
In addition to teaching at William L. Dickinson High School, Zlotkin lists on his LinkedIn profile that he is an adjunct professor at Hudson County Community College and New Jersey City University.
Newsweek emailed Zlotkin and William L. Dickinson High School for comment but has not heard back as of press time.
