Teacher of the Year accused of hitting student in Florida

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An English teacher Caroline Melanie Lee was named Teacher of the Year at Darnell-Cookman Middle/High in Jacksonville last Wednesday. On Friday she was arrested and is being charged with child abuse. 

The arrest came after a student, a minor, not named in the report, claims  Lee allegedly hit her face causing a bloody nose.

Teacher of the Year dispute started on Instagram

The dispute started when it was announced that Lee was being named Teacher of the Year on the Duval County Public Schools’ Instagram account. Several comments appeared on the post. They were questioning her win. And also claiming she used the ‘n’ word while teaching. And alleging she has committed other microaggressions against students.

According to the Friday Duval Schools Police Report Lee responded to one of the comments. She explained that she used the ‘n’ word when reading ‘Of Mice and Men’ in the classroom. 

Teachings of the 1937 classic novel have recently come under fire. And school districts are questioning how to ethically teach readings with terms and phrases that are no longer acceptable.