Hillsborough County 'Privilege Quiz' Teacher Resigns

TAMPA, FL — The Monroe Middle School Spanish teacher whose assignment on privilege raised eyebrows has resigned her post.

Tanya Arja, spokeswoman for Hillsborough County Schools, made the announcement of Yoselis Ramos’ decision to step down Thursday afternoon. Ramos a first-year Spanish teacher, reportedly wanted to challenge students to consider their personal level of privilege. To that end, she handed out a form titled “How much privilege do you have?”

The form’s contents drew fire from parents and kicked off a school district investigation into the assignment. The form asked kids to circle terms under such categories as “religion,” “sex,” “gender,” “sexual orientation” and “disability.” With identifying labels, such as “genderqueer,” “asexual,” and “pansexual” to choose from, the form raised more than a few eyebrows in the classroom and among parents after the assignment was shared by kids at home. Children were also asked to self-identity as “abled,” “mentally disabled” or “physically disabled.”

“If your child came home and told you that their teacher game them this to fill out, what would you do,” parent Regina Stiles asked on Facebook. She also posted a photo of the quiz.

Stiles’ post has since been shared more than 450 times.

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Ramos was pulled from the classroom as the district’s investigation was ongoing. As of Wednesday, the probe into the April 4 assignment wasn’t complete, Arja said.

Parent complaints also prompted a recorded phone call home to parents from Principal Peter Megara.

As for the form, it wasn’t district approved, Arja said.

“We expect our teachers to create a safe learning environment for all of our students,” she said. “This assignment could put students in an uncomfortable position. This was not an approved district form and this assignment was given without principal approval.”

Ramos reportedly did not collect the forms from students. The exercise was tied to a lesson in inequality.

Image via Shutterstock