Video of Hispanic Student Asked by White Teacher to Speak in English had Become Viral
Reuters

"Speak English. We're in America," said a teacher to a student. On Monday, in a Texas high school, a substitute teacher was video recorded by a student for telling a male Hispanic student to speak in English.

The student's name is Carlos Cobian being told by the substitute teacher to speak in English. He is of Hispanic origin. Cobian is a junior high school student at Soccoro High School which is in close proximity with El Paso, Texas.

The Hispanic student had stated that when he entered the classroom on Monday, he was watching a global friendly match of the sport, soccer with his smart phone. He also added that the players in the game were from Argentina and Uruguay.

The student shared with KVIA-TV that their female substitute teacher, who is white, had asked him to hand over his smart phone. He also added in his statement that he spoke to her in Spanish.

"Por qué?," said Cobian to the substitute teacher( the word translated to 'Why?') after being asked to hand her his smart phone.

After Cobian said that, the unidentified teacher had said her comment about him to speak English because he is in America.

The video of the incident had been circulating in social media platforms and had already become viral throughout the internet.

The Hispanic student also said that the incident had got him shocked and a little angered. He said was singled out by his teacher. He said that he was not the only student in their classroom who was using their smart phones while in class.

Cobian stressed that he did not do any acts that could have annoyed their substitute teacher.

"For her to come to teach at Socorro, being a sub, like 90 per cent of the students here are Mexicans and Latinos. I thought it was a little racist because you know, we live on the border and it's all Mexican, Latinos," said Cobian.

The Hispanic student also said that after the incident, his white teacher later on called the security personnel in the high school. Then, Cobian was accompanied by the security staff of the school for questioning regarding the incident.

"She actually tried to say that I pushed her, but I didn't and some of the videos come out that I didn't really push her," described Cobian.

After the review of the security footage at the school, it was decided that he did not disobey any rules of the school that makes him subject to any disciplinary actions.

According to the statement of the Spokesman of the Socorro Independent School District through an electronic mail, the incident are being reviewed by the organization.

"Appropriate action, per our employee code of conduct policies, will be taken," said spokesman Escobar in the email.

The trending video had gotten advocacy organization mad.

A group fighting for the civil rights of Latinos had protested on Friday to prohibit the teacher concerned from teaching other students.

According to the League of United Latin American Citizens, the incident reminds of the abolished law in Texas which prohibits people in the area to speak the Spanish language in public educational centers. This law was banned in 1969.