N.J. Teacher Howard Zlotkin Suspended After Calling George Floyd a ‘Criminal’

 

“He’s not a hero, he’s like a criminal,” yelled the teacher, Howard Zlotkin, who is white, to a class of about 15 students over a Google Meet call, according to a video shared with The New York Times. He chastised students for, as he described it, making criminals into heroes “because they’re Black or because they got a bad story.”

Students at a New Jersey high school logged into their remote landscape and design class on Wednesday morning expecting their teacher to lead a discussion about climate change. Instead, the teacher went on an expletive-filled, racist rant against Black Lives Matter and George Floyd, the man murdered by a Minneapolis police officer.One of the students filmed the rant with her phone and immediately contacted school officials. When they did not respond, she contacted a local news station, NBC New York, which reported on the story.Now, an investigation is underway and Mr. Zlotkin, a science teacher at William L. Dickinson High School in Jersey City, has been suspended with pay, said Mussab Ali, the president of the Jersey City Board of Education. Mr. Zlotkin was also suspended with pay from his position as an adjunct professor at Hudson County Community College, a spokeswoman confirmed.

“The actions that this teacher took are not representative of a district in the most diverse city in the country,” Mr. Ali said.Mr. Zlotkin said that he could not comment in detail because of the investigation, but that he would “love one day to give my side of the story.”He described the footage as a “very well-edited sound bite,” even though nearly 15 minutes’ worth of video shared with The Times showed him repeatedly insulting and cursing at students.Since schools began holding classes online, there have been multiple cases nationwide of teachers making racist and offensive remarks. In some cases, teachers had been caught making racist statements when they believed they were on mute. In Mr. Zlotkin’s case, he knew he was being heard.https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/nj-teen-among-israel-stampede-victims/3030585/  -Video linkTimmie Williams, a 17-year-old senior who provided videos from two days of class to The Times, said an assignment on climate change devolved into profane rants about race and personal attacks toward students, including her.On Wednesday morning, the students submitted short research papers, Ms. Williams said. After she turned hers in, the teacher asked her about how humans are involved in climate change. Eventually, he brought up his disagreement with Black Lives Matter, she said.As four students, including Ms. Williams, who is Black, challenged his position on the issue, he grew more irate. He cursed at one of them who told him he had white privilege. He then gave the four students, all girls, an assignment to write an essay on “why Black lives should matter,” Ms. Williams said. No other students were told to do the assignment.The student population at Dickinson High School is 47 percent Hispanic and 15 percent Black, according to U.S. News and World Report. Eighty-five percent of students are minorities.Ms. Williams told her mother about what happened. She said she was too shaken to celebrate getting accepted into a college that day.“This is the first time I ever felt somebody telling me that my opinion doesn’t matter because I’m young and because I’m Black and stuff,” Ms. Williams said. “It just threw me off. I just started crying.”The next day in class, after she had refused to do the assignment, Mr. Zlotkin appeared upset.“Why? You can’t make a case for yourself?” he told Ms. Williams, according to a video of the interaction. “No, you can’t, Timmie, that’s why.”When Ms. Williams started to defend herself, Mr. Zlotkin cursed at her and later told her to “talk to the hand.” He chastised another student who refused to do the essay and kicked a third off the remote class meeting after he defended his classmates, she said.Ms. Williams said she and her parents contacted the school and the Board of Education about what happened after Wednesday’s class, but received no response. She felt like she was not being heard and wanted to stand up for herself and her classmates, she said. That’s why they turned over the video of the classes to the news station.Her mother, Margie Nieves, said she hasn’t received any communication or apology from the school.“I still feel some type of way because they didn’t solve it right then and there,” she said. “They waited.”N.J. Teacher Howard Zlotkin Suspended After Calling George Floyd a ‘Criminal’ 

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Nature 'more important than ever during lockdown'

The data have confirmed how suspicious: Nature and green spaces have been a major rest during the lockdown. More than 40% of people say that visiting nature, wildlife, and local green places is even more important for their well-being since the introduction of the coronavirus ban. Percentages have remained stable during the epidemic, according to the government's advisor for the natural environment, Natural England. And the trend may persist.

How nature is reacting to the lockdown

Since we have had restrictions on the way we live, the air quality across NI seems to have improved.

With the absence of traffic on our roads, nitrogen dioxide levels (exhaust fumes) have dropped by more than 50% in some areas. across the UK. You may have noticed the absence of contrails in the sky as fewer people are flying and with the recent fine weather it may seem the sky is bluer. Less light pollution at night also makes the night sky appear clearer and full of stars.

Lockdown prompts clear fall in UK air pollution:

Air pollution has started to fall in many UK cities in response to the lockdown measures introduced as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The trend mirrors that seen across continental Europe as people have spent less time in vehicles, offices, and factories and more time at home. Data collected by the National Centre for Atmospheric Science show marked reductions in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and in particulate matter (PM2.5).

And the falls look set to continue.

"If you look at traffic volumes, they're still going down. And so we probably haven't reached the bottom yet," 

said Prof Ally Lewis, director of science at the NCAS.

"A few days ago, we were talking about journeys by a car going down by about a third, and now it's nearly a 50-60% reduction. So, it's possible if transport keeps declining, the signal we detect could get even larger," 

he told #BBC News.

Review of surveys and data on the role of nature and green spaces:

In a review of surveys and data on the role of nature and green spaces in the past year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said shifts in personal behavior and corporate attitudes could mean that the UK, post-lockdown, will value and interact with nature on a much greater scale than before the pandemic.

"What we do not know yet is whether the changes brought on by lockdown will be a temporary trend or a new way of life," 

it said.

Green spaces helped to bring people together at various times during the pandemic, studies showed, playing an important role in allowing people to meet family and friends.

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