Randall Kennedy

In a couple of cases recently, a teacher would be reading a court opinion.

The word appears in the court opinion.

The teacher pronounces the word ah.

You know, students get up, leave in a huff, report the teacher.

There's some instances in which teachers have been, under those circumstances, have been disciplined.

In my view, that's bad.

And people ought to say it's bad.

It's bad pedagogically.

And frankly, in many of these instances, it's not only bad, it's stupid.

And I don't mind saying that.

I think that some of these instances in which teachers have been disciplined, absolutely stupid.

People say, well, the teacher used the word.

Excuse me, used the word?

It'd be one thing, it'd be one thing if a teacher looked at a student and called the student nigger.

You know, get out of here, nigger.

That'd be one, that'd be, you know, fine.

Discipline, that's teacher, that's bad.

But that's not what's going on.

None of these are cases in which you have an individual who is a stranger to another individual and this word just sort of comes out.

No.