SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 11: Senior stylist Esther of Adom Beauty and Braiding Salon braids a clients hair on October 11, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. COVID-19 restrictions have eased across NSW today after the state passed its 70 per cent double vaccination target. Under the state government's Reopening NSW Roadmap, people who are fully vaccinated are permitted to have 10 visitors in their homes, and outdoor gatherings can have up to 20 people. Hospitality, retail stores, gyms and hairdressers can reopen, as well as cinemas, theatres, museums and galleries. Indoor pools are also able to reopen and up to 500 people can attend ticketed outdoor events. Weddings and funerals are permitted to have up to 100 people provided all adults have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. Churches and places of worship can open with no singing. Restrictions will ease further in NSW once the state reaches its next vaccination milestone of 80 per cent of people having received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
A Maryland male teacher has social media users riled up after sharing a video of his students taking out his braids. Marquise White first shared the interaction with his female students during a livestream last week Friday (May 3).
Earlier this week, he addressed the mixed feedback, which includes accusations of inappropriateness. White is a science teacher at Maya Angelou French Immersion School in Hillcrest, Maryland, a neighborhood in PG County.
The livestream showed female students using combs and fingers to remove their teacher’s braids. It seemingly started with two girls, then progressed to about five max.
The science teacher explained that he had a hair appointment after school and asked four to five of his “best friends” to help with his braids during the last 10 minutes before dismissal.
So, why didn’t he take it out the night before? White said the school had an event that Friday morning, which required him to be camera-ready. As for why the students weren’t “working,” White said he had given them some free time because of their great performance throughout the week.
Some of the girls who helped with his hair were from his class, while others got excused from other classes. However, that only applied to students who had completed all their work and had “good behavior” in those other classes.
“My next point I’d like to make is if I was a female teacher, those people wouldn’t be in the comments saying, ‘Oh, this is weird, this is inappropriate.’ Because me personally, I know think there’s anything weird about this. People are saying, ‘That’s too intimate.’ To me, it’s literally just hair. It doesn’t have to be weird. Some people have never had cool teachers, and it shows.”
Beyond the braids, Marquise White explained that part of being an “effective” teacher is building “authentic relationships” with his students. He aims to make them feel he cares about them beyond the schoolwork.
“I take the time to get to know my students outside of academics because caring for the whole child is what’s important,” the teacher said.
He claimed his students see him as a big brother or father figure. Additionally, the parents of most of his students and his school administration allegedly follow him on social media and see his teacher-driven content. The middle school teacher said the braids situation was just “another wholesome moment” he was able to capture on camera.
See everything he said below.
In his initial response video above, Marquise explained that he doesn’t want his own kids. Therefore, he treats his students like they’re his. Also, he shared that he strives to be the teacher he wished he had been as a young person.
Still, the mixed reactions continue to pour in. So, one day after his first clapback, he released an eight-minute video clearing comments.
If you’re wondering, the teacher revealed that he WOULD be okay with his child interacting with a teacher like himself in the same way.
“We as a people have to abandon this idea of sexual intimacy being tied with getting your hair done,” the teacher said. Adding, “Y’all can see there’s nothing suggestive going on, it’s like family, it’s like community… this is simply a wholesome, innocent community-oriented activity.”
Watch his second response video below.
In another video, he joked about how he planned to “tip” the students who helped with his hair.
Meanwhile, Lil Durk’s ex went viral after slamming the teacher’s interactions as inappropriate. She also responded to another X user who explained her own close relationship with a former teacher.
“I’m glad that that was something that worked out for you, but that could’ve easily went left. As a parent you have to do what’s in your child’s best interest. It’s best to be preventative because once it happens, it’s nothing you can do to erase it,” she said.
Swipe below to see the full context of her comments.
