Durban teacher issues statement following classroom race row
A former Westville Girls' High School teacher - who is said to have used the k-word during one of her classes recently - has broken her silence.
Earlier this week, the school issued a statement on the incident - saying Danielle de Bruyn had resigned.
De Bruyn, who taught English, has now released her own statement in which she says she regrets the turn of events and that she's apologised to her pupils and the school.
In her statement, which De Bruyn says he wrote to address 'serious inaccuracies' in some media reports, the 26-year-old denies having called anyone the k-word.
She says she referenced the slur while drawing a comparison between the k-word and the use of the n-word in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.
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She says the discussion evolved into one concerning South African farmers and land expropriation and that asked by a learner for her personal opinion, De Bruyn expressed one, to the effect of, expropriation without compensation being a concern.
She says it was a mistake to express a personal view and that she has many close friends of all races, all of whom know she is not a racist.
While the school released a statement yesterday, saying the alleged racism remarks do not represent the views of the school.
Find the full statement below:
