• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts

The Educators Room logo

  • Start Here
    • Impact Statements: Teacher Expertise
    • Newsletter
  • Browse Topics
    • Content Strategies
      • Literacy
      • Mathematics
      • Social Studies
      • Educational Technology
      • ELL & ESOL
      • Fine Arts
      • Special Education
      • Popular Topics
        • Teacher Self-Care
        • Instructional Coach Files
        • Common Core
        • The Traveling Teacher
        • The Unemployed Teacher
        • The New Teacher Chronicles
        • Book Review
        • Grade Levels
          • Elementary (K-5)
          • Middle (6-8)
          • Adult
          • New Teacher Bootcamp
          • Hot Button Topics
            • Menu Item
              • Principals' Corner
              • Charter Schools
              • Confessions of a Teacher
              • Interviews
              • The State of Education
              • Stellar Educator of the Week
            • Menu
              • How to Fix Education
              • Featured
              • Ask a Teacher
              • Teacher Branding
              • Current Events
  • Podcasts
  • Courses
    • Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout- An 8 Week Course
    • Becoming An Educational Consultant
    • Teacher Branding 101:Teachers are The Experts
    • The Learning Academy
    • Books
    • Shirts
  • Education in Atlanta
  • Teacher Self-Care
  • The Coach's Academy
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts
×

January 22, 2019 Instruction & Curriculum

The Implications of 'Surviving R. Kelly' in our Classrooms

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Laura

I began my teaching career 15 years ago in Chicago Public Schools, teaching 7th grade Science. After earning my Masters degree, along with my Reading Specialist Certificate, I began working as an RTI Specialist in a suburban district, where I have been for the last nine years. I enjoy reading, writing, and spending time with my husband and my two little girls.
  • Pregnant While Teaching - The Ultimate Self-Care Challenge - April 9, 2019
  • The Implications of 'Surviving R. Kelly' in our Classrooms - January 22, 2019
  • I Am a Female Educator in America and I am Triggered - October 7, 2018
  • Eighth Grade - The Movie Every Teacher of Adolescents Needs To See - August 14, 2018
  • Know Your Rights: Colin Kaepernick and the Human and Civil Rights Award - August 4, 2018
  • [Opinion] If You Are a Quality Educator, You Can't Be Pro-Trump - July 3, 2018
  • Why Don't Students Do Homework? 3 Factors To Consider - July 2, 2018
  • Legalizing Marijuana - How does it Effect Schools? - May 12, 2018
  • The Declining Mental Health of Educators - May 8, 2018
  • More Transgender Students are coming forward than ever before, are teachers prepared? - April 29, 2018

I spent the last two evenings watching Lifetime’s documentary “Surviving R. Kelly.” If you haven’t seen it, watch it. Watch it now.

I was in college at the University of Illinois at Chicago at the time his infamous “pee tape” became famous. I remember people in my classes telling me, through hushed whispers and giggles, that R. Kelly likes to pick up underage girls at the Rock and Roll McDonald's downtown and then film himself peeing on them. It was because of this tape that he went to trial on child pornography charges in the early 2000s. He was acquitted. After his acquittal, I dismissed the rumors as gossip, but always felt a little suspicious about R. Kelly. I mean you can only hear those rumors about someone for so long before you wonder if there is any truth to them.

Teachers are Trained, Mandated Reporters on Abuse

As teachers, we hear gossip all the time. We are trained to notice signs of abuse, bullying, and neglect. Part of our job is to know when to investigate, and when to shut rumors down. What really disturbed me about this documentary was how widely known these rumors were throughout Chicagoland. I mean, people were talking about it everywhere! Multiple people in the documentary said that he would hang out outside his former south side high school, Kenwood, and just wait for the dismissal bell so he could pick up young girls. It was a well-known fact.

He was also a regular spectator at one of his underage girls’ basketball games in Oak Park. My first reaction was, where were the teachers? Coaches? Counselors? Other parents? Chicago Police Department? Why wasn’t anyone alarmed that a grown man was in a school, courting a 14-year-old girl? Why didn’t any adult step in? I know that when I have bus duty at my middle school, I interrogate every single adult within walking distance of the students who does not have a District ID on. Every. Single. One.

So.. what the heck went wrong?

As the documentary points out, R.Kelly was reported. Multiple different times, by multiple different people. The important question to ask is, how has this abuse continued?

When Harvey Weinstein had over 80 women come forward with accusations of sexual assault against him, his punishment was swift and quick. Within weeks of the allegations, he was fired from his company and publicly disgraced from Hollywood. So, why has it taken over twenty years for people to act on behalf of the women R. Kelly has abused?

The System Doesn't Value Accusations From All Women

The rapper known as Common, also a Chicago native and also appearing in the documentary, answers that question perfectly in a recent TMZ interview. He says, “If it wasn’t just black women who R. Kelly had been molesting and abusing — if it wasn’t just black women — he would have been attacked by the system in a different way. Meaning, the system doesn’t have a value for black women the way they do white women or other nationalities.”

As teachers, we need to think about this and how it may affect the young ladies in our classrooms. The reality of R. Kelly’s abuse, and the fact that nothing was done for his victims- for decades- says something about how our society values black women and children. This can’t be denied, ignored, or brushed off any longer. If we are to truly educate, inspire, and advocate for all our students, then we have a lot of work to do. This documentary proves that.

In a recent NPR article, #Me Too founder, Tarana Burke explains, “We have seen 24 years of allegations leveled against R. Kelly, and he has gone unscathed...Those things have to be interrogated. And I think at the very least we need to see corporations step away from them until we have a satisfactory investigation into these allegations."

Hopefully, this is a start in the much-needed silencing of R. Kelly.

Resources:

Jerkovich, Katie. “Superstar Rapper Says He Failed Alleged R. Kelly Survivors: 'We Failed Our Communities'.” The Daily Caller, Link

Tsioulcas, Anastasia. “#MeToo Founder Tarana Burke Responds To R. Kelly.” NPR, NPR, 1 May 2018, Link

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Related posts:

Social Emotional Learning: Can It Help Our Most Vulnerable Students? Using "Hamilton: The Musical" in the Classroom The Facets of Personality and Successful Teaching Teaching in a Polarized Society: Reaching Across the Political Divide
« Opinion: If You Can't Say "Black Lives Matter" Then You Can't Use Any Quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Opinion: Watch Your Tone, Fix Your Face, and Other Unspoken Rules for Educators of Color »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

The Educator's Room was launched in 2012 to amplify the voice of educators. To date, we have over 45+ writers from around the world and boast over twelve million page views. Through articles, events, and social media we will advocate for honest dialogue with teachers about how to improve public education. This mission is especially important when reporting on education in our community; therefore, we commit our readers to integrity, accuracy, and independence in education reporting. To join our mailing list, click here.

What we do

At The Educator's Room, we focus on amplifying and honoring the voice of educators as experts in education. To date, we have over 40 staff writers/teachers from around the world.

Popular Posts

  • Ask The Educator's Room: I'm dating a student's dad. Should we tell the school?
  • My Union Showed Up for Me, and I'll Never Forget It
  • Your Students Deserve a Diverse Classroom Library. Here's How to Set It Up.
  • You Don't Have to Watch the Tyre Nichols Video, But Be Ready to Talk About It

Featured On

Buy Our Books/Courses

How to Leave Your Job in Education

Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout

Using Your Teacher Expertise to Become an Educational Consultant

Check out our books on teaching and learning!

The Learning Academy

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact
  • Services
  • Media Kit
  • FAQ

 

Copyright © 2021 The Educator's Room.