Embarrassing Math Teacher Makes Students Cringe in Pain With Racist Roleplaying

High school teachers have to come up with all sorts of creative ways to capture the attention of detached teenagers. But surely racist stereotypes aren't the only way to teach math concepts. A painfully cringe video is making the rounds all over social media that features a math teacher 'war hooping and tomahawk chopping' all around her classroom. Though the purpose of the lesson doesn't seem very evident in the video, some have clarified that the teacher was likely using the antiquated 'Legend of Sohcahtoa'—a mnemonic device used to remember the three main functions of trigonometry (sine, cosine, and tangent). In the video, the teacher chants 'SOHCAHTOA' over and over again, her voice getting shriller as the performance goes on. At one point she gets up on a desk to continue the humiliating display as a student buries their face into their arms. 

Let this be a lesson to all the high school teachers out there—there are plenty of ways to help your students remember complex concepts for the rest of their lives by embarrassing yourself. Doing a racism isn't one of them. Keep scrolling to see the mortifying video and how people reacted online. 

Author image for Mel Dawn Mel Dawn
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  • 01

    Teacher uses racist performance to teach sine, cosine, and tangent

    There was a problem rendering this video - it may have been deleted.
    via @corn_maiden_designs/

    According to @corn_maiden_designs, who reposted the student's video in an Instagram carousel, 'This was taken at John W. North high school in Riverside, CA. At first the student noticed the teacher was pulling out a fake feather headdress and when she put it on he thought, "what is she going to do?"'

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  • 02

    The video has been widely shared on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook

    via @CommunistsEgirl
  • 03

    Making students cringe since 2012

    Product - Kim Kirkpatrick I went to that school (didn't know her though) and checked my 2012 yearbook to see if she was a teacher then...this is what I found 1h Like Reply Kim Kirkpatrick Staff CRAZY FO by Kristen Corona thai WITH THEY 66 охудеr уear? T worst a Dancing teacher emphas a story device! exti THEY EXTRA 1h Like Reply Kim Kirkpatrick FOR YOU! thanks for the memory WITH PASSION AND PURPOSE, THEY PURSUED THEIR LESSONS. 66 In my science class, we test the air quality of the school by sco
    via @urbaninuk
  • 04

    Apparently it's a pretty common 'teaching device'

    Photograph - The Real McCoy @RipperMD41 · 14h Replying to @Urbanlnuk This is horrible. It's depressing how many resources you come across if you search sohcahtoa and Native American. Sohcahtoa PowerPoint Presentati. SOHCAHTOA Indian Story slideserve.com slideshare.net Right bafere Falng Rock turned , he Kihmary hime The constant pain in his feet ceused the Native Americen te spend lots of fime at the river cooling the pain ef his forever mangled foot in the river waters, se they named him thy ad
    via @urbaninuk
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  • 05

    'The Legend of Sohcahtoa'

    Cheezburger Image 9642663680
    via umich.edu

    It's surprisingly easy to find lesson plans online that use the fake tale of an Indian chief called Sohcahtoa. I think it's safe to say that in 2021, we don't need to use racial stereotypes to teach trigonometry. 

  • 06
    Font - Josh ... @imjoshphoto Replying to @Urbanlnuk All that to teach a class SohCahToa? SohCahToa is like the only thing I remember from HS, and the teacher didn't disrespect or mock our indigenous ancestors to get me to remember it.
    via @urbaninuk
  • 07
    Font - Mrs. Betty Bowers @BettyBowers ... Replying to @Urbanlnuk Y'all talk about the inappropriateness of the Native American cosplay. I'm going to talk about the inappropriateness of those pants.
    via @urbaninuk
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  • 08
    Product - The dullness of the fool is too... · 13h Replying to @Urbanlnuk This woman has a college degree and a teaching certificate and thought this was acceptable? FUCK HMean Holy Goddamnn FUCK What The Fucking FUCK 17 17 51 1,668 1,
    via @urbaninuk
  • 09
    Font - Michele A Latente.it @latente_flickr ... Sorry European here, but in USA you can't learn things without this silly mnemonic acronym?
    via @urbaninuk
  • 10
    Font - Dangerously Talented @Dangerouslytal ... TALENTED Replying to @Urbanlnuk The worst thing is the teacher probably didn't even think this was disrespectful or offensive. Completely oblivious as the kids watch, aghast and alarmed. Oblivious, as she grew up in a cultural bubble
    via @urbaninuk
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  • 11
    Organism - BloodSugarSethMasket @smotus Replying to @Urbanlnuk Well if there's a non-racist way to teach trigonometry l'd love to hear it.
    via @urbaninuk
  • 12
    Font - Taongkalye @TKalye_0263 ... Nope. Sadly, Trigonometry can only be taught by making stereotypical reference to minorities.
    via @urbaninuk
  • 13
    Organism - Dad Joke Enthusiast @MDthrice 15h Replying to @Urbanlnuk ... There's an easier and much less racist way to teach the soh-cah-toa rules for trig 25 27 54 2,602 1, Stephen Hureau Back in the late 80s, we just remembered · 15h ... "soh-cah-toa" 31 17 13 1,905 1
    via @urbaninuk
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  • 14
    Jaw - Oscar Tafolla @OscarTafollaLPZ 15h Replying to @Urbanlnuk I can just imagine her writing this down in her planner thinking “yes, this is going to turn out well|" 18 27 29 2,791 1 Craplousy @Matthew00421322 · 15h Practiced it in front of a mirror and everything. L7 14 1,523 1,
    via @urbaninuk
  • 15
    Font - Beelzebub ET3(SS) ... @richardnixon72 Replying to @Urbanlnuk The story of Chief Soh-Cah-Toa who lived in a right triangle teepee dates back to the 1950s I thought it was insensitive as a sophomore in 1980.
    via @urbaninuk
  • 16
    Facial expression - The Lords O @theserfstv · 15h THE LORDS Replying to @Urbanlnuk Math sure has changed since I was a kid 1,095 1,
    via @urbaninuk

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Tags

riverside twitter racism wtf cultural appropriation students embarrassing cringe math teacher trigonometry stupid people sohcahtoa high school education native americans math
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