ATLANTA _ An Atlanta middle school teacher was removed from the classroom and subsequently resigned after video of a conversation he had in class about first kisses surfaced, which many parents took as inappropriate, Channel 2 Action News reported.
The video, obtained by Channel 2, showed former Ralph Bunch Middle School Spanish teacher Berkerley Davenport speaking about kisses in detail during class.
"When you're in love the first time, that first kiss is _ oh, there's nothing like it," Davenport is heard saying in the video. "And when you touch her hair and the back of her neck, and you pull her close, and then you start to go for other parts."
Atlanta Public Schools told the news station that Davenport was removed from the classroom after finding out about the comments, and the issue was reported to the office of employee relations. He resigned shortly after being removed.
Davenport told Channel 2 his comments were taken out of context. He said he was teaching a poem and was explaining the metaphors.
"When you take stuff out of context like that, it's a bad name for teachers who would want to work with a system that is not going to support you," Davenport said. "I don't have any hard feelings, but I think I'm a great teacher."
The district also said it plans to report the issue to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. As of Monday night, that report had not been filed, Channel 2 reported.
