ESL teacher Jania Ashay was fired by her school after staff members labeled her as “unprofessional” for participating in a TikTok dance with two of her students.
Replying to another TikToker who got fired because of her content, Jania Ashay recently shared her own story of struggling due to the platform. “This was actually a very traumatizing experience, but I think I am healed enough to go ahead and share,” she began.
According to Ashay, she was fired after filming a family-friendly dance on Tiktok with two of her students. Students allegedly aren’t allowed phones during lunch breaks, and the staff felt Ashay displayed unprofessional behavior.
The staff first brought the students in, she explained, telling them to discretely delete the TikTok video and not tell Ashay of what went down. Since the students clicked with Ashay, however, they went immediately to her and warned her of what transpired.
Soon after, Ashay was called into HR and allegedly fired over the innocuous TikTok.
Prior to the incident, Ashay claims to have experienced a certain degree of prejudice in the work environment.
“This was a suburb school,” she explained in her viral clip. Ashay then continued providing context surrounding the work environment, honing in on the staff member in charge of hiring and training her.
“She had no clue she was tearing me down the way she was tearing me down.”
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Though Ashay taught ESL, she also grew well acquainted with general education students during her work. Two of these students asked Ashay if they could eat lunch in her room. Ashay responded, “I’m a cool teacher, so of course I’m going to say yes.”
The students then supposedly asked the teacher if she wanted to participate in their TikTok. As for the dance, a censored version (to protect minors) is shown in the video below, starting at 0:42. She did not post the dance. The students posted it on their own page.
Students apologize for the controversial TikTok
The students wrote an apology letter for the now ex-ESL teacher, stating “Miss Phillips, I just wanted to tell you I am sorry. You don’t deserve this, you are one of the kindest and most outgoing teachers I know.
“Before you say someone told me to write this, no one did. I just truly feel bad about my actions. This whole situation is mostly my fault because it was my idea to make the video.”
Ashay cherished the letter and sentiment but condemned the idea that the incident was the student’s fault. “It’s not your fault. It was inevitable, it had nothing to do with you,” she said.
The ex-teacher has rebounded since the incident, learning from it and using the opportunity to become a full-time travel planner. She now travels the world, giving advice to others who hope to do the same.
