A college instructor from a viral video focused on critical thinking has been fired from his full-time position.
“It happened so quick, it happened in like five minutes,” Warren Smith said in a video posted to X on Monday afternoon. “There was really no conversation, so they clearly knew what they wanted to do. ... Because there’s so little clarity on all of this I’m really trying not to — I’m not interested in divulging anything. There’s no utility in that. … I think I have the right to articulate that I just lost my job.”
“I have devoted four years of my life to this school and yesterday it was like being a character in a video game and just being deleted and it was like you were never there,” he added. “It was remarkable. By people that love to pretend they’re your teammates.” 7 days ago I was fired from my school after 4 years of teaching.
I recorded this the following day in order to share my perspective - honestly & in good faith - in order to move forward and put this experience behind me. I have no desire to cause complications or bring unwanted… pic.twitter.com/Bf61VC2dD1
— Warren Smith (@WTSmith17) May 13, 2024
Smith, who resides in Massachusetts, did not reveal the name of his former school.
“I don’t want to open up myself to them in any way, after the way they went about this and seeing the lengths they will go to,” Smith told SCNR News. “Perhaps one day, but for now I just want to move on and look forward to never thinking about them again.”
Smith gained notoriety last February when a video of him teaching critical thinking skills to his students went viral.
In the video, Smith was asked to comment on JK Rowling’s work in light of her “bigoted opinions.” From there, Smith skillfully challenged the student’s preconceived notions. The student was then guided through the process of evaluating specific comments from Rowling.
“At the beginning of this conversation, you said, ‘Given the fact that JK Rowling is transphobic, how do you feel about Harry Potter?’” Smith said at the end of the video. “Now, retroactively looking at that statement, do you think that that was the best way to phrase [the question]?”
“No, I feel like an idiot now,” the student said.
“That’s OK, though, that’s why we do this: to learn how to think,” Smith said.
The video, which has nearly 45 million views, was reposted by X owner Elon Musk, who said, “Critical thinking should be the first thing taught to kids.” Critical thinking should be the first thing taught to kids https://t.co/8dhvilUKRc
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 4, 2024
Smith told SCNR that the firing was the result of a missed email.
“In the midst of the whirlwind of that first week immediately following the [JK Rowling] video, a one sentence email was sent out to the school stating, ‘If you would like to upload anything to social media check with your supervising principle,’” Smith said. “Two weeks ago, while filming a podcast in my multimedia class, I had [an] exchange with a new student that was so similar to the initial video I thought it would be worth uploading. He was excited by the exercise, so we got permission from his parents to share it on my YouTube channel. I missed the email with the new stipulation. This was the reason for my firing.”
In today’s video, Smith addressed the individual responsible for firing him seven days prior.
“So when you say, 'We appreciate you not divulging,' I don’t know if that means you’re threatening my severance package, I really hope not,” he said. “But anyways, it was a bummer to lose my computer like that. This could have been done … I understand if you disagree with my voicing opinions on YouTube. … It’s easier to just … get rid of a teacher like that. And I accept that.”
“Sometimes how you do it though is important and I think this could have been done without just taking my computer and losing a book that I’ve been writing for two years, multiple things I’ve been writing for two years, all the data from two years, my digital life, just…” he said, with a snap of the fingers.
Smith said he was careful not to overstep any of the parameters that lawyers at the school laid out for him as he made various podcast appearances.
“I even praised you and thanked you for making that so clear, objectively recognizing what the rules were, there were no rules being broken,” he said, addressing his former employer. “You even said, ‘Congratulations!’”
“The only time I’ve seen you in person this past years was maybe a week after that, [you said], ‘Oh my goodness, it’s our celebrity. What’s on the docket? Any upcoming events, interviews?’ That was a quote and you know it,” Smith continued. “Yesterday, it was like a different person.”
He added: “And I understand that, had Elon Musk not retweeted that video … this would have happened probably … the last four months ago, when this initially happened.”
