A tone-deaf South Dakota"contest" featuring a bunch of teachers fighting over single dollar bills to fund buying supplies for their classroom sparked internet-wide discussions and backlash about how much teachers are paid.
In what some are calling Squid Game come true, the video went viral via podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen, who shared the clip on his Twitter account.
South Dakota's Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls hosted the event, which pitted the teachers against each other for $5000 in single dollar bills in the center of the ice rink during a Sioux Falls Stampede hockey game.
Viewers were appalled.
The money, which was turned into singles for the benefit of this event, was donated by CU mortgage direct.
In donating the money, the firm said:
“With everything that has gone on for the last couple of years with teachers and everything, we thought it was an awesome group thing to do for the teachers.”
And while the teachers participated, most viewers found fault with the logic of this event.
Teachers most often will have to dip into their own money in order to provide things for the classroom. Government funding barely covers essentials such as markers or chalk, desks and chairs.
Anything else must be provided by the teacher. And as this event was an opportunity for the teachers to get some extra money, not every single person was against it.
But for the most part, the consensus was exactly what @VickerySec said:
"This is really sick and degrading. Why is this happening? Just pay the teachers a decent wage and give schools the necessary funding for classroom supplies."
According to local news source the Argus Leader, most teachers got more than $370, with one banking $616.
Unfortunately, not every South Dakota teacher got the same opportunity—a problem that could be avoided with more comprehensive education funding.
After backlash, the Sioux Falls Stampede and CU Mortgage Direct—the cash donor—issued a joint apology.
They stated:
"Although our intent was to provide a positive and fun experience for teachers, we can see how it appears to be degrading and insulting towards the participating teachers and the teaching profession as a whole."
As a further mea culpa, CU Mortgage Direct said they would be providing an additional $15,500 to area teachers.
