A teacher recently found himself in hot water at Southern High School for making a student uncomfortable with a political lecture. However, Gregorio Ecle, a CHamoru language and culture teacher, says his lecture was taken out of context.

Ecle is the Southern High teacher who was recorded making an impassioned, frustrated critique of American foreign policy during a CHamoru class. Among many different things, a recording was sent to The Guam Daily Post in which Ecle said, “America flexes its muscles all the time,” and “because it doesn’t adhere to the way you and your people think you think it’s wrong. That’s why everyone hates America — because we always think we know what’s best and can change everyone, but people from America just need to shut the (expletive) up!”

According to Ecle, the recorded segment represents only a portion of what was discussed in class that day. In addition to discussing the means of American colonization, he discussed Spanish and Japanese colonization of Guam.

The topic turned to the Middle East to contemporize the issue, Ecle said.

“My lesson is on decolonization,” Ecle told the Post, “but in order for my students to understand decolonization, I have to make sure I teach them about colonization.”

Ecle, who has been teaching for seven years, says he apologizes if he offended a student or parent with his lecture delivery, however, he does not apologize for being critical of colonization.

“I have always been the type of teacher that will give the students the truth," Ecle said. "I’m going to give it like it is, it might sound uncomfortable, it might make you feel uncomfortable, but at that point, there’s no nice way to talk about being colonized."

Ecle added that he never wants his students to accept his opinions as the “gospel truth,” and that he encourages all of them to question him. “I welcome (students) to go and do the research and find these things on your own. Find your own truth.” He said he also reminds students that they won’t be tested on the opinions that he shares in class.

But as for dropping an expletive in class, Ecle brushed off most accountability for it.

He said, “Should profanities be utilized in a classroom period? Probably not. Is it? Absolutely. As a student myself, I heard it a lot. I’m not saying that that validates it and makes it OK, not at all. But as everybody knows when you get impassioned about something, sometimes you let loose and you say things that in the moment you didn’t mean to say.”

Ecle teaches two CHamoru language and culture classes at Southern High School, one with more than 30 students and another with over 50 students.

One student, Caitlin Tutuw, spoke to the Guam Daily Post in support of her teacher.

During a phone interview, Tutuw said she enjoys the lessons in Ecle’s class. Tutuw said that she felt Ecle welcomed her Yapese identity, even if Ecle was proud of his own cultural identity.

She reiterated that the article “made it seem that he’s a bad teacher when he really isn’t.”

In Tutuw’s opinion, Ecle has “blown her mind” with what she’s learned, specifically in regards to hardships faced throughout CHamoru history. She also responded favorably about his lecture style, saying she appreciated his honesty and that she never felt put down.

Tutuw, however, also said she is not a classmate of the student who was offended.

The media attention had his classes talking, as they were able to identify for themselves who the student in question was after reading her mom’s name in the Post, according to Ecle.

But he says for the most part, the day at Southern High School continued on mostly normal.

In class, Ecle says that he treats his students like young adults, and to him that entails speaking to them on a level that challenges them to broaden their minds when it might be difficult to overcome biases.

He said he's hoping to find the silver lining from the media attention.

“We find comfort with those that agree with us and we find growth with those that don’t,” he said “and that’s exactly what this moment is.”