A well-regarded motivational speaker who chose to give a free talk at a St. Louis high school lost it when a group continued to interrupt him, scolding the students for choosing not to help themselves.

Eric Thomas is an author, teacher and minister who regularly works with NBA and NFL and speaks at private corporate functions. He claims to charge between $10,000 and $100,000 for appearances.

Last month, when standing before the students at Vashon High School - where 70% of the district's students read below grade level - Thomas said he was trying to give back, having grown up in neighboring Detroit.

However the speech took a turn when Thomas raged at the assembly for disrespecting him, saying: 'When people love you, you don't do them like dirt.'

Upset: Motivational speaker Eric Thomas, who regularly works with the NBA and NFL, lost his cool giving a talk at Vashon High School in St. Louis after he was interrupted, accusing the students of failing to help themselves

'You aint dumb': In chiding the students, Thomas managed to send a powerful message about the children have the power to help their situations

Thomas, who refers to himself as the 'Hip-Hop Preacher', continued: 'I'm here because I love you, but I'll be darned if I come here for free and you disrespect me.

'I ain't 20 years old. I ain't 19 years old. I'm a grown man. I'm here because I love you.

The only kids that disrespect me are black kids ... I ain’t getting a dime here. I’m here because I love you. Eric Thomas

'I'm not here to take nothing from you. I'm here to give you something.'

Thomas made the point that he often visits schools, but that is only when he 'comes home' to black schools that he is disappointed with the way he is treated.

'You got the nerve to act the fool when somebody cares about you? You’re talking when I’m talkingm,' he said.

'Do you know that if I go to a Jewish school, those kids are quiet. If I go to a white school, those kids are quiet. If I go to a Latino school, those kids are quiet. The only kids that disrespect me are black kids.

'That’s it, my own, are the only ones who disrespect me. I work in any other school and they’re taking notes. I come home, you’re talking. You’re capping jokes. You think something is funny. Look how we’re living. Ain’t nothing funny. Ain’t nothing funny y’all.'

Eric Thomas stopped by Vashon High School, where 70 percent of the district’s students are reading below grade level. He is pictured here giving a separate talk

'You can take a test. The problem is that when you do, you barely take the test': Thomas made that the point that the children aren't allowing themselves to learn and choosing to dedicate to their studies

Thomas encouraged the students to take school seriously and used personal examples involving his family and children

Thomas, who grew up homeless in Detroit, also made the point that the figures the children may look up to - such as music stars - are not contributing their time like he has chosen to do, KFOR reported.

We survived slavery, and we can’t pass a test? Come on! I challenge you to go into class and act like you got some sense.

'No disrespect, the dude’s you listening to, you listening my man and jamming to his album, he ain’t coming here,' Thomas told the children.

'And I just heard we had a rapper here last night. How many schools did he go to? How many elementary schools? He came and took your money, but he didn’t invest nothing back into you.'

Thomas explained that both his grandfather and father dropped out of high school, and he chose to follow that path himself.

However his life turned around when he met a preacher who inspired him to go back to school.

'NOTHING FUNNY': ERIC THOMAS' EMOTIONALLY-CHARGED SPEECH Listen to me very closely. They pay me $50,000 to $100,000 when I speak to corporate America. I go to a basketball program and they pay me good. I ain’t getting a dime here. I’m here because I love you, but I’ll be darned if I come here for free and you disrespect me. I ain’t 20-years-old. I ain’t 19-years-old. I’m a grown man. I’m here because I love you. I’m here because I love ya’ll, they ain’t paid me a dime. As a matter of fact, I came to use my influence to raise money so a group of kids can go to Costa Rica. I’m not here to get nothing, I’m here to give you something. I’m not here to take nothing from you. I’m here to give you something. And listen to me closely, when people love you, you don’t do them like dirt. When people care for them, you don’t disrespect them. You ain’t got but a few people who care about you in this world. Didn’t you hear what I just said? If you’re in the wrong place, you’re going to get shot and killed. Ain’t nobody going to go to jail for it. Ain’t nobody going to go to jail for it. Ain’t nobody gonna do no time for it. So the few people who you do have that care, you can’t treat them like garbage. You can’t disrespect the people that’s trying to look out for you, cause you ain’t got a whole bunch of, you ain’t got a lot of dudes, look me up! You ain’t got a lot of dudes that do what I do that’s coming to your school. No disrespect, the dude’s you listening to, you listening my man and jamming to his album, he ain’t coming here. And I just heard we had a rapper here last night. How many schools did he go to? How many elementary schools? He came and took your money, but he didn’t invest nothing back into you. And you’re gonna have the nerve to laugh and joke when teachers are trying to teach you? You got the nerve to act the fool when somebody cares about you? You’re talking when I’m talking. Do you know that if I go to a Jewish school, them kids are quiet. If I go to a white school, them kids quiet. If I go to a Latino school, they quiet. The only kids that disrespect me is black kids. That’s it, my own, are the only ones who disrespect me. I work in any other school and they’re like, ET, we’re taking notes. I come home, you talking. You’re capping jokes. You think something is funny. Look how we’re living. Ain’t nothing funny. Ain’t nothing funny y’all. When I got my PHD, what embarrassed me, they’re asking me like, ‘What’s wrong with our urban schools?’ I’m like why are you asking me? I’m in class just like you’re in class. The teachers want to know, professors want to know why are your kids, what’s the problem in the school system? I’m embarrassed, ya’ll. I’m a grown man and I’m embarrassed that they talk about ya’ll and you want to know why I’m embarrassed? Because what they don’t know is that you ain’t even trying when you take the test. You didn’t give your best. They think you dumb. You ain’t dumb. You can’t take our people from Africa and put us in a diaspora and spread us all over the world. We survived slavery, and we can’t pass a test? Come on! I ain’t stupid. You take everything from us and we still survive. You want to tell me that we can’t learn how to write? Have you lost your mind? We are survivors. That is all we do is survive. And you’re gonna come and tell me that you can’t take a test. No, you can take the test. The problem is that when you take the test, you barely take the test. I challenge you to go in there and get that doggone piece of paper and pencil and do your best. I challenge you to go into class and act like you got some sense. No one has to put you on medicine. You know how to sit down and shut up. You do it when you’re watching videos. Advertisement

In finishing the speech, Thomas brought up the illiteracy levels featured in the video.

Thomas is an author, teacher and motivational speaker who regularly works with NBA and NFL

'What they don’t know is that you’re not even trying when you take a test,' he said of the lousy exam records.

'You didn’t give your best. They think you’re dumb. You ain’t dumb. We survived slavery, and you can’t pass a test? Come on!

'I ain’t stupid. You take everything from us and we still survive. You want to tell me that you don’t want to learn how to write? Have you lost your mind? We are survivors. That is all we do is survive.

'You can take a test. The problem is that when you do, you barely take the test. I challenge you to go in there and do your best. I challenge you to go into class and act like you have some sense. No one has to put you on medicine. You know how to sit down and shut up. You do it when you’re watching videos.'

Thomas was not available for comment about what happened at Vashon High School when The Daily Mail Online contacted him Tuesday.

The appearance took place last month, however a video of the speech Thomas gave went viral this week.

The video started getting traction online after being posted to YouTube by Thomas' company.

Last week, Thomas traveled to the Flint area to speak to nearly 400 students in grades 7-12 for about an hour.

Thomas encouraged the students to take school seriously and used personal examples involving his family and children, MLive reported.