A Florida teacher plans to appeal his termination after school officials fired him for an “inappropriate assignment about school violence” on Tuesday (April 4). Jeffrey Keene worked at Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, where he taught psychology to upperclassmen.

A lesson plan of his was scrutinized when he asked students to write their own obituary ahead of an active shooter drill that was scheduled that day. “It wasn’t to scare them or make them feel like they were going to die, but just to help them understand what’s important in their lives and how they want to move forward with their lives and how they want to pursue things in their journey,” Keene told NBC News on Friday (April 7).

The assignment included prompts for students to imagine that an active school shooting was taking place and to reflect on what they hear. They were also tasked with addressing their thoughts on the following questions: “Why the United States is having so many mass shootings?” “What kind of positive actions can we, as a collective group with a common cause, take to decrease the number of mass shootings?” and “How, if at all, has this mass shooting epidemic affected you as a person?”

Screenshots of the prompt showed that Keene provided a disclaimer to students, who ranged in class rankings from sophomores to seniors. “Please realize: As we are discussing/addressing this topic, especially in psychology, that it is in no way intended to upset you!” he wrote. But at least one student was troubled and sought assistance from an on-campus guidance counselor. Several other students informed him that school officials were conducting interviews regarding the assignment. Keene said he was hired in January and was still under a probationary period. In a Facebook post, he claimed he was given two options: “to resign or be fired without a cause.” He accepted the latter and was terminated before the end of his last class of the day.

Keene confirmed his plans to file an appeal with the Orange County School District to Fox 35. He reiterated that he did not believe the assignment was a poor choice and that he would “absolutely” do it again. “If you can’t talk real to them, then what’s happening in this environment?” Keene said. “In my mind, I’ve done nothing wrong.”