A Louisiana high school teacher has found himself in controversy after using a racial slur during his class and justifying his use of the word to students.

A white teacher at Ben Franklin High School was using the n-word during class when a black student confronted him about his use of the word and how it is offensive to black people.

In this video, taken from a student in the class, the teacher, who has been identified as "Coach Ryan," can be seeing talking with the student about the racial slur.

"That's racist as s**t. Why can you not understand that it's racist for a white man to say 'ni**er' to a black man? It's fucking racist," the student says.

The teacher then justifies his use of the word, saying that is has become a "commoditized word," and contradicts himself by saying that "Nobody uses that word," only to continue using it and refuting the student's argument that the word's meaning changes based on the person's race.

"Not if you want the world to move on," the teacher says. "If you want this world to be the way it was 50 years ago, then you're true—you're right."

Following the incident, the students went to the principal's office intending to stage a sit-in, but it instead turned into an impromptu, hourlong assembly in the auditorium, where students from different backgrounds had a discussion on issues surrounding identity and race.

According to the school's principal, Patrick Widhalm, the students had "a very good dialogue about the difficulties and the issues that still exist around race, around identity, around the things that aren't resolved."

Video from the assembly was shared throughout social media.

The school is currently investigating the incident with the teacher.