should this teacher be fired?
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Anonymous
I’ve seen far more racism in mcps but since the adults were not white it’s not racism. Our es principal would target the white kids, especially from parents that spoke up. She’d take away lunch and recess for a weeek for something petty and not tell the parents. I think this teacher was trying to engage the kids but it was an epic fail. |
Anonymous
| The calls to fire this teacher over a single incident are exactly what the worries about cancel culture are about. |
Anonymous
You’ve got to be kidding. All she has to do is teach the mnemonic SOH CAH TOA. It’s a trig class. It’s not difficult to learn those three terms. She’s a crappy teacher because she thinks teaching is all about her entertaining the kids. It’s all about her. If she took a quarter of the energy she put into that ridiculous costume and dance, and instead focused on learning about who her students were, she could be a great teacher. She’d know that sitting in room everyday was a Native American student. She lazy and incompetent. |
Anonymous
| OMG, that was so painful to watch. |
Anonymous
| I think it was insensitive and racist but I don’t think her means of making a living should be taken away. |
Anonymous
Would she? There are not a huge number of Amerindians, and that number includes everyone from blue-eyed blondes to looks-like-a-Latinos. |
Anonymous
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No, but she didn't do it well, and that makes it disrespectful. If she had explained things better and danced really well, then it would have been a respectful introduction to another culture. The point is not WHO is doing the demonstration, but HOW WELL it's done. Skin color or genetic heritage is not important. Quality is important. |
Anonymous
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I don't know if it requires firing, but definitely some sensitivity training is in order.
I still remember the SOH CAH TOA rules to this day and it didn't take my teacher donning a headdress and dancing like a Native American for me to learn it. In what state did this take place? My two ex-college roommates both live in other states that are not as progressive as the DMV area. One lives in WV and the other lives in AL. I'm always shocked each year around Thanksgiving when both share photos of their elementary school student's classes dressing like Pilgrims and Native Americans. I remember my mom having to start requesting paperbags at the grocery store in mid-October in preparation of making the costumes and headdresses for my siblings and I when we were in elementary school (in this DMV area, circa 1988-1998). I know by the time my kids were in elementary in 2008, the dressing up was no longer a thing. There's no way I'd allow my kid to do that and I hate that my mom has kept photos from when my siblings and I had to do it. |
Anonymous
No, not at all in this context because she's a math teacher not a history teacher. She was teaching SOH CAH TOA, which sounds Native American, but is not in any way at all related to indigenous people. This is as bad as when a white teacher at my brother's school organized an obstacle course in the classroom to simulate the underground railroad and had all the kids run it. This was, of course, in the 90s before social media could muster the nationwide outrage. After some AA parents complained, the teacher along with all others who had the underground railroad in the curriculum, were sent to a sensitivity training. I only remember it being a big deal at our school and I only remember that because my mom was PTA president at the time and we had angry parents coming to our house to complain. Anyway, the same thing happened in 2014 or 2015 and it was a HUGE scandal because the story went viral thanks to social media. |
Anonymous
I've started leaning to not being pro-cancel culture. I attended a conference where someone spoke on the topic and made a point that interviews with those who have been cancelled don't show long-term remorse or them being educated on why they were cancelled. It instead lead to resentment and anger, and usually directed the group they had offended not necessarily toward those who cancelled them. It creates a viscous cycle of hate. Instead of canceling, we should educate. |
Anonymous
She’s not racist, just plain stupid… |
Anonymous
| I would imagine if the teacher apologized and took some sensitivity training, that would be a better outcome than her firing. Don't we have a teacher shortage? |
Anonymous
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She should be fired yesterday.
As my Indigenous friends say, We. Are. Still. Here. Beyond revolting. |
Anonymous
Which is not a job impediment for a teacher? |
Anonymous
| Yes |