BCC teacher has a problem

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

OP here. To clarify

The subject line of the email was"Community Message Hate Bias Event."

How does a slip of the tongu get elevated to “hate”? That word is misused way too often nowadays.

A "slip of the tongue"? Really? That's not what it sounds like at all. -NP

[Anonymous]

Several years back something similar happened in one of my DS's classes at his middle school ( a "W" school). I don't want to name the school because the teacher is still there but he basically told several Jewish students in the class that they all looked alike to him so it was hard for him to remember who he had already helped with a project. Mind blowing that a teacher thought it was okay to say that and I should have said something but my DS asked me not to make a "big deal". I truly regret that now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

OP here. To clarify

The subject line of the email was"Community Message Hate Bias Event."

How does a slip of the tongu get elevated to “hate”? That word is misused way too often nowadays.

A "slip of the tongue"? Really? That's not what it sounds like at all. -NP

yes it is exactly what it sounds like. or an innocent comment radically misinterpreted. this guy is not wearing a KKK hood come on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s shocking is that this single comment justified sending an email to the entire school community about a “hate bias” event. A reasonable person would assume a hate bias event involved violence, property destruction, etc.

Exactly. I’m willing to believe this is the type of thing where feelings might have been hurt due to misunderstanding. It’s an event that should be discussed, not amplified.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s shocking is that this single comment justified sending an email to the entire school community about a “hate bias” event. A reasonable person would assume a hate bias event involved violence, property destruction, etc.

And there is no due process.

Someone will get sued for defamation for this kind of careless pandering eventually

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That kind of remark said towards black students in any context is not appropriate, especially in the current charged climate. To claim ignorance defies imagination with all the racist attacks on school property.

Don't judge until you know the entire story.

No one should make a comment that all people of a given race look alike, some people have face blindness. I have a form of face blindness and cannot distinguish people by faces. I have to look at hair color and hairstyle, skin color, context, height, clothing choices, even how they walk. Most people who know me don't know I have that condition because I have learned to cover it up. However, I have walked past people I know very well without saying hi when I saw them out of context or with a new hair color.

I could totally see a teacher who is frustrated with a new class of students whose attributes they need to remember letting that slip. Is it right? No, the person should be more careful not to offend knowing the comment is hurtful even if not racist. Is it something that should get them fired? Maybe not since it wasn't due to racism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Such foolishness from some who inherited a well thumbed dictionary!

Now let's imagine this fellow having a history of speaking to our daughters like they were streetwalkers. Calling them Bs or Hs or tricks.

I wouldn't want them in a classroom with anyone's daughter - but if I can only get him away from mine then I WILL be doing that

Ha. Inherited? Yeah right. I’m not sure my father can form complete thoughts, yet alone produce a well reasoned response. You find offense because you cannot stand the fact that you may be part of the problem. I again will emphasize my original point: if you want to change something, please stop complaining and step up to help. You exact demands upon people that cannot understand nor do you have any desire to fulfill yourself. The biggest difference between the teachers committing the offenses above and the those putting forth angry accusations and demanding their accusation these days? They’re actually there. They get up at an ungodly hour to do one of the few jobs where they aren’t actually allowed to work from home.

Please, take their spot. You clearly know how to do a better job than them, yet you refuse to do so? Why? Might I ask for an honest response? Are you even capable of giving one or does the thought of producing an honest reply create such cognitive dissonance between your internal desire for a better life and your “social awareness” that you cannot begin to process it? Is it perhaps that it’s not better for you or your family for you to do so? So long as teaching remains such a field, you’ll continue to have these issues with staff.

So many classes this year don’t have teachers - let alone competent one. The more experienced, capable teachers are taking on the burdens of covering for those simply passing by for a year or two. This isn’t sustainable.

A strong argument for nature over nurture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Such foolishness from some who inherited a well thumbed dictionary!

Now let's imagine this fellow having a history of speaking to our daughters like they were streetwalkers. Calling them Bs or Hs or tricks.

I wouldn't want them in a classroom with anyone's daughter - but if I can only get him away from mine then I WILL be doing that

Ha. Inherited? Yeah right. I’m not sure my father can form complete thoughts, yet alone produce a well reasoned response. You find offense because you cannot stand the fact that you may be part of the problem. I again will emphasize my original point: if you want to change something, please stop complaining and step up to help. You exact demands upon people that cannot understand nor do you have any desire to fulfill yourself. The biggest difference between the teachers committing the offenses above and the those putting forth angry accusations and demanding their accusation these days? They’re actually there. They get up at an ungodly hour to do one of the few jobs where they aren’t actually allowed to work from home.

Please, take their spot. You clearly know how to do a better job than them, yet you refuse to do so? Why? Might I ask for an honest response? Are you even capable of giving one or does the thought of producing an honest reply create such cognitive dissonance between your internal desire for a better life and your “social awareness” that you cannot begin to process it? Is it perhaps that it’s not better for you or your family for you to do so? So long as teaching remains such a field, you’ll continue to have these issues with staff.

So many classes this year don’t have teachers - let alone competent one. The more experienced, capable teachers are taking on the burdens of covering for those simply passing by for a year or two. This isn’t sustainable.

Generations of teachers here, buddy. Going back to the 1930s. It's the family business.

Now I'm going to leave you alone. After denigrating your father on an anonymous public forum I have to assume your vein of ire runs much deeper than this issue with the BCC teacher. I wish you well.

Generations of teachers means nothing. Your comparison is akin to holding a child accountable for their father’s crimes. Your point is mute. Acknowledging one’s father’s disabilities and lack of formal education is hardly disparaging. It’s a statement of fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Such foolishness from some who inherited a well thumbed dictionary!

Now let's imagine this fellow having a history of speaking to our daughters like they were streetwalkers. Calling them Bs or Hs or tricks.

I wouldn't want them in a classroom with anyone's daughter - but if I can only get him away from mine then I WILL be doing that

Ha. Inherited? Yeah right. I’m not sure my father can form complete thoughts, yet alone produce a well reasoned response. You find offense because you cannot stand the fact that you may be part of the problem. I again will emphasize my original point: if you want to change something, please stop complaining and step up to help. You exact demands upon people that cannot understand nor do you have any desire to fulfill yourself. The biggest difference between the teachers committing the offenses above and the those putting forth angry accusations and demanding their accusation these days? They’re actually there. They get up at an ungodly hour to do one of the few jobs where they aren’t actually allowed to work from home.

Please, take their spot. You clearly know how to do a better job than them, yet you refuse to do so? Why? Might I ask for an honest response? Are you even capable of giving one or does the thought of producing an honest reply create such cognitive dissonance between your internal desire for a better life and your “social awareness” that you cannot begin to process it? Is it perhaps that it’s not better for you or your family for you to do so? So long as teaching remains such a field, you’ll continue to have these issues with staff.

So many classes this year don’t have teachers - let alone competent one. The more experienced, capable teachers are taking on the burdens of covering for those simply passing by for a year or two. This isn’t sustainable.

Generations of teachers here, buddy. Going back to the 1930s. It's the family business.

Now I'm going to leave you alone. After denigrating your father on an anonymous public forum I have to assume your vein of ire runs much deeper than this issue with the BCC teacher. I wish you well.

Generations of teachers means nothing. Your comparison is akin to holding a child accountable for their father’s crimes. Your point is mute. Acknowledging one’s father’s disabilities and lack of formal education is hardly disparaging. It’s a statement of fact.

Classic diversion. Focus on the typo so you can ignore the larger argument. You must be running for office?

[Anonymous]

It sure would be nice if people found the time to help those in their communities with their free time instead of raging at each other on online forums…

[Anonymous]

I’ve been a teacher for a decade and have students of pretty much every race whose names I take a long time to learn or even mess up a few months into the year. This year I have a “Nicole” who looks like “Isabelle” from 2 years ago so much that I keep calling her the wrong name. I have multiple Aydens and Aaron’s and I just mess up.

Also, masks have made it a LOT harder to know names

Before you chastise me realize I have 160+ students and doing the best I can.

That being said this teacher sounds like a mess and probably needs to be at least disciplined. I would be curious to know exactly what was said

[Anonymous]

Anyone saying "fire the teacher" needa an answer for "how will MCPS find a replacement?". By and large, teachers across the country are DONE. Qualified people aren't lining up form these jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let’s wait and see what was actually said. Something like “you two look alike” is NOT the same as “all you people look alike.”

Every year I have little white kids whose names I mix up because they look so much alike. Mixing kids up is not offensive. Saying “all you people look alike” is offensive.

Yes! I'd have students, often white, that I'd confuse, especially out of context (like outside of class). Next to each other, they'd obviously look different, but there'd be some feature similarity that caused me confusion, and repeatedly. Yes, embarrassing - to all.
Also, given we are in what, week two of the 2nd semester, and classes have just been switched, wouldn't be surprised if this was a new student/teacher configuration, and the teacher is still struggling with names.
Are we going to fire every teacher that doesn't slam-dunk every kid's name first day?

As other's said, wait and see what was the exact words and context were.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure the vast majority of the people on this forum are foaming at the mouth at the opportunity to step in and take the place of these teachers. Please, be a part of the solution. Instead of whining on these forums, quit your big law, tech, or sales job. Wake up at 6 am. Deal with 150 teenagers a day and their screaming parents. Coach a team and then drive 75 minutes home up 270 because your $60k / year salary can't buy you anything south of Germantown. The world needs you to step up and take the place of this man you demand be fired.

Don't come between a man and his meal.

There are individuals who have to deal with all of those things and don’t use blatantly racist language such as that. Let’s also recognize the fact that they chose that career as well.

As a Black B-CC alum, there have been many times where my classmates and I reported similar behavior and nothing was done. The teacher was probably warned multiple times. “Don’t come between a man and his meal”? How about not doing things (along with daily microaggressions) that make the people affected feel as though they don’t belong or they can’t succeed, because that line of thinking follows them for years and years. When these complaints are made, they should be taken with the highest seriousness. The drawbacks of the job or “can you do what they do” aren’t an excuse.

If we read the original post...

This morning parents received an email from the principal telling us that a teacher had told black students in his class that he could not tell them apart. The email, which of course was written or edited by the central office, further stated that they were "investigating," blah blah blah.

The email, and the lack of immediate action, made me want to vomit. Is this 2023? Have we somehow completely lost our way? The only solution, if this is true, is to fire the teacher. Do not send him to a DEI training, do not reassign him to a different MCPS school, do not pass go. No adult who interacts daily with CHILDREN should have such crap coming out of his mouth.

My kid just got home and said the teacher lacks a filter (based on DC's personal knowledge) and that teacher was, in fact, fired. I hope this is true.

...

It's quite vague exactly what all of this means. I read this as a teacher, speaking to two students, said that he had trouble distinguishing one of them from the other. But again. I restate my original claim. The county needs teachers. Please, step up and take this man's spot. Do whatever he had to do to obtain the position necessary to teach this class (degrees and all) and then take a $60,000 / year job.

My argument is don't be overly critical of a job that sucks. People are nicer to service staff than they are teachers who give their child a bad grade.

Reading comprehension is absolutely critical, yet lacking here. I understand the job is hard and that we have a shortage of teachers right now. I come from a family of public servants, including teachers. What I am saying is that the level of difficulty of a job doesn’t call for lack of accountability. It’s not about whether we’re being nice to the teacher or not. It’s the fact that this absolutely isn’t the first time this has happened at B-CC, and it turns off many families who want to move here, not just BIPOC families. Going through a grueling process doesn’t just mean that you get to say any and everything. Maybe I’m in a job I don’t particularly like - that doesn’t mean that I go out of my way to make others feel uncomfortable. The claim you are making is not only dismissing the gravity of what was said, but how it affects those the comment was directed to.

My reading comprehension skills are not lacking. I can guarantee that. The wording of the original statement is ambiguous. The phrase "had told black students in his class that he could not tell them apart." is not clear enough to determine exactly what was said. As such, it is open to interpretation that will be heavily influenced by one's previous experiences. It could be read as he told [two] black students that he could not tell them (referring to those two) apart". Alternatively, it could be a read as "had told [all] black students in his class that he could not tell them (referring to all back people) apart". It could also be interpreted as a multitude of ways that fall in between those two extremes.

You, the author, have failed to distinguish which situation it was. This ambiguous language is dangerous and leads to people talking across each other in a way that cannot solicit mutual compromise. Which cable news network do you write for?

That is nice that you come from a family of public servants. However, that tells me nothing except that you have decided to go a different route. It's great for you that you got out of the world of teaching before it went to shit. If this teacher had done what you did, he wouldn't be in this mess! What a terrible mistake he made. Sorry people don't want to move to their neighborhood, especially not good teachers. It couldn't be because the median home value is $1.2M and the teacher salaries are $60k starting?

Whether it was “(all) Black people” or “both”, and aside from both being racist, it’s mid-February. Whether this is a full year or a second semester class, surely this teacher knows everyone’s names by now. It’s basic respect. The statement that was made shows clear intent, so if you’d like to defend a losing cause, be my guest. Still not seeing what the salary and demands of the job have to do with the statement, by the way.

Except of course it's only week two of the NEW semester, and classes have just been swapped. I don't know about other teachers, but I always found learning and IDing students by name the second semester students more grueling than first semester.

I, like the person you are arguing with, see no clear intent, not even a clear micro-aggression. There is a possible intent, and whether or not I see harm depends on way way WAY more content than was given by the OP. The exact words, the detailed content, they matter. Perhaps we instead have a few students looking for harm and outrage where none exist?

And the points about not tossing teacher's under the bus are important. If this teacher is fired, that means your kids will get a series of substitutes with most likely absolutely zero qualification in the subject area for the rest of the year, and learn nothing. Oh wait, never mind, Central Office can just fly off on a junket to the Philippines trying to recruit a new batch of teachers, like they've had to do in previous years. No worries, that's always worked out well in the past.

Hope all the umbrage works out for ya! Go Barons!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite high school teacher (had her for 3 years across multiple science courses) called me by a name that was slightly different than my own. Think of the commonly confused names common to white people (ya know where you change a letter or two). I was a white student and she was a white teacher, so let's assume racism wasn't at play here.

I never had the heart to correct her. She was caring, kind, energetic, patient, and put forth an incredible amount of effort every day. I could forgive this minor incursion because she had a heart of gold and was incredibly competent. She was my first AP teacher and I cruised to a 5 thanks to her lead.

WTF is wrong with everyone these days? Not everything is an intentional micro-aggression that demands someone be fired immediately. High Schoolers are tough creatures. They look for opportunities to disparage any teacher that makes them do work that they don't like. It is the wisdom of the county to succumb to their every demand because they video-taped something possible out of context and out of character? BCC has lost several competent and experienced teachers over the past decade as students have purposefully "baited" them into such situations. There is a sick power dynamic emerging where students can trap teachers into these discussions.

Seriously, think back to being a teenager? Remember trying to get the teacher off topic for the day so that you wouldn't have any homework? Oh boy was it fun! Find a trigger point for a teacher and get them going on that topic.

Nowadays, you don't even have to fish for these topics. The county provides them through consultants who present language so exciting that FOX news and CNN have to run specials on it. Gosh what I would've done with the opportunity to "poke the bear" of so many teachers with this wonderful set of ammunition. My inner child is elated just thinking about what I could have done!

Only a white person could think this anecdote is relevant in any way.

The sheer irony of your statement within this context is astounding.