Posted on 01/21/2012 9:03:25 PM PST by hope
Here's the gist..My daughter a senior got into a discussion with other students in her last hour class about President Obama, whether or not he is a good president. As she voiced her opinion that he was a bad president for our country and that she felt he was ushered into office because people were excited to elect the first black president was one reason he was elected and to our detriment he was not properly vetted..
Well the teacher interjected and called her a racist for her opinion. The bell rang and it was left at that.
I'm livid and will be calling out this teacher on Monday.
Just to let you all know, my family is very diverse and we come from many different cultures.
I am married to a man who is 1/16 Sioux Indian. I have 3 hispanic neices and a nephew. I have four African American neices and nephews. My kids never have been taught to judge people on ethnicity. I think our only sin is we are conservative and Christian according to the lefties.
So if you all don't mind praying for me that I will have the wisdom to approach the situation, I would truly appreciate it. My heritage as a hillibilly raised in rural Michigan is a huge dis-advantage for me!
Thanks all!
Honstly, I’d be contacting a lawyer, the school board and at least the principal over this teacher’s conduct.
Excellent advice! Only, get the lawyer asap. Can’t stress that enough. Don’t let the phone out of your hand until you have one, and a reasonable certainty you’ve got the right one for the job.
As you’re looking for the right lawyer, find out who is the attorney for your school district. You’re sure to be asked while you shop for a lawyer.
I will have to disagree with you on that. Your heritage places you in exactly the mainstream of America. YOU are the heart and soul of America, not the brainwashed lefty teacher who is trying to stifle your daughters individuality. We, of middle America, proudly stand with you and your heritage.
The accusation of being a racist is an “ad hominim” (Latin for “on the person) attack. It is a frowned upon debating tactic used to prevent discussion of the facts by instead focusing an attack on the person (or their character). It is a favorite debating tactic of the left.
You might also want to look at the standards of conduct for teachers in this matter. To label a student in class as a racist over differing political views is a serious matter. There may be an infringement of free speech involved and it may subject the student to threats and intimidation from other students. Maybe you should talk to the school administration and a lawyer before she mounts any defense at all.
If she chooses to reply, she might begin by noting that it is just as racist to vote FOR someone simply because because they are black as it is to vote AGAINST someone simply because they are black. A candidate must be judged on his or her merits for electon (or re-election) to the office.
She could go on to observe that Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. himself longed for the day when a person was judged “by the content of their character, not by the color of their skin.”
Finally, she could list the shortcomings of President Obama personally and of his administration. (There are plenty being offered by other posts to this thread.)
She could note that these shortcomings would still be valid whether he was Black, White, Hispanic, or Asian.
In conclusion, the fundamental question is who are the real racists. It is not racist to criticize the President for his poor qualifications for office and his poor performance once in office. However, it IS racist to argue that they be glossed over because he is black. In fact, it is the most patronizing type of racism to even suggest that a lower standard be used in evaluating his performance simply because he is black.
It is contemptable that a teacher would choose to label a student a racist simply for daring to voice a dissenting opinion on his performance.
When you meet with the principal or superintendent, you might want to frame the conversation differently - move it away from Obama and politics, and move it to the issue of the unprofessionalism of a teacher name-calling a student - ANY name. (That way, if the principal is a flaming lib, he might not feel the need to be defensive, because the issue is a bigger one than politics and goes to the core of the teacher’s fitness to lead a classroom.)
The teacher is brain washed so proof will be of no help,Liberals do not understand logic.
“Your daughter should point out that he’s only half black.”
This is the third time I will be called in for a parent/teacher conference regarding my 16 year old son ripping teachers a new one.
The first one was global warming. He asked the teacher what would happen if they cooled the planet too much. The second time was a discussion on why we as jews hate arabs s much. My son had to remind her that arab wasnt a religion.
Finally we had to deal with the obama thing. He said he hated the white half of Obama. He said the black half was a product of affirmative action and we need to be tolerant. The One big ass mistake America shirt didn’t help.
Good luck with it.
You misread my post.
I was giving advice to the poster.
Although I dealt with a couple of teachers this bad when my daughter was in HS in the late 90s.
I had to control my temper and refuse to back down at the same time. Not an easy task when confronted by incompetent ideologues on the left.
Everyone on FR knows that fact. Ask the teacher to find all 57, 58, or 59 states since he made the statement "I've campaigned in all 57 states, but may have missed one or two".
Ask about a kid getting a breathalyzer for asthma. Ask about why he ushered the Dali Lama out the back door of the WH past trash bags or why he took off his shoes to pray with muslims. The list could go on for a long time.
Urk, a catattack. Penance backatcha from the bark side of the force: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ntDYjS0Y3w&feature=share
It doesn’t matter if 100% of your family is white.
This is about a fascist bully abusing his/her position as teacher to slander and mistreat a SPECIAL ED student in the classroom.
And this assignment to “prove” something on Monday is nothing more than an unjustified punishment, given solely for the purpose of humiliating her further. Believe me, this teacher wants to break her. I’ve been there and I recognize the scenery.
Your daughter has been WRONGED. Forbid her to comply with this assignment and take her with you to the principal’s office on Monday. The teacher has to publicly apologize, back off, and reform. If this hasn’t happened by Tuesday, “Teacher Badgers Special Ed Student, Calls Her ‘Racist’” should soon appear as a headline in your local paper.
If the school doesn’t rectify this situation, SUE their asses. They have no right to subject your daughter or anyone else to this treatment.
Sounds like your son is on the right track. I guarantee more than just a few of his classmates agree with him but they don’t have the guts to say anything.
My kid is pretty subtle. He does it in a way that shuts teachers up without him being personal.
Granted when he comes home he will tell me what an idiot the teacher is. Last night we had a good conversation. We were talking about history in the context of today’s Tea Party and OWS as it would apply to other groups.
In the end it was, the constitution is the tea party. The French revolution was OWS. He will read Coulter over the spring break.
Here’s how I would handle it. First, you should speak to the teacher in person. You need to be direct about your concerns, but without immediate rancor. Discuss the context of the situation- what else was being said, why the discussion was taking place, etc. Make sure that you remind the teacher that the child does have a right to his/her opinion, and that academic endeavor is more about the truth. If it is a history teacher you might do well to remind him/her about something called objectivity- the teacher is not supposed to teach students what to think, just how to think and what the facts are, and let them draw their own conclusions. Point out it is not the teacher’s job to shape opinion. If the discussion between you and the teacher does not come out satisfactorily, then it is time to start on the administration.
Good luck and God bless.
Agreed. It’s futile to try to prove to these people that you’re not racist, they already know full well that you’re not, they’re using the accusation as a weapon. Because it’s school and this person is in a position of authority, the thing that needs doing is to prevent this teacher from calling the student out publicly and trying to shame her in front of the class, that’s all. She can think what she likes, but she can’t call a student out like that in front of the class. Trying to defend yourself and prove a negative is what they want because it can’t be done.
And I certainly wouldn’t bother to trot out my family demographics, they’ll just turn that into the new “some of my best f riemds are black”. If they really cared about someone being racist it would be different but they don’t, it’s just a handy weapon.
And I certainly wouldn’t bother to trot out my family demographics, they’ll just turn that into the new “some of my best f riemds are black”. If they really cared about someone being racist it would be different but they don’t, it’s just a handy weapon.
You made my wife *very* happy with that, although my cat has registered her very MARKED disapproval.
Cheers!
Please let us know how you decided to handle this!
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