Posted on 09/06/2002 2:32:30 PM PDT by wise counsel
On September 5, 2002, The Daily Record in Dunn, NC, reported the following story from Wilmington, NC.
A fourth grade teacher has received a formal reprimand for teaching her students the word "niggardly," the teacher's son said.
Last week, Stephanie Bell, a teacher a Williams Elementary School, said she used the word "niggardly," which means stingy or miserly, during a discussion about literary characters.
Parent Akwana Walker, who is black, protested the use of the word, saying it offended her because it sounds similar to a racial slur.
Ms. Bell said the N.C. Association of Educators has told her not to discuss the situation. But her son, Tarl Bell, 17, said a letter from prpincipal Susan Hahn stated that his mother used poor judgment.
The letter, he said, also instructed his mother to send an apology to her students' parents, a step she took last week.
The letter, which Tarl Bell said he has read, also admonished Stephanie Bell, who is white, for lacking sensitivity to the school's diverse population and not being aware of cultural differences, he said. The letter said it would go in Stephanie Bell's personnel file within five days, Tarl Bell said.
It's nice to see the quality of intellects in charge of our government schools.
Screech! Anti-Semitism!----^. Sounds too much like "Jew"...
I dare say the principal's quite correct there, the teacher definitely didn't think there were such ignoramusses out there for parents.
admonished Stephanie Bell, who is white, for lacking sensitivity to the school's diverse population and not being aware of cultural differences
Damn, if the principal isn't right again, this teacher was obviously insensitive to these cultural differences. I mean, come on now, she should've recognize that some cultural differences are reflected in differences in rates of illiteracy and ignorance.
Interesting, the principal has been able stereotyped certain parents of member's of the school's diverse population as ignorant. I hope she wasn't foolish enough to tell them so. She would've probably gotten some earfull about disrespectin' them or something along those lines.
It's too bad that she didn't support the teacher, she's just taught the students it's okay to be stupid, and think you're not.
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