Teacher quits after being reprimanded for use of racial slur (G & N WORD ALERT)

AP via Seattle-Post Intelli ^ | Thursday, May 22, 2003 | By ELIZABETH M. GILLESPIE

[11th_VA]

SEATTLE -- A high school teacher suspended after using a racial slur in a conversation with a black student received a written reprimand from the local school district on Thursday, then announced he would quit his job.

After investigating the matter, Seattle Public Schools officials concluded Brian Emanuels did not mean to convey disrespect or intolerance but called his remarks "inappropriate and unprofessional."

"It was clear from our investigation that Mr. Emanuels meant no harm and that he was trying to drive home a very important point: that words can hurt," school district spokeswoman Lynn Steinberg said. "Unfortunately, he went about his lesson the wrong way."

Emanuels, hired as a computer teacher at Cleveland High School last fall, was suspended with pay May 8, a little over a week after asking a student who had described an assignment as "gay" how he would like it if someone called him a "nigger."

The boy's mother contacted the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which urged the district to fire Emanuels.

In a written statement issued Thursday afternoon, Emanuels said, "I am very pleased with the decision of the school district confirming that my comments on April 29 were clearly intended to teach tolerance and respect for all groups, not to cause harm to any student or group.

"I hope that we can all learn from this experience about ways to treat one another with greater civility and respect," he went on to say. "That's the point I was trying to make, and I apologize to those who were offended by how I went about it."

Nearly 300 of Cleveland's 736 students are black. Minorities make up about 90 percent of the school's population.

In the letter of reprimand, the school district's human resources director, William Bleakney, told Emanuels he would face more serious disciplinary action if he made any similar remarks.

If Emanuels didn't make the same sort of mistake again, the letter or reprimand was to be removed from his personnel file after the end of the 2003-04 school year, the district said.

Emanuels, 39 and a former Microsoft employee, said he decided to resign because he felt his presence at Cleveland High School might prove distracting to students and staff.

"I sincerely thank the thousands of people, including many total strangers, and many people from the African-American community, who have come forward to express their support," Emanuels said.

"I will greatly miss working with my students and wish them all well in their studies and future endeavors."

[11th_VA]

Can't we all just get along ???

[Jay D. Dyson]

Can't we all just get along ???

As long as the special interest groups think they can do no wrong, nope.

I personally think the teacher did the right thing by quitting. The crap he's been put through is an abomination that tries to pass itself as "tolerance."

-Jay

[netmilsmom]

When I drive, I sometimes call say other drivers are driving like idiots.
My five year old tells me "Calling someone an idiot is not nice."
I tell her, "I am not calling him an idiot, I'm saying that he is driving like an idiot."
Come on, both of those words are not appropriate but geez, he wasn't calling the teacher "the G word" and the teacher was not calling the student "the N word".
I give up.

[11th_VA]

I left off the (/sarcasm) on my comment - I tend to agree with you but also, the guy was a bit insensitive to the local jargon, ie, use of the word Gay - my kids use it all the time. He shouldn't have made it an issue.

I never use the 'N' word, but alot of blacks in the service used it all the time. It's part of the jargon - get over it ...

[RAY]

It seems, because of their stupidity, they lost a very good teacher. There is a very old saying, don't cut your nose off to spite your face - the school administration and the parent did just this. I am glad (but sad) that he, in essence, had to tell them all to go to hell.

[El Gato]

I guess it's an OK word for Senator Byrd, a Democrat, to use, and not on the floor of Senate either, but not for this teacher, who wasn't even calling anyone by that term, but just referring to the term to make a point.

[netmilsmom]

pls remove the Call from line 1 of my last post.
I need sleep.

[Calpernia]

I think the entire PC crowd has given 'words' way too much power.

How do you teach your child 'sticks and stones will break my bones; but, names will never hurt me' when people are now hurt by words.

Speaking of PI words, what about the acronym for NAACP? I thought Colored People was PI? Or is that just for a non colored person?

And what constitutes a colored person? I am not clear. Are clear people the only ones not colored? (I am so confused)

(yes, very silly post. hope the meaning stands out)

[El Gato]

Hmm, is the word "Gay" now going the way of .. well other terms. I thought it was a preffereed term by those it refers to? I'm so confused.

Actually any term used for a "senstive" group eventually become undesirable to them. While the "N" word that ends in "r" has never been acceptable, except for use by those it refers to, the word "Neroe" was one just fine and used by Dr. King in fact. Then that was seen as a slight, and so "Black" came into vogue..now thats out, and I think "African American" is in. Although what if the person is Cuban or Jamacian or British? People worry too much about labels.

Although, OTOH, I sort of understand. I feel a little uncomfortable when Tejanos refer to me as "white" to distinguish whatever I am from whatever they are (I don't think of them as "non-white" so you see the dissonance). Mexicans use "norte americano" but technically they are that too. Sooo, I prefer Gringo, when I use it first to refer to myself, I get big smiles.

[El Gato]

Hmm, is the word "Gay" now going the way of .. well other terms. I thought it was a preffereed term by those it refers to? I'm so confused.

Actually any term used for a "senstive" group eventually become undesirable to them. While the "N" word that ends in "r" has never been acceptable, except for use by those it refers to, the word "Neroe" was one just fine and used by Dr. King in fact. Then that was seen as a slight, and so "Black" came into vogue..now thats out, and I think "African American" is in. Although what if the person is Cuban or Jamacian or British? People worry too much about labels.

Although, OTOH, I sort of understand. I feel a little uncomfortable when Tejanos refer to me as "white" to distinguish whatever I am from whatever they are (I don't think of them as "non-white" so you see the dissonance). Mexicans use "norte americano" but technically they are that too. Sooo, I prefer Gringo, when I use it first to refer to myself, I get big smiles.

[ladyjane]

So the kid shows disrespect to the teacher by calling the assignment 'gay' and the teacher tries to teach the kid about name calling. The school then reprimands the teacher??? Not one word about the spoiled little brat criticizing the teacher's assignment? No wonder he quit. There isn't enough money to keep a person with integrity in that job.

[El Gato]

Sorry for the double post..had a "server not found error" but it must have actualy been found. :)

Neroe ==> Negro

And after reading a post above, I realized I left off "colored", which came between "Negro" and "Black", IIRC. Dr. King used both. The NAACP was born and named during that period when Colored was the PC term.

[ysoitanly]

I'm more upset to learn that this person smokes, eats Big Macs, and drives an SUV. /sarcasm

[longtermmemmory]

glsen has fostered such intollerance in our public schools. The word "gay" is a thought crime which can get you suspended or expelled. I kid you not.

[tru_degenerate]

I'm sorry but I thought he did call the boy a nigger. Didn't he say something to that effect when they walked back into the classroom.

[tru_degenerate]

What was the assignment anyway? I read about this story but don't remember what was gay.

[The Red Zone]

Emanuels, hired as a computer teacher at Cleveland High School last fall, was suspended with pay May 8, a little over a week after asking a student who had described an assignment as "gay" how he would like it if someone called him a "nigger."

WAS the assignment "gay"?

[He Rides A White Horse]

Emanuels, hired as a computer teacher at Cleveland High School last fall, was suspended with pay May 8, a little over a week after asking a student who had described an assignment as "gay" how he would like it if someone called him a "nigger."

Actually, it sounds like one PC liberal was taken out by another to me.

[Malesherbes]

Attending a government school, a either as a teacher or a student, is a form of punishment.

[Kuksool]

Nice to see a government educrat get a taste of his own medicine. I love this dilemma. Watching the various bases of the RATS fight among themselves is always entertaining. In this situation, it is the NEA vs. the African-American community. May there be more conflicts between these two groups.